Student Employee - Dept of Art - Visual Art Library Student Assistant (Work Study Available)
Nature & Purpose of Position
The Department of Art is seeking applications for the position of Visual Art Library Student Assistant to begin working in the Fall 2026 semester.
Position Summary
The Visual Art Library Student Assistant supports the daily operations of the Visual Art Library by assisting students, faculty, and researchers with visual resources, digital collections, and library services. This position combines customer service, collections care, digitization, database management, and research support while providing valuable hands-on experience in museum, library, and archival practices. The Student Assistant helps maintain an organized, welcoming, and user-friendly environment, assists patrons with locating physical and digital resources, and supports faculty teaching and research through a variety of ongoing and special projects.
Responsibilities
Customer Service & Patron Support
- Welcome and assist students, faculty, and visitors using the Visual Art Library.
- Help patrons locate books, journals, media, images, and online research resources.
- Provide basic assistance with public scanners, printers, and other equipment.
- Answer routine questions and refer more specialized research inquiries to the supervisor.
- Promote a positive, welcoming, and service-oriented environment.
Collections Management
- Maintain the organization and accuracy of the book and media collections.
- Perform routine shelf reading and reshelve materials.
- Assist with inventory and collections maintenance projects.
- Identify missing, damaged, or misplaced materials and report issues to the supervisor.
- Help maintain clean, organized, and accessible work and study spaces.
- Assist with digital collections and image management.
- Digitize photographs, slides, books, artwork, and other visual materials using scanning equipment.
- Create accurate metadata and descriptive information for digital images and other resources.
- Upload, organize, and maintain files within the visual resources database.
- Follow established standards for image quality, file management, and metadata consistency.
Research & Instruction Support
- Assist faculty with preparing visual resources for teaching and classroom presentations.
- Support research requests by locating visual and reference materials.
- Assist with projects related to exhibitions, lectures, or departmental events as assigned.
Special Projects
- Assist with ongoing and special projects that support the mission of the Visual Art Library.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
- Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
- Friendly, professional, and proactive customer service skills.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Basic computer proficiency, including Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
- Willingness to learn new technologies and software.
Preferred Qualifications
- Interest in art, art history, design, photography, museums, libraries, archives, or visual culture.
- Experience using scanners, digital cameras, or image-editing software is helpful but not required.
- Previous customer service or library experience is a plus.
Physical Requirements
- Ability to lift and move materials weighing up to 25 pounds.
- Ability to stand, bend, reach, and shelve materials.
- Ability to operate computers and scanning equipment for extended periods.
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