Professionalism

Decorum

Student assistant work duties are often extremely visible. Because you are on the "front lines," what youdo sets the tone for every interaction library users have with staff in all departments and how they perceive the library as a whole. So, when you are in a publicly visible area, think about your actions and how they are viewed by others. The image we would like to present is that we are helpful, professional, knowledgeable and efficient. So, here are some helpful hints on how to present yourself well.

Watch your body language. Good posture = good image. Do you look alert, or are you yawning and leaning on your hand? If you are sitting, are you sitting up straight, or are you sprawling or putting your feet up on the desk? Avoid presenting a casual, lackadaisical image.

Smile. Smiling is probably the single most important thing you can do to project a positive image. It lets people know that you are happy to see them and enjoy helping them.

Don't eat or drink in public areas. Library users are allowed covered beverages, but not allowed to eat in the library. If we eat in public view, it flaunts the rules. We should also limit drinking in public areas because it gives people the impression that we are sloppy workers. Eating and drinking in staff areas which are out of view of the public is OK. Just be careful that library users can not see you bring food into the library and that they can't smell it. Chewing gum is also OK except at public desks.

Keep busy.

• Avoid excessive talking - Watching a group of staff members chatting gives llibrary users the impression that the stereotype of the overpaid, lazy state employee is true. It also looks bad to your co-workers from other departments and wreaks havoc with any requests for additional staffing. Please keep busy and avoid excessive talking. Quiet conversations while you work are acceptable.
• Take your breaks away from the work area. Taking breaks in the work area distracts your co-workers and gives a bad impression.
• Read work-related material only.
• Use your breaks and non-work time for personal phone calls, email and other computer work. There is a phone in the staff lounge that you may use. You may use the public email terminals or the workstations in the Microlab for personal computing.
• If you can't think of something to keep busy, ask your supervisor.

Dress appropriately. There is no formal dress code aside from the basic health/safety standards that you must wear a shirt and shoes. As a general guideline, if it's appropriate to wear to class, it's appropriate to wear here. However, please remember that you are in public service, and what you wear does reflect on the library and influences the way that others interact with you. You must also always wear your photo ID badge while you are at work.

Do not wear headphones. As part of your position, you need to be as accessible to library users as possible, and many people feel uncomfortable approaching staff wearing headphones. It is also a safety issue (e.g. if you can't hear a person in the next aisle, you might push a book truck into him/her without looking).

Quality Customer Service

Each library user is entitled to prompt, courteous service. Most of our users are in a hurry. Try to give the best possible answer in the shortest time. In many cases, the best response will be to refer the person to another staff member. Ask for help if you need it.

Follow up on promises. If you promise someone extra service, you are personally responsible to make sure the person gets extra service.

Use of Work Equipment

Work equipment such as computers, scanners and fax machines can be used for work only, not personal projects. Employee use of UW equipment is much more limited than student use. A small number of personal emails are allowed. Other personal uses are prohibited. If you are interested, you can view some of the policy statements. Please go the the public workstations or the workstations in the Microlab during your breaks and off-hours for your personal computing needs.

Confidentiality

As a library employee, you have access to a lot of confidential information. Any information from a patron's record is confidential. This includes address, phone number, student ID number, employee ID number, what is checked out, what is being held, etc. You also have to take care that you don't inadvertently give patron information to the wrong person. If you are leaving a message on an answering machine, you don't know who is going to listen to it, so give only general information such as "the book you requested is available." If you are verifying information in a patron record, ask the borrower to give his/her ID number rather than reading it to the patron. Get the point? This is not just library policy, it's state law. It also makes a lot of sense to follow it. There are a zillion reasons library users may not want this information released. For instance, one patron with an unlisted phone number certainly won't want the library to hand it out. Another person may be researching his own disease and not want anyone to know about it. People on different sides of the same legal case may not want the other side to know what they are doing. A researcher working to be the first to publish on a subject or patent a product won't want others to know the specifics of their research. The list goes on and on. So, don't bend the rule -- even a little bit.