Acquisitions and Circulation Assistant (LA II)

The Acquisitions & Circulation Assistant is responsible for managing all GOBI selection and ordering operations and processing invoices according to departmental procedures. This includes regularly reviewing GOBI folders to pull selections; preparing monthly spreadsheets for Selection Team review; coordinating and ordering GOBI selections, including de-selection and marking unpurchased items; providing backup and support for GOBI communications and Amazon ordering; and providing support and assistance related to the selection and acquisition of library materials. Additionally, this position assists in staffing the Circulation Desk on a regular basis, opening or closing the library multiple days a week; hiring, training, and supervising student workers within the Circulation Team; and processing all course reserve materials for the College of Law. This position also provides backup and support for interlibrary loan and document delivery operations, the mailroom, shelving/shifting/weeding, and assists other staff and patrons, as needed, as part of the larger, integrated library teams.  

Essential (Primary) Functions

• Manage all GOBI selection and ordering operations. Regularly review folders in GOBI to pull selections, prepare monthly spreadsheets for Selection Team review, and coordinate the ordering of selected titles from GOBI (including de-selection and marking non-purchased items). Provide backup and support for GOBI representative contact and communications. Provide backup and support for Amazon purchasing.
• Open/Close the library multiple days a week. Staff the circulation desk on a regular basis and fill in, as necessary, to cover for absences due to illness, vacation, etc. Greet and help patrons who come to the desk, check books in and out, answer telephone, respond to circulation emails, and issue temporary Guest I.D.s. Deal extensively with the library’s patrons explaining policies and exercising judgment, make decisions about possible exceptions or special handling at times, and address issues or concerns voiced by patrons. Direct patrons to library, law school, and university resources for assistance. Enforce library policies.
• Key data into Alma to pay invoices according to departmental procedures, verifying all data is correct, converting currency as needed, and meeting payment deadlines.
• Maintain the Reserve Collection. This includes completing an annual inventory and removing outdated and superseded items from reserves after consulting with the Selection Team or as new materials arrive.
• Oversee, create, and process course reserve materials for the College of Law, particularly at the start and conclusion of each semester. This includes communicating with faculty and staff; requesting and obtaining materials from the Law Library or University Libraries’ collections; setting up the course reserves in Alma/InfoHawk+; communicating frequently with references and acquisitions staff; and other related tasks.
• Provide backup and assistance for monitoring and reporting “lost” and “missing” books. Collaborate with the acquisitions, cataloging, and selection teams to recommend/purchase replacements, update holdings/records, process patron charges, etc.
• Provide backup and assistance for the mail room. This includes receiving, opening, and sorting all incoming mail and packages; distributing incoming mail; receiving, delivering, and processing all incoming mail and packages for the College of Law; processing and coordinating incoming and outgoing shipments for the Law Library; and sorting and distributing invoices and catalogs to the appropriate Teams.

To obtain the full job description including key areas of responsibility, technical competencies, and desirable qualifications, please contact joshua-gulick@uiowa.edu