Research & Public Services Assistant (6759C) Library, #87420

Research & Public Services Assistant (6759C) Library, #87420

At the University of California, Berkeley , we are dedicated to fostering a community where everyone feels welcome and can thrive. Our culture of openness, freedom, and belonging makes it a special place for students, faculty, and staff, who are among the most talented and accomplished anywhere, including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Mac Arthur Fellows. Since our founding in 1868, we have been an engine for innovation - driving intellectual, economic, and social progress that benefits California, the U.S., and beyond.

Together, we change the world.

At Berkeley, the best careers are built on a foundation of continuous learning and growth . We actively support professional development by providing all full-time staff employees with at least 80 hours of paid time per year and provide space for supportive colleague communities via numerous employee resource groups.

The Social Sciences Division (SSD) includes the Business, Environmental Design, and Social Research Libraries, as well as extensive collections in Doe. The SSD supports research and teaching in all social sciences at Berkeley, and includes collections and research support for Latin America, Africa, and the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

The Research & Public Services Assistant provides in-person and virtual public service support within the library, including reference and research assistance through multiple service channels such as Lib Answers. This position contributes to the development of research guides and web resources that support student and faculty research needs. The Research & Public Services Assistant supports students, faculty, staff, and independent scholars by assisting with the development of research strategies and navigation of a wide range of research databases to meet diverse research needs.

Additionally, this position collaborates with library colleagues to ensure effective public service operations and provides instructional support for student library employees at circulation and public service desks.

Circulation - 45%

• Monitors Circulation functions and supports student library employees as Social Sciences Library Service desks; conducts complex circulation functions and assists patrons with directional questions. Works with Student Supervisors to ensure student staff follow best practices and proper procedures for opening and fulfill inf circulation duties Assists patrons with informational questions, check outs, paging library materials, returns, and other circulation functions. Maintains in-person support for opening procedures at Social Science Division Libraries (Business, Environmental Design, and Social Research), rotating as needed to support varied staffing levels.
  
  Follows Library protocol for reporting and appropriately escalating safety and security issues in Social Science Libraries, under the direction of the Chief Operations Manager.

Reference - 45%

• Provides advanced research support to patrons using the library's databases and resources in a variety of formats and Social Science disciplines. Provides online research guidance to UC Berkeley and public patrons via the Lib Answers chat and email platform. Triages social science research questions to connect patrons with subject experts. Under the direction of librarians, creates and maintains web-based resources to support research and instruction, and handles specialized reference queries.

SLF-N processing and support - 5%

• Assists in pulling, processing and packing materials in the Social Sciences Division for storage.

Assists with the training and assessment of student employees - 5%

• Under the direction of the Chief Operations Manager, this position will work with Student Supervisors to ensure student staff follow best practices and proper procedures for opening and closing procedures at the Business Library, and provide continuity of service at Business when students are not present.

• Demonstrated experience with academic library catalogs, databases, and research resources.
• Experience with standard office software.
• Ability to communicate effectively (verbally and in writing) and work in a team.
• Ability to complete detailed work accurately.
• Experience working in a library.
• Advanced problem solving and decision-making ability.

• Experience providing customer service.

• Bachelors degree in a related subject and/or equivalent experience/training

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications,…