Win‐win strategy for the employment of reference graduate assistants in academic libraries

Abstract

Discusses the application of win‐win mindsets and strategy in the employment of reference graduate assistants in academic libraries. The strategy covers different stages of the employment including recruitment, training and support, and transition. It focuses on the concept of treating graduate assistants as colleagues and involving them in the whole process. Also compares the differences between the employment of reference graduate assistants who are library school students and those who are non‐library school students, and the differences between graduate assistants in libraries and contingency workers in the business world.

GTA = Great Teaching Adventure!

“…It works best when both parties benefit from the relationship and get what they want, and deserve." 15 The same holds true for any graduate assistantship or upper-division undergraduate student assistant position. Offering a combination of classroom theory and practical expertise in library instruction as a grounding framework is a positive, proactive approach to staffing, on the job training, and long-term collaborations for current students as they become our future colleagues.…”

Developing and assessing a graduate student reference service

“…For LIS student library assistants in particular, researchers recommend approaching training and evaluation as part of an overarching mentorship system (Duffus, 2017;Forys, 2004;Lewey and Moody-Goo, 2018;Thomsett-Scott, 2012;Wu, 2003). While students in LIS gain valuable knowledge in the classroom, there are aspects of the profession they may not be This is an author accepted manuscript version with Creative Commons License (CC-BY-NC 4.0) of: Canuel, R., Hervieux , S., Bergsten, V., Brault, A., & Burke, R (2019).…”

“…lower cost (Barrett and Greenberg, 2018;Bravender et al, 2011;Logan, 2012); questions can be triaged to meet appropriate users' needs (Barsky, et al, 2010;Brenza et al, 2015;Faix, 2014;Meyer and Torreano, 2017;Neal et al, 2010); and service hours can be extended (Aho et al, 2011;Lux and Rich, 2016;Wu, 2003). However, behind these easily quantifiable effects lie a wealth of additional benefits.…”

Full-Time Reference with Part-Time Librarians

“…But as Wu points out, there may be problems inherent in hiring part-time reference specialists as library staff. 15 These issues include high turnover, lack of training, lack of interest in academic libraries, and the burden of other responsibilities such as other jobs, classes, and family. Although the staff members Wu describes in her article are library science graduate students and not yet degreed professionals, the problems are similar when using degreed librarians in a part-time capacity.…”