Update on the Staffing Change Proposal for Physical Sciences and Engineering Libraries
The staffing change proposal in relation to the new merged Engineering and Physical Sciences Library has been through its consultation process and final decisions have been made and communicated to affected staff.
Submissions were received from affected staff, the TEU on behalf of affected staff, and from academic staff in the College of Science. A meeting was held last week with TEU to discuss their submission.
Key decisions that have been made following on from the submissions received are as follows:
• The following positions will be disestablished with 3 months notice given from 3 November 2009:
o Assistant Manager
o Information Librarian (0.5 FTE)
o Assistant Librarian.
• The following reductions in library assistant positions:
o Part time full calendar year positions
 3 positions of 0.6 FTE each (a change from the proposed 1 x 0.6 FTE and 2 x 0.5 FTE). This is a reduction from the existing 5 part time roles.
o Part time Academic Year Only positions
 2 positions of 0.5 FTE each. This is a reduction from the existing 4 part time roles.
• Existing staff in the library assistant positions will be put in a selection pool, the results of which process will be known by 16 November 2009.
• Variation of hours
o The Information Librarians and full-time Library Assistants will be offered variations to their current pattern of work hours.
• Changes have been agreed with TEU in regard to
o increasing the hours of work for the part time full calendar year library assistants (see above);
o standardising the pattern of hours of work for the Information Librarians;
o re-organising the pattern of hours of work so that library assistants rather than information librarians open the library each day;
o providing 15 minutes rather than 10 minutes for opening the library each morning;
o consolidating the days of work to 4 from 5 for part time AYO staff

The staff establishment for the new merged library will be in place by 8 February 2010.

Gail Pattie
University Librarian