When I first started at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), the team rota felt pretty overwhelming to look at: with 6 full-time and 6 part-time Library Services Advisers, there is definitely a lot going on! I have removed the names of my colleagues from the screenshot below, but each row corresponds to a different Library Services Advisor. The bottom half of the rota lists our priority tasks, and we simply type our name next to the task we are doing in the appropriate time column. With a big team, this ensures that two people aren’t accidentally doing the same task at the same time.
The timetable does change daily though, meaning that no two days are the same. With it being the start of term, the timetable is currently quite full but at different times of the year, we have more blank slots (unallocated hours) so we can focus on individual or group projects.
8:30 – 9:00: Building Walk
After a very chilly cycle to work (the feels like temperate was -5!), I start my day with a building walk which – as the name suggests – is a walk around the library to make sure everything is in order. The usual things to look out for are health and safety hazards, faulty equipment, and broken lights. Apart from a few travelling chairs, the library was all in order. Time for a cup of tea!
09:00 – 10:00: Emails and Reading Lists
Next, I’m on a blank slot which gives me a chance to go through the library email account. As term only started yesterday, it is still fairly quiet with only a handful of enquiries overnight. Today, they are pretty straight-forward: a book recommendation, query about loan length, and an alumni membership application. With some time left over, I start to order a few books from ARU’s reading lists. We have recently moved to a new reading list management system, Keylinks, which has made the whole process a lot smoother.
10:00 – 11:00: Phone & Chat Support
I always find phone and chat support a strange hour because it’s so unpredictable – sometimes I don’t receive a single message/call, while other days can be significantly busier. Today is one of the quieter days, with only one 5-minute chat regarding literature reviews. With one eye on the phone/chat, I decide to continue ordering from the reading lists because it’s a good task to dip in and out of. In the end, I order 1 book to our Chelmsford campus and 17 books to our Cambridge campus.
11:00 – 12:00: Scanning
I notice that there is a pending PDF scan request on Alma (our library database), so I do the usual checks before approving (are the number of pages compliant with copyright, is the item available electronically, have they requested from this book before). After completing the scan, I tackle accessibility. The chapter I am scanning from is an ocular anatomy book, and I must admit, I sometimes struggle with how best to add alt text to scientific figures. With one or more figures on each page, I take my time to ensure that the descriptive text is as useful as possible, should the patron use it.
12:00 – 13:00: Lunch
With it being such a cold day, I decide to eat inside – on sunnier/warmer days, I love to get some fresh air with a stroll around nearby Mill Road Cemetery. After staring at a screen for a lot of the morning, it’s nice to take some time away and squeeze in some pages from my current read, So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell.
13:00 – 14:00: Help Desk
Shifts at the desk have been really busy so far this week because there are lots of new students on campus as some courses have a January start date. To manage queues and help students more efficiently, there are 2 people on the desk between 11 and 4. The enquiries we receive are varied but the most common ones today were directional, password resets, WiFi issues, printing trouble, and how to use the self-service machines. I also had a few students who were struggling to find a book upstairs and as we can’t leave the desk, I radioed a colleague (who was on the ‘back up’ role) to help.
14:00 – 15:00: Back Up & Pick List
After a busy hour on the desk, I make myself a cappuccino before tackling the pick list. There were 46 items on the pick list when I started and by the time I’d found the books on the shelves, processed them, and placed them on the requests shelf, the pick list already had 15 new items! There are currently 150 books on the requests shelf, waiting for collection. Luckily, the desk didn’t radio me for any support this hour, so I was able to focus on the pick list uninterrupted.
15:00 – 16:00: Pick List & Processing an External Membership
I’m on a blank slot so I help the next person on the ‘back up’ role by finding the new items from the pick list. There is nothing to receive as there were no books or journals in the post today, so I process a new alumni membership application form. In need of a boost of energy, I then take a short chocolate break!
16:00 – 17:00: Roving & Shelving
For the last hour of the day, I am tasked with roving. The main responsibility is to circulate all four floors to ensure that noise levels are appropriate and be visible in case any students need help. Roving is a nice opportunity to be away from a screen and walk around the library. It’s also a great time to get amongst the books and do some shelving. After a busy day, I cycle home for a relaxing evening.