Detroit Public Library is hiring: Librarian Assistant Manager- Children/Youth Se

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General Purpose: Under general supervision, is responsible for assisting in the administration of a branch or main library department of the Detroit Public Library (DPL); assists with the supervision of the day-to-day operations, staffing, planning, and implementation of assigned Children/Youth services program area; ensures quality customer service; maintains and organizes a relevant collection of library materials; provides relevant programs for the community; and participates in and supports organizational goals, policies, and guidelines.

Supervision Received/ Exercised: Works under the general supervision of assigned Library – coordinator or manager; and does exercise supervisory responsibility.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

The following duties are not intended to serve as a comprehensive list of all duties performed by all employees in this classification, only a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position‑specific duties.

In Children/Youth Services area of assignment:

• Supervises, coordinates, schedules, assigns, and inspects the daily work activities of assigned staff; coaches, trains and motivates staff; and coordinates and/or provides staff training.
• Assists with managing and prepares the daily workflow and prioritization of projects and staff; measures the performance of the unit and staff and recommends or suggests appropriate corrective action when necessary; provides advice and counsel to staff; develops developmental work plans for staff; recommends corrective actions and discipline procedures as appropriate or necessary.
• Drafts and completes weekly sign‑in sheets for staff members; completes bi‑weekly time sheets for payroll office; creates work schedules due to illness or other emergency or unforeseen change in employee’s personal schedule.
• Provides reference services in assigned Children/Youth services program area; analyzes customer requests to determine needed information; assists in furnishing or locating the information; searches reference materials including printed, on‑line and Internet sources, to provide the necessary information; and instructs customers in basic computer skills, such as searching the library’s computerized databases, so they can continue their research on their own.
• Locates unusual or unique information in response to specific requests; explains library resources and services outside the scope of assigned area or department; troubleshoots malfunctioning equipment such as computers, copiers, printers, and other peripheral equipment and finds alternate methods, if necessary, to satisfy customer’s needs; translates or interprets library literature, conversations, and communications between library staff and customers, enabling verbal and written communication between non‑English‑speaking customers and the library organization; proofreads translated materials; provides solutions in translated language to customer service issues; assists with translating marketing programming; and assists in producing media materials in‑house written for non‑English speaking customers.
• Provides collection development and maintenance functions; reviews and evaluates print materials using book reviews, catalogs, and customer recommendations to select and order items to be added to the collection; reviews and evaluates potential electronic resources; evaluates existing books, periodicals, and other materials to determine outdated or unused items for discard; organizes collections of books, periodicals, and other reference materials for convenient access.
• Confers with community members and organizations to plan, develop and implement informational programs in assigned area; oversees partnerships with community organizations; makes collection decisions and determines additional library services to offer; and plans and implements monthly displays focusing on a specific aspect of the department’s/program’s holdings.
• Maintains and collects a variety of data to produce reports used for future reference, comparisons between branches and main library, and for program evaluation; maintains various statistics such as daily reference statistics, disposal/acquisition statistics, circulation statistics, program attendance statistics, meeting and activity statistics, and federal depository statistics.
• Assists in assuring that work areas and/or building and grounds are properly and safely maintained; performs opening and closing routines; fills out work order requests for building and grounds maintenance and repairs; conducts annual survey of physical assets; checks doors at closing, ensuring that library is ready for next day; supervises tidying of library by customer service assistants; assures working status of computers, copiers, printers, fax and other peripheral equipment; and ensures building alarm system is properly set at close.
• Manages and oversees the TIP program which is a free community information and referral service that helps people find answers to the problems of everyday living; trains, schedules, and supports TIP librarians; develops protocols for call‑handling; prepares schedules; observes and assists librarians with calls; provides service to customers who call TIP’s direct number or select the option to “talk with a librarian”; conducts detailed interviews to determine callers’ information needs; identifies and provides appropriate information and/or referrals to community services; develops and organizes materials for use at the TIP Desk; develops and maintains “quick reference guides” and operations manual; identifies and maintains an extensive collection of Internet bookmarks; provides oversight to TIP’s book collection and periodical subscriptions; reviews, selects, and purchases reference books; reviews collection for relevance and currency; and removes/weeds items accordingly.
• Supports supervisor and assumes responsibilities in their absence related to building security and other library customer issues; supervises daily departmental operations, including scheduling and output; arbitrates customer disputes regarding service or fines, library materials not returned or any other library related interactions; plans and conducts special projects as directed; performs opening and closing routines; checks doors at closing, ensuring that library is ready for next day; supervises tidying of library by customer service assistants; and ensures building alarm system is properly set at close.
• Administers, monitors, and maintains assigned budgets including book, audio, video, periodicals, and programming budgets; and prepares and processes requisitions or purchases for items utilized in programs.
• Performs miscellaneous duties such as typing; computer troubleshooting; creating displays to encourage traffic flow and visibility of materials; keeps abreast of community milieu and the changing literacy needs reflected in the service area and develops and customizes programming as appropriate; laminates shelf‑reading, records audio selections of public domain materials; oversees supply inventory; processes gifts; maintains bulletin boards; may open and distribute departmental mail; and substitutes as reference librarian at other library locations as needed.
• Provides support to the assigned Library – coordinator or manager on matters as directed; participates on a variety of committees as assigned; prepares and presents reports and other necessary correspondence; attends and participates in professional group meetings; maintains awareness of new trends and developments in the fields related to area of assignment; ensures processes, policies and practices are interpreted and applied consistently and effectively; ensures accountability and compliance with all current and applicable state and federal laws, Library policies and procedures, rules and regulations.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience:

Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA accredited institution and four years of professional library experience in area of assignment, including one year of supervisory/lead responsibility over staff and/or programs.

Required Licenses

• Must possess a valid State of Michigan Driver’s License

Certifications Preferred

• Level 1 Librarian Certification by the State of Michigan.

Required Knowledge of:

• Advanced principles and practices of library science.
• Principles and techniques of library materials selection and cataloging.
• Dewey Decimal system, the alphabetical systems of shelving, and computer searching techniques.
• Books, publishing, the book trade, and book review media.
• Reference tools and services.
• Automated library information retrieval systems including Sirsi WorkFlows integrated library system.
• Reference and circulation processes and procedures.
• Understanding of different classification schemes for library materials.
• Significant authors, associations and publishers of books and reference sources in the assigned field.
• Project/program planning and management principles and practices.
• Public and community relations principles and practices.
• Other pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations.
• Modern office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and statistical databases.
• Public library operations, services, and policies.
• Customer service standards and procedures.
• Supervisory principles, practices, and methods.

Seniority level

• Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

• Full‑time

Job function

Other

Industries

Consumer Services

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