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Student Employee Guide: Technical Services

A guide for student employees at the University of Idaho Library, with expectations, links to resources, and training resources.

General Information

Who works in Technical Services and who will answer questions about your work?

Rami Attebury - Department head. Rami oversees the department's work and is responsible for maintenance and enhancement of the library's catalog, Primo.  She also is the General System Administrator for the library's integrated library system, Alma.  If your work involves processing government documents, Rami will provide instructions and answer questions. 

Clinton Johnson - E-resources and serials technician.  Clinton works on renewals, processing, and invoicing of major journal subscriptions. 

James MacNaughton - Mail, marking, and mending technician. In addition to fixing damaged library materials and processing all library mail, James ensures new materials are property stamped, provided with call number labels, and tattle taped to prevent loss.  If your work is in the mail room, James will provide instructions and answer questions. 

Marian Murta-Bell - Circulation assistant.  Marian opens incoming boxes of government documents and shelves/reshelves them.  If you can't find a document or book, Marian can help you look. 

Rachel Kerr - E-resources assistant.  Rachel assists with acquisitions, discovery, and withdrawals of library resources.  Rachel also undertakes special projects throughout the library as needed. 

John Adams - Technical services librarian.  John performs original cataloging for all library items that need it.  In addition John troubleshoots linking problems for e-resources and maintains the library's EZ Proxy service.

Lyn Bassett - Copy cataloger. Lyn ensures all new monographs and government documents are invoiced and have catalog records to ensure discoverability.  She assists with e-resources acquisitions. 

Samantha Thompson-Franklin - E-resources and open strategies librarian.  Samantha acquires and activates the library's electronic resources and streaming videos.

What are the perks of working in Technical Services?

  • You can listen to music with headphones while working!  (Please no homework or personal email-checking while clocked in.)
  • Once trained, you can set your own schedule with Rami or James's approval.  If you want to work after hours or on the weekends, there is a key to the 4th floor workspace available at the circulation desk. 
  • The work you do will provide access to new materials and/or ensures items show up in the library's catalog.

Serials Recon Instructions

The goal of the Serials Recon project is to ensure an accurate catalog record exists for older government documents serials (journals and magazines) located in the basement.  Some serials have no records at all in the library's catalog.  Other serials may have a record, but we don't know which volumes and issues we actually have.  This project ensures accuracy and discoverability of all historic government document serials. 

Microfiche Check-In

As a regional depository in the Federal Depository Library Program, the UI Library is required to obtain a physical copy of all government publications distributed through the program.  We need to check-in each new document and make it discoverable in the catalog.  Many of our publications come in the microfiche format, and students help to check-in these microfiche when they arrive.