C&T Generic Job Description
Aquisitions Assistant I
Grade B
Representative Duties:
- Searches for bibliographic information in database, catalog and/or files with supplied source material.
- Uses computer terminal to input and retrieve records.
- Processes and maintains records of materials received and sent out.
- Checks, prepares and processes invoices for payment.
- Prepares orders, receives, verifies, and sorts and records the receipt of serials and monographs. Adds issues and claims missing issues.
- Keyboards correspondence and acknowledgement letters, forms, reports and other documents.
- Prepares materials for microfilming. Inspects film for quality and completeness.
- Maintains statistics.
- May instruct or provide work direction.
- Performs clerical functions incidental to library activities.
Family: Library
Job Code: 951 Date: 2/89
The job duties listed above are representative and characteristic of the duties required and the level of the work performed in the job title. The duties will vary from incumbent to incumbent in the job title.
Yale University Clerical and Technical Job Description
Job: 951 Acquisitions Assistant Grade B
Required Knowledge:
- General knowledge, high school level; detailed but narrow work-related knowledge.
- Limited acquaintance with business, accounting, or commercial procedures.
- Limited knowledge of University organizational policies and procedures generally; detailed knowledge of a narrow area of University rules and procedures.
Required Skills:
- Extracts and complies a narrow range of data from written sources, from individuals by asking set questions, or from one or several given data bases; coding based on prescribed, simple standards.
- Use of one or several standard reference works.
- Classifies material for filing, use of straightforward or complex filing system.
- Understands more complicated written instructions, memoranda, policy statements.
- Writes simple, internal memoranda, fills out complex forms.
- Occasional use of complex machines such as word processors or personal computers.
Office and Administrative Skills:
- Keyboards materials that regularly include medical or legal terminology or foreign languages. Enters and retrieves data from semi-finished source documents on a personal computer, requiring both some interpretation of the source document and a basic understanding of software parameters.
- Schedules appointments in allotted times.
- Refers callers and visitors to the appropriate individual.
Experience, Education and Formal Training:
- Two years of related work experience and a high school level education, or an equivalent combination of experience and education.
Complexity and Organization:
- Job tasks composed of routine steps/processes.
- Occasionally coordinates or organizes the work of others.
Interpersonal Relations:
- Ongoing involvement outside immediate unit.
- Offers or obtains specialized information and provides assistance on general matters.
- Understands and conveys more complex messages and instructions and takes action accordingly.
Supervisory Guidelines:
- Work is subject to general review on an occasional basis.
- Supervisor and incumbent plan, assign and schedule work jointly.
- Instruction provided only in new situations, methods and procedures that are not clearly related to existing tasks and duties.
Independent Judgment:
- Established procedures/policies govern many work situations.
- Occasional exercise of independent judgment or initiative.
- Problems solved by using established procedures.
Leadership Responsibility:
- Occasionally provides general orientation to routine procedures/policies.
- Sometimes distributes and monitors work.
Impact and Consequence of Error:
- Work affects both outside the work unit and outside the University.
- Errors are somewhat difficult to recognize and correct and can cause harm or financial loss to individuals, departments, and the University or to other individuals and groups.
Working Conditions:
- Slight possibility of safety risks.
- Occasional conflicting demands, time pressure, deadlines or emergencies.
- Regular sustained concentration.
- Some physical effort or dexterity.
Example 1
Acquisitions Assistant I (951)
Salary: B
General Purpose:
Under the general supervision of the Head of Technical Services, perform a variety of tasks for the receipt and processing of serials. Does binding preparation and related record-keeping.
Essential Duties:
1. Search, receive, verify, and record receipt of serials issues in Orbis. Claim missing issues of journals using Ebsconet and Voyager. Report subscription problems and unresolved claims to the Serials Work Leader.
2. Communicate with vendors and publishers about duplicate or damaged materials and other routine problems.
3. Process serial title changes with appropriate notification to other staff and makes adjustments to related records.
4. Answer questions from faculty, students, and staff about journal receipts.
5. Maintain internal library journal routing system on Orbis.
6. Collect, collate and prepare unbound issues of journals for binding; prepare monographs for binding as necessary. Box material for shipment to binder.
7. Key binding specifications for each shipment into the computer (i.e. LARS, Library Automated Retrieval System). Generate binding slips and list of shipment from computer. Verify accuracy of volumes returned from bindery against specifications and update volume holdings records on Orbis following the ANSI standards.
8. Assist with data entry and other tasks related to electronic journal management.
9. Assist with library mail functions.
10. Label new books using Orbis.
11. May help other departments as needed.
12. Perform additional related duties as assigned.
Experience and Training:
1. Two years of related work experience and a high school level education; or an equivalent combination of experience and education.
2. Preferred: Experience in the use of Orbis or other online library catalog.
Skills and Abilities:
1. Minimum keyboarding skills (25-39 wpm).
2. Must be able to push heavy book trucks and lift heavy mail bags (60-70 pounds) onto a truck and transport them from the mailroom to Technical Services.
3. Good interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively in a team environment.
4. Ability to establish and maintain productive relationships with internal and external customers.
5. Flexibility to adapt to a rapidly changing work environment.
6. Excellent customer service skills (responsiveness, empathy, approachable.)
7. References must indicate reliable attendance and punctuality and, in the performance of work assignments, accuracy, attention to detail, consistency, and dependability.
Example 2
Acquisitions Assistant I (951)
Salary: B
General Purpose:
Under the supervision of the Order Support Team Leader, performs a variety of tasks, such as order maintenance, claiming and receiving, in support of library acquisitions through commercial vendors and exchange partner institutions.
Essential duties
1. For outstanding orders: in ORBIS, input reports from vendors and update on-line
records with other relative information. Route vendor inquiries to Research Services and
Collections and within established guidelines, respond to vendors by telephone, e-mail,
fax, or routine correspondence.
2. Unpack and record receipt of monographs and serials in ORBIS, for and from
exchange partners and vendors. Return materials shipped in error for replacement by
vendor. Prepare invoices for payment and input invoice records in ORBIS or forward
invoices for payment. Batch and prepare materials for shipment and deliver them to
Shipping Room.
3. Using ORBIS generate and send routine claims for monographs and serials not yet
received.
4. Update and maintain the want list for Out-of-Print materials including the ABBW list.
5. Search for bibliographic information in databases, card catalogs and/or other supplied
sources.
6. Sort and distribute Acquisitions Department mail to appropriate teams. Collect and
distribute Order Support Team mail from Research Services and Collections.
7. Enter monthly statistics in Excel database.
8. Assist with the conversion of information from manual files to ORBIS or personal computer files by inputting bibliographic records, order records, or other information.
9. Perform additional related duties as assigned.
Experience and training:
1. Two years of related work experience and a high school level education; or an
equivalent combination of experience and education.
Skills and abilities:
1. Minimal keyboarding skills.
2. Working knowledge of one or more European languages.
3. Ability to lift heavy boxes and push heavy book trucks.
4. References must indicate reliable attendance, punctuality, accuracy and attention to
detail and diligent performance.
