Senior Library Administrative Assistant

Job overview

The postholder will manage the day‑to‑day running of the Wigan branch of the Trust Library Service, working under the direction of the Trust Library Services Manager. They will support the Library team in delivering a responsive, evidence‑based service for all WWL staff and students using our resources.

The successful applicant will work flexibly across Trust sites (by prior arrangement) to staff library enquiry points and act as the first point of contact for all library queries. This includes handling information requests that support research, audit and CPD; assisting staff with resources that inform patient care; managing the stock circulation system across all branches; and administering Inter‑Library Loan processes.

Full training will be provided, and the postholder will be expected to undertake relevant development to maintain and grow the skills required of a Senior Library Assistant in an acute hospital setting.

Please note that this vacancy may close early if a sufficient number of applications are received. We encourage interested candidates to apply promptly to avoid disappointment.

THIS POSITION IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR SPONSORSHIP.

Main duties of the job

First point of contact for library enquiries, support the professionally qualified Library Team members with marketing, social media, website updates, inductions, and user education as directed.

Main first line contact for Inter-Library Loan and Document Delivery requesting service (ILL); identify and locate material; follow-up non-routine requests; maintain statistical records.

Ensure day-to-day good working order of ICT, audiovisual, meeting, and photocopying equipment, reporting faults and chasing up requests for work as appropriate.

Support requests for basic instruction and routine first line advice in use of online reference resources, including the Internet, databases, catalogues.

Identify and recommend improvements and processes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of services for which the post-holder has an identified responsibility.

Maintain accuracy and privacy of membership and other user data in line with current Freedom of Information, Data Protection, and Copyright legislation as a key part of this role.

Work collaboratively with clinical and non-clinical staff up to and including Board Members, students on placement, other members of the Library Team and the wider Medical Education department, and other contacts including professional and support staff at other NHS libraries in the region and further afield. There may be occasional contact with members of the general public attending Education Centre events.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key results from the job holder

• To act as the first point of contact at the Wigan branch of the Trust Library Service and to accept enquiries received via post, telephone, email, in person or via other appropriately secure methods.
• Work flexibly to staff the library enquiry points on all Trust sites (by prior arrangement), acting as first point of contact for library enquiries.
• Work as a member of the library team to provide an InterLibrary Loan and Document Delivery requesting service (ILL), to include identifying and locating the material requested and undertaking follow-up for non-routine requests and maintaining statistical records of requests.
• To be responsible for the management for the successful circulation of stock, producing over-due and recall notices.

Planning and Organisational Duties

• To keep up to date with relevant electronic reference tools including social media and the Trust Intranet.
• To provide basic instruction and routine first line advice in the use of online reference resources, including the Internet, databases and catalogues, to Library Users.
• To ensure Trust Library Departmental and Trust-wide policies relating to relevant legislation, including Data Protection, Freedom of Information and Copyright are implemented.
• To identify personal/professional development, in conjunction with the line manager, evidenced by a Personal Development Plan developed within an appraisal format.
• To attend relevant training and development in order to maintain and develop the skills and knowledge required of a Senior Library Assistant working in an Acute Hospital environment.
• To receive, interpret and processes routine and in-depth requests for health information from all levels of Trust staff, including requests for information required to support research, audit, the CPD of Trust staff and information to inform and support patient care.
• To undertake routine first line enquiry work and requests for basic information and literature searches on behalf of the library users using established procedures, identifying and utilising the most efficient and effective electronic and print reference resources and referring complex or specialist enquiries to the Librarians.
• To identify and recommend improvements and processes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of services for which the post-holder has an identified responsibility.
• To identify, locate and acquire information requested by Library Users through the Inter-library Loans and other partnership services and to identify alternative mechanisms and undertake the follow-up for non-routine requests.
• To be responsible for the processing, administration, monitoring and filing of all memberships received at the Wrightington and Wigan branches of the Trust Library Service, ensuring compliance with relevant current legislation.

Communication Skills

• To utilise knowledge to assist the Librarians with the provision of basic training and information sessions in the use of online and electronic reference tools, including the internet, databases and library catalogues, to Library Users.
• To be responsible for the input of data into dedicated ILL software, ensuring the data is timely, accurate and up to date for future reference.
• To accession, classify, catalogue and assist with promotion of standard library materials, undertaken in accordance with established procedures and local protocols. This will require the entry to and update of data on the current electronic Library Management System, library intranet site, and other online apps, ensuring in-house protocols, legal guidance relating to personal data, and regional standards of accuracy are implemented.
• To input data into the current Library Management System, to facilitate the issue and return of materials borrowed from the library collections and maintain accurate item and user details.
• To maintain the order of materials in the library using the established library classification scheme and to administer eresources and ejournals via the current online application.

Key Working Relationships

• Library Manager and Library Team
• Medical Education Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teams
• Head of Medical Education, Library Services, and Clinical Skills
• Estates and IT Teams
• All grades of healthcare staff and students on placement working within the Trust and wider healthcare community
• Other Knowledge & Library Services staff (locally and regionally)

Responsibility for Finance

• Be responsible for the collection, counting, recording and payment into the library account of monies received from library users.
• Be responsible for the maintenance of stock-levels and re-ordering of standard consumables and general stationery items, acting as a signatory on stock items for the Wigan branch of the Trust Library Service.

Responsibility for Human Resources

• To have the responsibility to independently prioritise own workload.
• To update the current library management and security access systems with details or new and existing members to provide out of hours access to the Trust Library Service, ensuring that departmental and organisational security policies are implemented.

Responsibility for Health & Safety

Compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 - the post holder is required to fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards, and a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions.

Responsibility for Teaching

• Support Librarians in the delivery of one to one and small group inductions on the use of the Trust Library Services to all new library members including students on placement in line with departmental guidelines, and to support teaching, information, and user education sessions delivered by professional library team members.

Work Circumstances & on-call

• No on-call duties in the library service
• To work unsupervised at the Wigan branch of the Trust Library Service.
• To work unsupervised at other branches of the Trust Library by arrangement and be responsible for the daily administration of the service at that site on those occasions.
• Action work on own initiative and address routine operational queries within established procedures and refer specialist enquiries to professionally qualified Library staff where appropriate. This will include the opening of mail and email and the drafting of correspondence to Library users as appropriate.
• To identify requests requiring the attention of other members of the Trust Library Service team and channel the requests to the appropriate sources.
• To implement the Trust Library Service protocols on library housekeeping, including re-shelving books and journals.
• To lift and handle heavy bound volumes and full collections of journals as required.
• To identify and process urgent requests for information within specified timescales.
• To maintain concentration under regular and varied interruptions to input data into departmental databases, spreadsheets and Library Management systems, ensuring the data is timely, accurate and up to date for future reference.
• To process initial complaints sensitively, to avoid the escalation of complaints where possible and to refer complaints to the appropriate manager when required.

The duties above indicate the post holder’s main responsibilities but are not exhaustive. They may be jointly reviewed with the post holder according to experience and to support service development.

Applicant requirements

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.