Student Assistant Training: Module 3

A Reference Librarian should review the information found on the Student Assistant guide linked below. Students should be specifically shown:

• Where the guide is bookmarked on the Reference Student Assistant computer
• The Reference Statistics Form
• The Reference Statistics Form guidelines
• The JAC Tech Maintenance and Problems Form
• Student Assistant Guide
• Information in the Flipbooks at the desks

Overview

• Priority use of collaborative study rooms is given to groups who have reserved the room using the collaborative room reservation system. Rooms can be used by individuals without a reservation but students/groups without a reservation may be asked to leave the room in favor of a reservation.
• The collaborative room reservation system will enforce policies related to designated room use, including:
  • Use by groups (requiring at least two Marist students)
  • Prioritized patron types for particular rooms and times (student vs. faculty)
  • Preventing booking too frequently or too far in advance in order to ensure more equitable access
• If students report issues with room booking, they may be running into a limit in the system (ex. Having too many reservations in ths system)
• Rooms are intended for academic use and should not be used for club meetings or other non-academic purposes.

Library Staff/ Student Assistant Roles

Rooms should be primarily self-booked and left unlocked, allowing patrons to reserve and use rooms independently.

Library staff and Student Assistants should be prepared to:

• Direct patrons to the booking system on the library website and offer assistance if necessary
• Mediate in cases in which students are in rooms reserved for others (when necessary. Ideally the group should approach the people in the room first)
• Make/change reservations from within libcal when necessary- step-by-step directions can be found within the flipbook at the desk
  • Patron challenges to reservation system
  • Overrides of limits (supervisor only)
  • Faculty and staff are given the option of emailing PublicServices.Library@marist.edu or calling ext. 3106 to have reservations placed
• Unlock rooms when necessary (Rooms are typically left unlocked between use)

Accessing the Collaborative Room Booking System

The collaborative Room Booking System can be accessed through the Library Student Assistant Guide (shortcuts available on student assistant computers)

Shared login information is distributed via email. If you need a reminder, you can ask for login information from the Circulation Supervisor.

Room Categories

• Rooms 300A-D may only be reserved for faculty and staff during business hours  (7:30 am - 5:00 pm) and for students outside of business hours
• Room 314 is designated as the Presentation Practice room. This room contains equipment for practicing and recording presentations. It may be reserved by individual patrons without groups, but may be reserved for only one hour.
• Room 318 may ONLY be reserved after 5:00 pm (No Exceptions - It is being used by another office until 4:00 pm)
• All other Collaborative Rooms are reservable only by student groups (requiring at least two student emails to reserve)

Policies

The following policies have been developed to promote equitable use of these resources.

Student Rooms

• Library student collaborative rooms are for academic use by Marist students (not for club meetings or events).
• Rooms are for group use (defined as two or more Marist students).
• Students/Groups may hold no more than one reservation at a time and no more than six hours per day. 
  • Remember: you can always tell individuals who want a room that they can find an empty room to sit in (with the understanding that they may have to leave if a group books the room) but please do not advise them to circumvent the system booking requirements
• Students may reserve rooms 5 days in advance. 
• No food is permitted in collaborative rooms.
• Groups that make reservations under different names, or otherwise attempt to circumvent collaborative room policies, may be asked to leave the study room or potentially be blocked from making future reservations.

Presentation Practice Room

• For individual or group use.
• For 60 minutes at a time
• For up to 6 hours per day.
• Up to 5 days in advance

Faculty Rooms

• Faculty and staff may reserve no more than one reservation at a time. 
• Faculty and staff may reserve rooms 7 days in advance. 
• Rooms are not intended for use as a replacement for classroom or office space. 
• No food is permitted in collaborative rooms.

Use by individual students (without groups)

Individual students may reserve rooms under three conditions:

1. They are reserving the Presentation Practice Room (314) for the specific purpose of presentation practice and recording (The student can book this through the booking system)
2. They are reserving a room for a job or internship interview. Send students to talk to Career Services about booking a room first. If they are full, they can book a room through the Library. The student must complete the form at the desk (located on top of the supervisor desk) ahead of time so that a reservation can be made by a supervisor. Forms must be given to a supervisor so it can be signed and entered into the booking system.
3. They gain specific approval from a supervisor (this is best done ahead of time by contacting PublicServices.Library@marist.edu).

All other room use by individuals can only be done without a reservation and will not be given priority use. Individuals using rooms without reservations may be asked to leave to make room for group reservations.

Remember! If a patron asks for an exemption, please refer to a supervisor.

Room Booking Procedure (Reservations)

• Students should self-book following the links on the library website. (Try making a booking for yourself to see how it works!)
• Because of the authentication system, we are unable to reserve on behalf of students at the circulation desk for regular use of Collaborative Rooms.
• Faculty and Staff can follow the links on the library website, but should use the dropdown on the top of the booking page to select “faculty/ staff” rooms, or they can get assistance by emailing PublicServices.library@marist.edu

Logging In

Library Staff

All library staff, including Library Student Assistants, should log in at https://marist.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/SAML using their Marist authentication. There is a shortcut on the Library Student Assistant workstations labeled “Alma Circulation System”.

Student Assistant Account

You can log in with your regular MyMarist account email and password.

Logging Out

Alma will logout automatically after inactivity.

Best practice is to logout from accounts at the end of night rather than allowing automatic logout.

Searching

Searching for a Patron

1. From the fulfillment menu, select “Manage Patron Services”
2. When searching for a patron, begin typing the patron name and select from the provided options. clicking enter too quickly will yield 0 results.
3. For more advanced searching, select “Select from a list”.

Circulating Items

Loaning Items

4. From the Fulfillment menu, select ‘Manage Patron Services’
5. Scan the patron’s library card. The patron’s record is opened to the Loans tab.
6. Scan the item barcode. repeat for each item.
7. CLICK DONE

Try it out: find a patron by typing in the CWID number, finding their name, and how to scan the ID and check out an item.

Discharging (returning items)

8. In the Fulfillment menu, click ‘Return Items’’
9. Scan all items to be returned
10. Click EXIT

Special Circulation Items

11. Interlibrary Loan and SUNY Resource Sharing items are checked out in Alma using the barcode on the wrap.
12. Interlibrary Loan and SUNY Resource Sharing items are returned by placing them on the ILL/ SUNY Resource Sharing Return Shelf (the will be checked in in the back)

Renewing Items

You can show students how to access their own library account and they can renew from there, if they have eligible items. Otherwise, you can follow these directions:

13. Visit the patron’s record and view items on loan either from this session or from all time.
14.  To renew a particular item, click the row Actions list on the right side of the page (a square with three dots) and select renew.
15. To renew multiple items, select the items and click “Renew Selected” about the list of items.
16. CLICK DONE

Letters/ Email notices

Letters are sent via email to patrons when there is activity on their account. Some examples of letters sent include:

• When items are checked out (includes list of items and due date
• When items are returned
• When a proxy borrows items on a patron’s account
• When a due date is altered or an item is renewed
• When items will be due soon
• When items are overdue
• When items are marked lost

Clicking “Save” and “Done”

Some fulfillment activities, including charging items, are not completed until the “Save” or “Done” buttons are clicked. If you fail to use these buttons, necessary emails may not be generated and sent to the patron.

Using the Back Button

Using the back button in your browser may take you out of Alma or cause processes not to save properly. To exit from a task or function within Alma, always use the navigation within the page. There is navigation or finish/return functionality on the top left and right of many pages within Alma.

The Manual Charge sheet should be shown to the Student Assistant in Training by a more experienced peer noting the location, how, and when it might be used.