AUTHOR: Kimberly Burke Sweetman
STARTED: January 24, 2011
FINISHED: February 11, 2011
PAGES: 187
GENRE: Library Science
FIRST SENTENCE: The majority of academic and research libraries could not function without a large contingent of student assistants.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] Whether a volunteer, intern, work-study student, or part-time employee, students can be a valuable part of the library s staff. With their benefits, however, come unique challenges. Kimberly Burke Sweetman, a frequent presenter of management workshops, shares practical guidance for making the most of students in your organization. She examines the basics: building the case for student workers in your library, designing the position, drafting the job description, and preparing for the hiring process; then walks you through advertising the position, recruiting the right candidates, and interviewing effectively. Here is the practical advice you need to recruit, hire, orient, and train student workers as well as motivate and coach them appropriately to minimize turnover. This guide is filled with examples, checklists, forms, templates, and exercises. THOUGHTS: This is a good guide for librarians who currently supervise or are thinking of hiring student employees. I've supervised students for several years and, while this book taught me a few knew things, it mainly reaffirmed my current methods.
Managing Student Assistants is organized like a handbook/workbook. It guides the reader through the step-by-step process of hiring, training, and supervising student employees. Sweetman's text is straightforward and easy to understand. She breaks down each chapter's overall themes into digestible pieces that can be easily incorporated into a supervisor's daily routine. The author also includes workbook like pages to help the reader jump start their new skills. The book also includes several appendices, one of which includes a full part-time student manual.
This text is probably most beneficial to new supervisors, but long-time bosses can find a few lessons to extract as well. I appreciated the chapters on retaining employees and ensuring good performance.
RATING: 6/10 [Good]
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