Position Description: .50 FTE (20 Hour) Science, Technology, Engineering, Medical and Business Librarianship Pre-Professional Graduate Assistantship.
Grainger Engineering Library Information Center (GELIC) is looking for a candidate to fill a 50% (20 hours/week) Pre-Professional Graduate Assistant appointment for the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 academic year. Pre-professional graduate assistants (PGAs) are based in GELIC and the IDEALab, and provide patron focused services including reference, customer service, instruction, and consultations; work projects that facilitate access and use of information; and supervise the GELIC building/student workers as the unit duty officer during weekend hours. PGAs support departments in the Colleges of Engineering, Medicine and Business via reference, instruction and project work and support the entirety of campus via chat reference, emerging technology services, and other initiatives.
As part of their pre-professional training and under the supervision of Library faculty, PGAs engage in collection development, digital projects, instructional activities, and provide operational support across GELIC, Media Commons and IDEALab. Duties include:
- Staffing the reference desk and answering chat reference questions during regularly scheduled shifts as determined by the supervisor. There is an expectation of participating in 9 pm – 12 AM chat reference shifts. During the 9 pm – midnight reference shift, Grainger PGAs are the sole reference staff online for the University Library.
- Opening and closing facilities as well as supervising spaces and student workers, during GELIC weekend shifts.
- Supporting use of the IDEALab through instruction, tool loan, supervision, and point-of-need instruction (such as 3-D printing, VR, recording studios, the Spatialized Computing and Immersive Media (SCIM) studio), and outreach programming.
- Supporting outreach events through tabling, assisting in events or event planning, and creating outreach materials.
- Maintaining and troubleshooting unique collections, including standards, engineering documents, video games and board games.
- Assisting with collections selection, management, and/or deselection projects.
- Participating in instructional activities in Grainger College of Engineering, Gies College of Business and Carle College of Medicine.
- Providing circulation services during reference and duty officer shifts.
- Collecting and analyzing data related to web-based services and building use.
- Enhancing libraries’ public and staff websites, including virtual library collections.
- Managing social media accounts and creating marketing and promotional materials.
- Completing special projects for business disciplines.
- Completing special projects for medical and biomedicine disciplines.
- Completing special projects for engineering disciplines.
Requirements: There is no expectation that the successful candidate will have a background in science, engineering, business, medicine or emerging technology. Good oral and written communication skills and problem-solving skills are a must. Candidates must demonstrate reliability, creativity and initiative. Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree and be enrolled in the iSchool in the MLS program at Illinois on the Urbana campus.
Preferred: customer service experience, library experience, technical skills, and/or academic experience in Sciences/Technology/Business/Medicine.
Training: Training will be provided after the start date of the appointment. Attendance at library-wide PGA training sessions will be required, and additional unit-specific training will be provided during the first week of employment and continue throughout the year as part of weekly meetings.
Expectations: GELIC pre-professional graduate assistants are expected to perform assignments in a timely, courteous, and efficient manner and with only moderate supervision. Graduate assistants are expected and encouraged to seek instruction and direction from librarians or staff to develop specific skills or resolve questions about policies, procedures, or library systems. Pre-professional graduate students are encouraged to identify learning goals for themselves for their assistantship at Grainger Engineering Library Information Center and, when possible, projects are matched with PGAs based upon those learning goals.
Work Environment: The Grainger Engineering Library Information Center is the primary physical science/engineering library on campus, is open 24 hours, 5 days per week during the semester, and is one of the top three most heavily visited campus buildings. Grainger has a gate count of approximately 1.2 million users per year, up to 9,900 patrons per day, and can be very busy. It serves a diverse student and faculty population.
Outcomes: Successful candidates can expect to get experience in a broad array of academic library professional activities. Graduates of the program have gone on to work in special libraries, public libraries, school libraries, academic libraries, non-profit organizations, corporations, consulting firms and library administration.
To Apply: Please send your cover letter, resume, and list of 3 references to Megan Sapp-Nelson at mrsapp@illinois.edu. Closing date for acceptance of applications is March 31, 2026. Questions about the position can be directed to Megan Sapp-Nelson.