| 13 Task Types of Library Work: | Descriptions of Labor Involved |
| Administration and Management | This includes directing operations, maintaining the facilities, human resources departments and committees, staff scheduling, finance and budgeting. |
| Advancement | This covers work-related to fundraising efforts, creating and maintaining relationships with donors, marketing the library externally, and engaging with the community to elevate the library’s role. |
| Circulation | All tasks related to circulating materials to patrons, such as checking in and out books and other media, paging items to be held for patrons to pick up, reshelving returned books, and assisting with patron accounts. |
| Collection Development and Management | This includes selection of items for purchase, a review of items for removal from the collection, handling physical donations, and supporting patron requests for items. |
| Information Technology (IT) | Establishing and maintaining public access computers and technology, maintaining the library website and online catalog, troubleshooting technology issues, and maintaining WiFi in library spaces. |
| Interlibrary Loan | This service allows patrons to request items from other libraries, within the library system or from worldwide. This category is for all tasks related to ILL requests, such as processing, mailing, receiving, and distributing ILL loans. |
| Outreach and Community Engagement | This includes representing the library externally at events, like staffing a table at a city fair, representing at a professional conference, representing the library at city council, engaging in programs out in the community. Closely related to advancement, but not defined by fundraising efforts. |
| Professional Development | Everything that goes into becoming a better library worker! This includes performing research, writing publications, attending workshops and conferences, even taking Linda.com courses. |
| Programming | This includes all tasks related to library programming, including procuring materials, designing programs, setting up, giving programs such as story-hours, cleaning up after events (including community shared spaces in libraries). |
| Readers’ Advisory | This covers everything related to getting patrons connected to books, music, and all things information! It involves tasks such as staying up to date on new releases, understanding different literature genres, and interacting with patrons to satisfy their requests. |
| Reference | This refers to personal assistance to patrons in finding information, including staffing the reference desk, individual reference consultations, providing reference chat services online, and answering reference emails. |
| Teaching and Instruction | This covers everything from creating one-off workshops to full semester lesson planning. All tasks related to providing instructional services in a library setting, such as designing assignments, creating PowerPoint slide decks, grading, and giving instruction. |
| Technical Services | This is a broad category covering all the services that go into maintaining the library collections and resources, including the physical processing and cataloging of incoming materials, negotiating and maintaining for ebook and database access, repairing damaged items, etc. |
