A Day in the Life of a Library Operations Manager - Catherine Tagg
Catherine Tagg is a Library Operations Manager at Trevithick Library and is responsible for the day to day running of the Library.
9-9.30am Starting the Day | 9.30-10.15amThe binder’s broken! | 10.15-11am Sending Stuff to Store | 11.00-11.30am Staffing Issue | 11.30am-12noon ASSL to the Rescue! | 12-1pm The Busiest Time of the Day… | 1-2pm Lunch | 2-2.30pm Catching up on emails | 2.30-3pm Engineering Archives | 3-3.30pm Recycling | 3.30–4.30pm Refurbishment Updates | 4.30 – 5.15pm Handing over to the evening staff
9-9.30am Starting the Day
Read my emails then check the counter queries book for any messages left from the previous evening. Staff leave a message in here if anything has happened during their shift that I need to be aware of. Nothing on this occasion!
9.30-10.15am The binder’s broken!
A member of evening staff has rung in sick so I phone another member of staff who has covered for us several times in the past. Unfortunately he couldn't help on this occasion. Spoke to other library staff but no-one able to work this evening.
Counter staff inform me that our spiral binding machine, we use for binding student projects, has broken. After further examination it appears that it is beyond our repair skills so I contact the Graphic Services department. They provide me with details of a company who may be able to repair it and also advise me of how we can purchase a replacement if required.
Trevithick Library will be undergoing a massive refurbishment over the next few months. During this time the Library will be re-located in the Trevithick Seminar rooms. As space is going to be limited, I have been in contact with several Engineering lecturers over the last few days regarding their lecture notes that are kept behind the issue desk. I’ve been asking whether they would be willing to reduce the items held so that we can fit the essential ones into our temporary Library. As most lecturers have been quite happy with this, I spend some time deleting items that are no longer in use.
10.15-11am Sending Stuff to Store
Also in preparation for our upcoming move, we are sending some older materials to our Store. Usually this work is carried out by the Collection Development team but as we have quite a few items to be transferred it seems sensible for us to undertake this work on site. Two members of the Collection Development team arrive to provide some training for the Library staff. Even though several of our staff undertake loan status changes and deletions on a regular basis, none of us have ever been involved with transferring items to store. New skills gained for all of us!
11.00-11.30am Staffing Issue
After a quick break I have a brief meeting with the site manager to discuss a staffing issue.
11.30am-12noon ASSL to the Rescue!
Phone a couple of the other sites in the hope of finding cover for tonight. I’m in luck, the Arts & Social Studies Library come to my rescue with the name of a willing volunteer!
12-1pm The Busiest Time of the Day…
This is the time of day where I sit on the enquiry desk and assist with any queries. It’s quite a busy shift today as there seems to be several problems with printing in the library. There’s a problem with paper in the printer so I end up crediting a student’s print account and another reader has sent a job printing 24 pages of a project instead of printing just one page. I manage to stop the job before too many pages are printed – the student is very relieved.
Next I experience a problem with our staff PC locking after just a few minutes. The problem is reported to IT staff and INSRVConnect – The IT Service Desk.
In between I spend some time reading through the new Cataloguing instructions from this morning’s training session.
1-2pm Lunch
2-2.30pm Catching up on emails
Read and send some emails, including one to Manual Handling regarding moving some furniture for our refurbishment.
2.30-3pm Engineering Archives
Meet briefly with a lecturer who has called in to look at some old engineering material. She thinks that other staff may be interested so will contact them to see whether they wish us to keep it.
I ring the Systems team to ask whether they can suggest a quick way for us to transfer details of items that are being temporarily located to SCOLAR, (Special Collections and Archives), during our refurbishment. They suggest that we can scan items before they are packed into crates so will arrange for us to have some training.
3-3.30pm Recycling
Two members of ESTATES arrive to look at some library furniture for disposal. After a walk around the library it quickly becomes apparent that this will be a major task and we are advised to contact a separate recycling firm.
3.30–4.30pm Refurbishment Updates
I attend a staff meeting with the Site Librarian and Subject Librarian. We update each other on developments that have happened with the refurbishment. We discuss the latest situation regarding clearing the seminar rooms and old Graphics rooms downstairs as these will be our temporary homes for the next few months. We decide on some next steps and all come away with plenty more tasks to be completed!
4.30 – 5.15pm Handing over to the evening staff
I briefly check my emails then head to the counter to see the member of evening staff at the start of his shift. I mention that we are about to undertake appraisal meetings so show him where he can find the paperwork. Next we discuss some training courses that have been advertised and may be of interest. Thankfully the member of staff arrives who agreed to help out this evening so we spend some time introducing ourselves.
This is a fairly typical example of my day. The role of Library Operations Manager is relatively new and some of the tasks I’ve performed today would previously have been part of the Site Librarian’s role. Some aspects, such as finding staff cover, can be surprisingly time consuming so this change in responsibility has freed up more time for the Site Librarian to concentrate on strategic projects contained in the Library Review.