Library Assistant

Job Title Library Assistant

Salary Range £25,998 - £31,469 per annum pro rata "2025/26 pay award pending"

Permanent, Full time and part time

Location Richmond Libraries

Other essential information Please see below work pattern for each role

Richmond Cluster: Permanent, Full Time 36hrs pw pro rata

Working pattern for this role: 4/5 days Mon-Fri and every other Saturday; Weekdays from 9.15am - 6.15pm/7.15pm; Saturdays from 9.15am - 4.15pm

Objective of role

OUR VISION: How Richmond upon Thames Libraries see the future.

'Communities within Richmond upon Thames will realise their potential through the personal, professional, social and cultural development opportunities provided by their library service.'

We operate a high-performing library service that is highly regarded by the community. As a Library Assistant, your role will be to support the delivery of this borough-wide service by ensuring excellent customer service and carrying out a range of administrative duties to facilitate the day-to-day operations.

Modern public libraries are vibrant and inclusive spaces, open to all members of the community. Our staff must be resilient, confident, and resourceful in order to manage the often complex and challenging situations that can arise in such dynamic customer facing environments.

Most of your work will involve frontline customer service, including issuing and returning items, maintaining and caring for resources, assisting with information searches and enquiries, supporting events, and helping visitors access the full range of services offered by the library.

About the role

Are you passionate about helping people and creating welcoming community spaces? Richmond upon Thames Libraries are looking for a friendly, confident, and resourceful Library Assistant to join our high-performing team.

Our libraries are vibrant, inclusive spaces that serve a wide range of community needs. As a Library Assistant, you'll be at the heart of this service-providing excellent customer support, helping visitors access resources, and ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the library.

You should meet the following criteria:

The ability to communicate clearly, and with understanding, when working with the public including using the telephone, email and social media; as well as the ability and confidence to deal with challenging situations in a calm and effective manner.

Your day-to-day duties would include:

• Shelving and tidying stock, promoting books, and assisting customers in selecting titles, ensuring our collections are well-organised, attractive, and accessible
• Supporting the delivery of a wide range of reading events, including weekly Rhyme Times and author talks.
• Using a variety of IT systems and services confidently and effectively.
• Responding to enquiries from customers and colleagues, both in person and over the phone.

You will be required to work at any of the 12 libraries within the borough, 3 of which are open on Sundays. As such, you must be able to travel to and undertake duties at any library, occasionally at short notice.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• You should have experience working-either in a paid or voluntary capacity-in a high-pressure environment where high standards of service delivery are expected.
• You should be able to demonstrate your contribution to the success of an effective team.
• You should have experience responding to queries and resolving problems effectively.
• Your ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced setting, with minimal supervision, is essential.
• You should be able to demonstrate confidence and a strong capacity for resilience by maintaining composure, responding effectively and professionally in challenging situations involving service users.

Closing Date: Sunday 10th August (midnight)

Shortlisting Date: w/c 11th August

Interview Date: TBC

Test/Presentation: As part of the selection process, there will be a test to assess your proficiency in Microsoft Office and your ability to retrieve information from the internet.

It is likely that we will close this vacancy early once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.