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Student Assistant Guide: Home

Announcements/Updates

When closing, please remember to check restrooms to ensure there are no overflows/leaks (especially e-level restrooms).

We are currently experiencing issues in Voyager where short-term loans (i.e headphones=a checkout period of 4 hours) default to a loan period of 5 days. These must be manually updated to the correct loan period until the issue is fixed. This will mainly apply to chargers, headphones (4hrs), and some of the course reserve items that are for in-library use only. 

At the bottom of the home page, I've added the site schedules for all library staff. As you may know, library staff work hybrid schedules so refer to this sheet schedule when needed to determine whether a librarian is working on-site or from home. Below the schedule, I have started a list of which librarians are go-tos for particular subject areas/departments. Further information on this can be found on the 'Personal Librarians' page (link can be found under the FAQs tab).

While at the Circulation Desk

  • Courteous behavior towards Library patrons and staff is imperative

  • If asked a question that they cannot answer, the student employee should seek the assistance of a member of the Library Staff

  • Library work comes first

  • The student employee should not encourage friends to visit while they are working

  • Student employees should remain in their assigned areas unless they need the assistance of a member of the Library staff or are fulfilling other assigned duties.

  • Please inform the Circulation Supervisor and step away from the desk if you need to make a personal phone call

  • Please do not eat at the circulation desk, please eat in rooms 101 or 101A (unless they're reserved for scheduled meeting),  entrance lobby, or the staff lounge located on the E-Level (have to be swiped in by a library staff member).

  • If working a double shift (two 4-hour shifts), you are allowed to take one 30-minute lunch/dinner break and two 15 minute breaks.

  • Please keep desk clutter at a minimum (personal tablets and laptops can be used, but please keep interference with circulation computers at a minimum to avoid confusion. If stepping away from the circulation desk for an extended period, please put away all personal items).

Phone Etiquette

How to answer the phone:

  1. Answer the phone: “Hello, Yale Medical Library, how may I help you?” 

  1. If it is a recording you can hang up, if not find out what they need  

  1. If you need to ask for help from a staff member, let the patron know you are placing them on hold, then press hold before getting help  

  2. If you need to transfer the call, hit transfer --> enter extension (last 5 digits of phone number) --> complete  

  3. Extensions-list of CWML staff extension numbers can be found in the circulation guide folder

  4. You can also provide patrons with the email address of the needed contact. Business cards are located to the left of the circ computers. You can also view them under the Staff Directory

Work Tasks

  • Periodicals Shifting in Sub-Basement (instructions and breakdown of tasks are located under the 'Projects' tab
  • Cleaning and helping to organize supplies at circulation desk

Charger Compatibility Charts

Book Display of the Month

Stats Tracker

Please be sure to use this tracker to record the type of questions received while staffing the desk. This is an essential tool for collecting and reporting an aspect of our circulation statistics for our annual reports.

Important Links

Site Schedules

 

 

 

-Caitlin Meyer: Contact for Physician Assistant/Associate

-Janene Batten: Contact for School of Nursing

-Kate Nyan: Contact for School of Public Health

-Kayla Del Biondo: Contact for School of Public Health and Scholarly Communication

-Kaitlin Throgmorton: Contact for Research Data help

-Clinicians/YNHH: Contact Janene Batten, Melissa Funaro, Alexandria Bracket (Lexi), Holly, Zsuzsa Nemeth or Alyssa Grimshaw

-Melissa Graffe: Contact for Historical Library information/materials/classes or events