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Procedures

     
Electronic Library Assistants are expected to observe the following procedures.
Absences, Reporting
  Reporting absences is the responsibility of the employee. All absences must be reported to the supervisor(s).
  Illness -- Absences due to illness should be reported as soon as possible so that supervisors can arrange for alternate scheduling. A timely phone call to one of the supervisors is expected.
  Prearranged -- Anticipated absences should be approved in advance by one of the supervisors. For example, students may need to adjust their schedules for finals week to accommodate additional study time and schedule changes necessitated by the final exam schedule. As soon as a schedule exception becomes apparent, the employee should make arrangements with the supervisor(s).
   
Breaks, Reporting
 

For every four hours of time worked, an employee may take a 15 minute break. Longer break periods (lunch or supper breaks) must be arranged with the supervisor as part of the schedule and will be deducted from the total hours worked.

While 15 minute breaks are not recorded on the time card, the employee must report when he or she is taking a break to the librarian on duty at the Reference Desk.

Breaks exceeding 15 minutes must be recorded on the time card. The minimum break over the allotted 15 minute break is 30 minutes. Additional periods of absence during a shift will be recorded in 15 and 30 minute increments and must be approved by a supervisor.

   
Computer Problems, Reporting
 

Computer problems that cannot be resolved by the ELA should be reported first to one of the supervisors, or, if a supervisor is not available, directly to the library's College Technician. If neither supervisor is available and the C-Tech is also not available, the ELA should record the issue on the statistics sheet and email the supervisors to apprise them of the nature of the problem.

If the machine is unusable, the ELA should place an "Out of Order" sign on the machine and include a date and time when it was posted. Signs will be available at the student workstation.

   
Schedule Changes, Requesting
  Ideally, the semester schedule will be set at least a week in advance of the beginning of the semester. Some flexibility is built into this, however, to accommodate changes in student schedules that occur as the result of courses being dropped or added after the beginning of the semester and as the result of the commencement of course-required field experiences and internships. ALL SCHEDULE CHANGE REQUESTS SHOULD BE MADE IN WRITING, EITHER IN A PRINTED REQUEST OR VIA EMAIL CARBON-COPIED TO BOTH SUPERVISORS.
  Temporary -- Temporary schedule changes need to be requested far enough in advance that the supervisors can make arrangements with other employees to cover the affected hours. Informal hours swapping between ELAs is discouraged. All schedule changes, no matter how small must be approved by the supervisors.
  Permanent -- Changes to the schedule that will affect the duration of a semester need to be cleared well in advance by the supervisors. If, for example, an ELA drops a class and becomes available for work during a different time block, he or she should formally request to shift hours to that time period.
   
Security Issues, Handling and Reporting
 

Hopefully, ELAs will never have to deal with any serious security issues. In the event that a situation arises that is beyond the scope of what is normally expected of an ELA, the following procedures should be followed:

Situation Suggested Action
Child left unattended in the library. Refer to Reference Librarian on duty. In the event that it is late at night and no librarian is available, refer situation to the Circulation Services staff.
Difficult patron. If, while working with a patron, it becomes obvious that you are unable to assist any further, refer the situation immediately to the librarian on duty. If the situation occurs after the librarians leave, encourage the patron to come back during hours the reference librarians are on duty. Patrons may also be referred to the Reference Department's email address to send a request for assistance. Email: libhelp@unf.edu
Electrical outage. If it lasts more than a few minutes, check with the librarian on duty for instructions. If at night and no librarian is on duty, check with Circulation Services staff for further information.
Fire alarm sounds and an announcement is made to evacuate the building. Encourage patrons working on computers and using the seating areas to gather their belongings and leave the building immediately. Report any reluctant patrons to the librarian on duty or, as needed, to the Circulation Services staff.
Irate patron. If it becomes evident that the patron is angry enough to become violent, leave the area immediately and phone the campus police at extension 2800. If a librarian is on duty, report the situation first to the librarian before taking action.
Severe weather. Any really severe weather conditions will be announced via the campus-wide public address system by the campus police. Pay close attention to instructions received via the public address system. Instructions normally direct people away from windows and toward the interior of the building.
Workstation Malfunctioning. Normal malfunctions should be dealt with by resetting the workstation. Should the workstation appear to be emitting smoke or showing some other sign of overheating, immediately turn off power to the workstation and unplug the power cords from the backs of the workstation and the monitor. If excessive heat makes it risky to reach around behind the machine, clear the immediate area and notify the librarian on duty. If no librarian is on duty, notify the Circulation Services staff of a possible fire hazard and, if it seems necessary, contact the campus police at extension 2800. In no circumstances should the employee try removing the equipment or attempt to do anything that could cause electrical hazard.
   
Statistics, Recording
  ELAs are expected to keep track of their workflow while on duty by recording data on a statistics sheet. Currently, this is a manual paper and pencil process. A sample statistics sheet is available online.
  Statistics Categories -- Statistics reflect the performance of the employee's primary responsibilities on an hourly basis and help the supervisors determine when coverage is needed most. Following are statistics categories that employees should track:

Directions
Information
Routine rounds (equipment checks, etc.)
Special rounds (unscheduled)
Workstations in use each hour
Workstations restarted each round
Workstations down each round
Printing service calls
Workstation training
Printer training
Browser training
Other training (Word, Excel, etc.)
   
Time Sheets, Filling In and Signing
  The time sheet is the official record of the employee's hours worked and must be completed by the employee and approved by the supervisor. Time sheets are electronically submitted biweekly and are normally due two days in advance of the pay period's end. The two week pay period for student employees begins on Saturday and concludes on Friday two weeks later. Student employees should have completed their time sheets by 5 PM Wednesday of the second week of the pay period.
 

Filling In -- Beginning with the Spring 2005 semester, time sheets are completed electronically using the myWings portal. myWings can be reached from the University's home page, from the Library's home page, and from the ELA home page, or by clicking here.

The time sheet should be filled in as the hours are worked on a daily basis. The best routine for the employee to observe is to submit hours to be worked at the beginning of the shift. If more than one shift is worked in a day, the time should be updated accordingly at the beginning of the second shift. A step-by-step guide to using the electronic time sheet is available online.

At the conclusion of the two week time period, the grand total hours are automatically calculated by the online accounting system

A sample, completed time sheet is available online.

   
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