LAUC-LA Handbook: For New Librarians

Welcome to UCLA and to LAUC-LA! Following is some information we hope will be useful as you navigate your first few weeks.

-- The LAUC-LA Committee on Mentoring and Orientation

Following are some of the things you can expect to happen in your first weeks as a librarian at UCLA. The timing and responsibility for specific activities will depend on your particular department and reporting structure, especially if you are in an affiliate unit.

NOTE: This is a selective list of some typical onboarding activities for librarians. If you have questions or concerns about anything during your initial weeks, be sure to discuss them with your supervisor.

Before you arrive

• Library Human Resources:
  • Works with you to finalize your appointment and set your start date
  • Provides information about local housing
    • (Other useful resources include Apartments.com, Westsiderentals.com, and rental apps)
  • Creates a UCLA employee ID number for you
  • Provides a checklist for you to prepare for your first day
  • Notifies the Chair and Secretary of LAUC-LA of your hire and start date
     
• Immediate Supervisor and Department Coordinator:
  • Follows this checklist for supervisors, which includes:
    • Preparing your area and arranging access to the building and office
    • Arranging for all necessary online accounts

First day

• Sign in at Library Human Resources:
  • Introduction to UC-wide and UCLA policies and regulations
  • Overview of benefits packages and campus services for staff
  • Availability of UCLA new employee orientation
  • More checklists for your first day and beyond
     
• ​Immediate Supervisor:
  • Sends email to library introducing you as a new librarian
  • Introduces you to staff, and orients you to your unit and work area
  • Discusses unit-specific organizational structure and work rules
  • Reviews your job description and expectations
  • Provides New Hire Quick Reference

Within the first week

• Immediate Supervisor will explain/discuss:
  • Your library/department and specific unit's mission and goals
  • Work hours, variation of schedule, and requesting and reporting leave (TRS)
  • UCLA academic calendar and holiday schedule
  • Workplace health, safety, and security, including emergency procedures and evacuation routes
  • Library email system and unit-specific software applications and online utilities
  • Your Statement of Responsibilities (which forms part of your Peer Review documentation)
  • The APM, MOU (if applicable), and the Peer Review process for librarians
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion advisors for the Library, and the EDI Office resource website
     
• With your Immediate Supervisor's assistance, you should:
  • Coordinate with LHR and DIIT to confirm all your computing accounts
  • Obtain your UCLA BruinCard

Within the second and third weeks

• Appropriate Administrative Staff will:
  • Order business cards for you
  • Add you to department/unit contact lists and directories
     
• Immediate Supervisor will:
  • Introduce you to key staff in other departments with whom you will be interacting
  • Arrange for job-specific training
  • Assist you with subscribing to appropriate professional email lists
  • Discuss any ergonomic concerns regarding your immediate work area
  • Consult onboarding checklist to ensure that everything has been shared with you
     
• LAUC-LA Officers:
  • Chair will send you a welcome message with information about LAUC and LAUC-LA
  • Secretary will add you to the LAUC-LA roster and also subscribe you to the LAUCtalk listserv
  • Webmaster will add you to the LAUC-LA Members Directory

By the end of the first month

• Immediate Supervisor will explain/discuss:
  • Opportunities for additional training and professional development
  • Professional development funding for librarians
  • Preliminary goals and expectations for your first review period
  • Orientation and training thus far (and solicit feedback)
     
• LAUC-LA Mentoring and Orientation Committee:
  • Chair will send you a welcome message with information for new librarians
  • A member of the Committee will contact you to arrange a meeting to explain/answer questions about:
    • The APM and/or MOU, and expectations for librarians at UCLA
    • Advancement and promotion, the librarian Peer Review process, and the CALL
    • Professional development opportunities and funding
    • The role of LAUC-LA and opportunities for Committee membership (in LAUC-LA and LAUC)
    • Any questions or concerns you may have!​

As you continue to learn more about UCLA, the UCLA Library, and LAUC-LA in the coming months, we hope you will consult our Useful Links for Librarians and contact a member of the LAUC-LA Committee on Mentoring and Orientation any time you need. We want to help make your first weeks and months as a UCLA Librarian as smooth as possible!