Ashley Avila
Library 101
Library Technician Interview
My first interview was with Erika from the Orange Public Library.
1. Where do you work?
-The Main Branch of the Orange Public Library.
2. What is your job title?
-Erika’s job title is library assistant alternate. Being an alternate, Erika is like a sub. She
is called into work if another library assistant is out sick, vacation, or maternity leave.
3. What other staff is employed at your site? Who is your immediate supervisor? Do you
supervise anyone? (Organizational Chart)
-As a library assistant alternate she reports directly to a librarian. Her supervisor is
Kiesha. She does not supervise any one herself. Below is the Organizational chart for the
library.
Director
Assistant
Director
Library Manager
Librarian
Librarian Library Assistant
Assistant Alternate
Librarian Aid Library Clerk
4. How long have you worked at your current position? How long have you worked in the
field?
-She has been working at her current position at Orange Public Library for three months.
Although she has been working in the field for seven years. She started by volunteering
in libraries before she was hired with public libraries.
5. How many hours do you work? What is your salary range?
-Because she is subbing in for other assistants her hours vary. Erika says she averages
about 15 hours a week, but there are times she working closer to 40 hours for the week.
Her salary range is listed as 22.88-28.50 an hour.
6. What duties do you perform on a daily basis? On a semi-regular basis?
- Erika listed her daily duties: provide reference in person and over the phone, provide
technical help (computers and printer), extend library privileges, put materials on
hold, call other libraries to if they have requested materials. She says that sometimes
her supervisor will have her work on “special projects”, such as going through the
materials that have not been checked out in a while.
7. What skills/knowledge do you need to be successful on the job?
-Erika said the biggest skill is communication. You need to be able to clearly
communicate in person and writing. Social skills are needed as well. She said being
welcoming and friendly help with patrons. Erika said also being respectful of other
cultures and their nonverbal communication.
8. What do you really enjoy about your job?
Erika enjoys helping and working with people. She said she loves the sense of
community she gets by helping the patrons of her library. She believes the library is the
place of democracy.
9. What would you like to change about your job?
-She laughed at this and she wish she worked full time to receive benefits. Erika
explained that her position as an alternate does not get benefits. She is hopeful that she
will become a full-time employee soon.
10. What do you know now that you wished you knew going into the job?
- Erika said she wished she knew how important interpersonal skills are to the job. On
the job those skills improved dramatically, but she wished she could have honed those
skills before. Also, the ability to keep calm and sometimes it’s better to keep your
mouth shut.
My next interview was with Jacqueline form Villa Park High School.
1. Where do you work?
-Villa Park High School’s Media Center.
2. What is your job title?
-Jacqueline job title is Library Media Technician (LMT).
3. What other staff is employed at your site? Who is your immediate supervisor? Do you
supervise anyone? (Organizational Chart)
- Her immediate Supervisor is the Library Media Specialist (Head of the Library). The
Media Center also employs a Career tech and I.T. as well. Jacqueline does help
supervise student T.A.’s (Teacher Assistant).
Library Media
Specialist
Library Media
I.T Career Tech
Technician
Teacher
Assistants
4. How long have you worked at your current position? How long have you worked in the
field?
-Jacqueline has only been in her position since July, but has worked in the district for 12
years.
5. How many hours do you work? What is your salary range?
-She works 40hrs a week and the salary range is somewhere between $35,000- $45,000
annually.
6. What duties do you perform on a daily basis? On a semi-regular basis?-
Jacqueline daily duties are as listed: checking in and out books, textbooks, computers.
Collecting fines. Help trouble shoot minor computer issues. Input new
books/textbooks/computers/any devices by barcode. Cover the books in protective paper,
add spine labels, and due date stamps. Collect E-waste and properly dispose of it. Help
keep the Library organized.
7. What skills/knowledge do you need to be successful on the job?
- The LMT position requires 9 semester units in Library/Media Technology. She said
besides the units, you should have great customer service skills, patience, and a love to
help students/staff.
8. What do you really enjoy about your job?
-Jacqueline loves receiving new books, barcoding them, and putting them into the library
system. She also enjoys helping students find new books.
9. What would you like to change about your job?
- Something she would change are the hours, because there is a lot of downtime. She
works 8 hours a day however, she feels like 6 hours would be a better fit for her position.
10. What do you know now that you wished you knew going into the job?
- Jacqueline said she wished she knew how much she would be working with technology.
She thought her role would be working with books/textbooks however, a lot of her time is
used on helping students fix their laptops.
One thing that both interviewees agreed on is how important people skills are to the job.
It was also interesting to see how their jobs differ. Erika spends most of her time helping patrons
with materials, while Jacqueline does more technical duties. I really enjoys talking to both
woman and appreciate the advice they gave me.
