Job Description

Library Assistant I, The Harry Ransom Center

Hiring Department: Harry Ransom Center

Position Open To: All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours: 20

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

Earliest Start Date: Aug 16, 2025

Position Duration: Expected to Continue

Location: UT Main Campus

General Notes

The Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Its extensive collections provide unique insight into the creative process of writers and artists, deepening our understanding and appreciation of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts. Visitors engage with the Center's collections through research and study, exhibitions, publications, and a rich variety of program offerings including readings, talks, symposia, and film screenings. The Ransom Center encourages discovery, inspires creativity, and advances understanding of the humanities for a broad audience through the preservation and sharing of its extraordinary collections.

Purpose

To provide public service for the Harry Ransom Center Library Reading Room.

Please note this position is part-time at 20 hours per week.

Responsibilities

• Locates, shelves, and reshelves manuscripts, books, photography, art, flat files, personal effects, and other visual materials for patrons in a secure, closed-stacks library and archive.
• Performs all Circulation Desk functions and has several desk shifts each week. Trains at and serves as backup at Reception.
• Assists patrons with creating requests for photoduplication orders of collection materials.
• After training, performs basic preservation tasks and assists patrons with materials handling.
• Answers directional and minor reference questions in the Reading Room and may assist with Reading Room orientations for new patrons.
• Assists with training of Work Study students and Student Assistants.
• Locates and pulls materials for use in the classrooms, helps with the set up and take down of classroom materials, and may assist with materials selection and classroom instruction.
• Assists with Library Storage Facility material requests by inputting requests, routing of requests when materials arrive, and strapping and preparing materials for return.
• Helps foster a welcoming research environment that centers on belonging, inclusion, and accessibility, while also safeguarding collection materials. Revisits policies with the team to ensure alignment with National Standards and current best practices.
• Serves as the primary staff member for pulling materials on Saturdays and support at service points.
• Assists with occasional opening and closing responsibilities.
• Participates in occasional cross-departmental projects.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Must be able to work most Saturdays.
• High school graduation or GED, and two years of library experience OR
• Sixty hours of college credit and one year of full-time equivalent library experience OR
• Twelve hours of graduate coursework in Library and Information Science.
• Must be able to work Saturdays.
• Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated knowledge of Ransom Center collections.
• Experience in a special collections library.
• Demonstrated good customer service skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal classification systems.
• Experience with an automated circulation tracking system.
• Proficient in more than one language.
• Experience in preservation techniques.
• Ability to communicate and work well with scholars in the humanities and with library and other staff as a team member.
• Experience with an online library catalog and with databases.
• Experience with or interest in literary materials.
• Ability to appropriately handle large, heavy, and fragile collection materials of significant value.
• Good written and oral communication skills.

Salary

$20,000.00 (non-negotiable) (annual salary is based upon 20 hours/week)

Working Conditions

Availability to work most Saturdays required with additional hours on weekdays to be scheduled between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM M-F for a total of 20 hours per week.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a current or former supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume in the first step of the online job application process. Then, any additional Required Materials will be uploaded in the My Experience section; you can multi-select the additional files or click the Upload button for each file. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find Jobs. Before you apply though, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will need to click the Upload button multiple times in order to attach your Resume, References and any additional Required Materials noted above.

Employment Eligibility: Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility: The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks: A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer: The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency: The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification: If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify: The University of Texas at Austin uses E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university's company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]

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