Job help - Librarians and Library-adjacent people!

[dianecourt]

My teaching position was recently downsized for financial concerns within the district, and am now looking for other student/patron-facing work.  I do not have a degree in Library Science, but I do have other post-graduate degrees.  I am interviewing for Part-Time Reference Associate position tomorrow.  The main responsibilities as outlined in the job description include staffing the reference desk, assisting patrons with computer use, etc.  While I am comfortable answering questions about how to handle most of these responsibilities given my experience, are there any recommendations of "trouble" areas I should be aware of and prepare for in the interview?

Also, what questions would you love to see asked from such a candidate?  I have a list of some things put together, but I'm not sure it is thorough enough.  Any suggestions?  All help is welcomed!

ETA: it's a public library position in a medium-sized Midwestern town.  Circulation figures unknown.

[rupertpenny]

I don’t do reference anymore and I’ve never worked for a public library, but I’d prepare to answer questions about customer service experience. Some buzzwords to familiarize yourself with might be “reference interview” and “information seeking behavior.”

Good luck!

[toepick]

I'm an academic reference librarian. Definitely be ready to talk about customer service. In the library world people who work with patrons are referred to as public service (as compared to technical services). I would be prepared to ask about their ref desk statistics, and the breakdown between reference questions and technology questions. That way you would have a better understanding if this is more of a "help desk" situation. I would also get familiar with the databases and other resources that the library subscribes to.

[keh2oblue]

I’m also not a librarian but work in a library in a back-of-house position. I agree with becoming familiar with the database and digital services offered. I would also locate the strategic plan on their website and figure out how your experiences can help the library meet those plan goals.

[moolarkey]

I am not a librarian, but I work for the major non-profit affiliated with over 72,000 libraries around the world. I'd think being familiar with their services, especially their reference services - at least know what they have/what they call them and you can find that on their website. Look to see if they mention future plans and intentions for serving their patrons.

[sapphireblue]

Another good question that toepick reminded me of--in our workplace we have a computer person so any real heavy lifting computer issues go to that person, but we do a ton of low-level support--helping people write a resume, use word, attach a document to an email, download a photo, print something, etc.

It would be a good question to ask what level of support the reference staff is expected to offer. In my experience, this varies widely from library to library.