Law Library Assistant PT

County of Lancaster•Lancaster, PA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

This is a specialized paraprofessional position assisting in the daily operations of the Lancaster County Law Library. The role involves a variety of tasks to support the library's functions and assist patrons. The position offers job security and stability, opportunities for career growth through a large network and specialty training, and the chance to make a difference by serving the community.

Requirements

Education equivalent to completion of high school and some coursework related to libraries and/or the law.
Three to five years of paraprofessional experience in a judicial or law-related setting OR three to five years of paraprofessional experience in a specialized library setting, preferably a law library.
Working knowledge of the U.S. and Pennsylvania legal systems and relevant legal terminology.
Working knowledge of library methods, practices, and procedures, including a basic understanding of MARC coding and library classification systems.
Ability to file replacement pages in looseleaf materials and manually update library materials.
Ability to manually sort check-out cards, calculate fines, and handle cash payments.
Ability to work independently and complete tasks with minimal supervision.
Ability to reach and bend to retrieve and replace books on shelves.
Ability to effectively use a computer for word processing, data entry, etc.
Ability to effectively conduct online legal research using both Boolean and full-text searches.
Ability to interact with library users, including attorneys, judges, court staff, and the public.
Ability to answer the telephone, relay messages, type, and use office machinery such as a fax machine and photocopier.
Ability to assist the librarian in various projects.
A pre-employment background check as required by policy.

Responsibilities

Filing replacement pages, pocket parts, and other updates in books, preparing materials for binding, reading specialized call numbers, and working with complex pagination.
Checking in and out library books and materials, re-shelving returned books, sending overdue notices, collecting fines, and recording fines collected.
Sorting library mail, checking in and processing new materials, assisting in managing the collection by weeding old publications and rearranging shelves, performing basic acquisition tasks, and referring complex issues to the Law Librarian.
Answering basic reference questions about material locations, interpreting legal cites and abbreviations, assisting patrons with online legal reference services, online catalog, and local judges' opinions database, referring individuals to the librarian for further assistance, explaining library policies, and assisting patrons in locating other Court offices.
Performing various clerical tasks including answering the telephone, typing labels, entering/editing/retrieving data in the library's online catalog and judicial opinion database, sending/receiving emails, creating documents in Word and Excel, sending/receiving fax messages, making change for the copier and overdue fines, collecting money for copies, and operating/maintaining the photocopier.
Performing various additional tasks in the absence of the Law Librarian.