Library Assistant Interview Questions And Answers

A building or room containing collections of books, periodicals and sometimes films and recorded music for use or borrowing by the public or the members of an institution.

This is your opportunity to give the interview committee some personal information about yourself. This part of the interview is critical. It gives the committee a chance to learn more about you as a person not just a librarian. If the committee is able to connect with you on a personal level, it will make everyone feel more at ease during the interview process.

Always start with your experience. Experience means much more than your education, in my opinion. Have you been a library assistant before? Talk about your years of experience, how you have impacted student learning and encouraged reading. If you have never been a librarian, talk about your experience as a classroom teacher. If you have never been a librarian or classroom teacher, talk about your practicum experience or other experiences in the library.

This is a tough question to answer and may vary based on your personal education philosophy. I recommend having some notes available to refer to, or better yet, a handout that details your mission and vision for your hypothetical school library.

The library assistant should collaborate with teachers whenever possible in order to make curricular connections and assist with teaching Common Core standards. If the library schedule is flexible, this collaboration could be regularly scheduled. If not, it will have to be more informal.

I could talk about this one all day long. We use accelerated reader at my school, so you can check out this post for lots of ideas on that. You could also discuss book fairs, book talks, book trailers, summer reading programs, collaboration with the local public library, author visits, book review blogs, etc.

This answer to this question may vary based on the technology available, but here's a sample answer.
I will teach students to use the online library catalog to find books in our library. We will also learn how to efficiently and effectively find information online using online encyclopedias and search engines. I will regularly model the ethical use of information to students and teachers. I also plan to attend conferences and professional development events to stay up-to-date on the latest advances in educational technology.

I regularly survey students and teachers to find out the types of books they would like to read. I also seek out professional reviews from publications like School Library Journal and book list and read recommendations on collection development tools like Follett Titlewave. I try to regularly read children's books for consideration. I also regularly weed the library's collection to make room for the most recent and relevant information.

I always say that math is a weak point for me and jokingly add, "that's why I became a library assistant." Then I follow that up by talking about how technology has helped me improve my math skills through a love of working with data in spreadsheets (nerd alert!). I might not be very good at math, but Excel does not make mistakes.
I don't recommend using a weakness that could be viewed as a strength, such as, I am a total workaholic! I love my job so much and would rather be here than anywhere else. To me, this is totally fake, desperate, and untrue. Just don't do it.

This question also comes down to personal preference, but here's what I do.
I put behavior procedures in place starting on day one. You can find all my library behavior information when you sign up for my free library lesson plans. You can find all the resources that go with the lesson plans here. You can also check out my post about behavior management in the library and my podcast about how class dojo is Changing My Library. I think the main concern with this question is that you are able to handle your own classroom issues, with the exception of extreme cases.

Bring a list. Always. Trust me, your mind will go blank in this moment. It's happened to me before and I'm pretty sure it cost me that position. Name and describe a few of your favorite titles and why you enjoy them. I think it's nice to choose some books that maybe are not award winners or super well known. If you have worked in an education environment in the past, share student reactions to the books as well.

One important characteristic is detail orientation, library assistants are highly organized and detail oriented. They work with files, know where materials are on the various shelves and keep customer accounts correctly updated. Strong memory is another desirable characteristic.

Being a library assistant does require a degree of interpersonal skills, if only to be tactful and quick to help patrons locate desired material. Patience and tolerance for other people's tastes and interests is important if you do not wish to offend people.

Books are an obvious answer but many libraries also include audio and video materials, microfilm, periodicals, cards and slides, etc. Sometimes these materials require treatment or cataloging systems which are different from those of books.

Library assistants may be responsible for book repair and maintenance.

You want to progress in terms of interest, duties, position and financial matters. Be practical and describe a career curve planning.

Make a short list of all your strengths and added value and create a paragraph comparing the job requirement to your advantages.

Be honest about your strengths. In general, employers are looking for people with the best leaning agility (quick learners) and those who can better adjust to changes and new jobs. Provide one of your strengths. Explain your professional strength and how it contribute to your work performance.

Work at the library requires the ability to use computers, the internet and software like Word, Excel and any library-specific catalog programs. The ability to type is desirable. Assistants should be able to operate computers themselves and instruct visitors whenever necessary.

Talk about the methods you utilize for solving problems with some good past examples.

Always say "yes," and then give a quick explanation that includes things like you set goals, are an achiever, etc.

Provide a basic time-frame. The preferred answer is as soon as possible.

You can mention a number of activities including self-improvement, and of course any job related activities.

Have at least a couple of quotes from co-workers. Tell about the previous job colleague's quotes about you and your work.

You should have put thought into this prior to the interview. It is a question that is asked often so be ready. Of course you need to be sincere.