Questions to Ask in a Library Interview
Questions to ask in a library interview, for anyone going for a job as a page, a library assistant or a librarian at a public, academic or school library, at the point where the director or hiring panel hands the conversation over to you. The 55 questions follow the order the decision usually takes: the job itself, the desk schedule with its evenings and weekends, the people the library serves, the collection, book challenges and budgets, then staffing and employment terms, with a few to close on. Each has a note on what a good or a worrying answer sounds like, or what to do with it.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The job
What does a typical day look like for someone in this position?
Why ask it
In a library the answer should come in blocks: opening tasks, desk shifts, shelving or processing, a program, closing. If the panel can only say that every day is different, ask what yesterday looked like for whoever is covering the job now.
What would you want the person you hire to have done by the end of the first six months?
Why ask it
Strong answers name things you could point to, such as running a weekly storytime alone, clearing a cataloging backlog or knowing the regulars by name. Write down the phrases the panel uses, because a probation review is likely to lean on the same ones.
Why is the position open, and how long did the last person stay?
Why ask it
A retirement after many years, a promotion to another branch and a departure after eight months are three different jobs to walk into. If the role is new, ask what was not getting done that made the library fund it.
What is the hardest thing this library is dealing with right now, and how much of it would land on this job?
Why ask it
It could be money, empty posts, the building or behavior on the floor, and each one reaches a desk job differently. A panel that names it plainly is easier to believe on everything else. If the reply is only 'doing more with less', find out what was stopped to make that possible.
How are new staff trained on the library system and the desk, and when would I be on the desk alone?
Why ask it
'You will pick it up' is the worrying reply. The reassuring one has a named trainer, shadow shifts or a checklist, and a rough date. Ask too who you call when a question comes in that you cannot answer.
Which duties in the posting take up the most time in practice?
Why ask it
Library postings tend to list everything from reference to 'other duties as assigned' at equal weight. The panel's answer puts the list in order. If the posting led with collection work and the answer is printer help and room bookings, better to hear it now.
Who would I report to, and who is in charge of the building when they are out?
Why ask it
Evenings and weekends often run without a manager on site, so the second half matters more than it looks. If the person in charge on those shifts would sometimes be you, that is a duty to see named in the job description, along with the decisions that come with it.
Which library system and digital platforms do staff work in every day?
Why ask it
If you know the catalog system by name, say so, since it shortens your training. If you do not, ask how long people usually take to get comfortable. A migration planned for the coming year is worth hearing about too, because it can take over a good part of a new hire's first months.
How much of this job is shelving and shelf-reading, and how much is helping the public?
Why ask it
The one to ask if you are applying as a page, shelver or assistant, where the title can cover anything from a whole shift with a cart to half a day at the circulation desk. Neither is wrong. Hear it before you accept, along with how much lifting and standing a shift involves.
Would I have an area of my own, such as a part of the collection, an age group or a set of academic departments?
Why ask it
For a librarian post this is where the job gets its shape. Find out how the area was looked after until now, and whether the last person left notes, a budget history and contacts or only a shelf range.
Would I work at one location, or be scheduled across branches or campus libraries?
Why ask it
Floating between sites changes your commute, your coworkers and how well you get to know any one collection. The two details to pin down are how much notice a move comes with and how travel between sites in the middle of a shift is treated there.
How does the library fit into the school day: scheduled classes, open access, or a mix?
Why ask it
In a school library this decides whether you teach back to back or have time to run the collection. Two follow-ups show how the room is valued: who covers it when you are teaching elsewhere, and how often it is taken over for testing or as a spare classroom.
Schedule
How many hours a week would I be on a public service desk, and how many off it?
Why ask it
Get a number. Program planning, ordering, cataloging and email all have to fit into the off-desk hours, so a post that is nearly all desk time tends to push that work into your own evenings. If the panel hesitates, ask to see a sample week.
How often would I work evenings and weekends, and how is the rotation decided?
Why ask it
The useful answer is a pattern, such as one late night a week and every third Saturday, plus a rule for how it is shared. Where seniority is the rule, the newest hire can hold the least popular shifts for years, so hear which it is before you picture your week.
How far ahead is the schedule posted, and how much does it change from week to week?
Why ask it
A fixed pattern lets you plan child care, classes or a second job, which matters most in part-time page and assistant roles. If the schedule is rebuilt every week, ask how time-off requests are made and how often they are granted.
What happens to the desk schedule when someone calls in sick?
Why ask it
You are really asking who gets the phone call. Listen for a substitute pool or a manager who steps in, as against an expectation that whoever lives nearest covers. In a small library the honest reply may be that the doors open late, which tells you how thin the staffing is.
What is the smallest number of staff in the building at opening and at closing?
Why ask it
Closing alone, or with one other person, is a safety question as much as a workload one. If the number is one or two, the things to hear next are what staff do when someone will not leave at closing and who picks up the phone at that hour.
When I work a Saturday or a late night, how is that time made up?
Why ask it
Some libraries give a weekday off in the same week, some pay a differential and some count it as part of the ordinary week. None of this is standard, so ask how it works there and where it is written down.
How do the hours change across the year, such as summer reading, exam weeks or school breaks?
Why ask it
Public libraries tend to be busiest in summer and academic ones around exams, and either may limit leave in those weeks. If you already have dates booked that fall inside them, say so now. It is far easier to settle before an offer than after one.
Is the number of hours for this position fixed, and is there a route to more hours or to full time?
Why ask it
Many page and assistant jobs are part time, and the hours in the posting may be a ceiling. The telling detail is how the last person who wanted more hours got them: by waiting for a vacancy, by picking up substitute shifts, or not at all. Whether benefits depend on a threshold of hours varies by employer, so take that part to HR.
Patrons
Who uses this library most, and who in the community are you still trying to reach?
Why ask it
A panel that knows its users answers fast and concretely: retirees in the morning, teenagers at three, commuter students between classes. The second half shows what the library is working on. If your experience fits that gap, say so.
What do people most often ask for at the desk?
Why ask it
Expect to hear printing, passwords, job applications and government forms alongside books. If most desk work is technology help, ask what training staff get for it and where the line is on things like typing a patron's personal details for them.
What programs would I be expected to run, and how many in a typical month?
Why ask it
Ask this before you describe the programs you would love to start, because the calendar may already be full. A number tells you how much preparation time the job needs. Follow with who sets up the room and whether attendance counts are used to judge the program or the person.
How much of the work happens outside the building, and would I be part of it?
Why ask it
School visits, senior centers, tables at community events, faculty meetings and orientation sessions all count. Find out whether outreach replaces desk hours or sits on top of them, and whether you would need your own car for it.
How do teachers or faculty work with the library, and who usually starts that conversation?
Why ask it
In a school or academic library much of your reach depends on being invited into a class. If librarians chase instructors every term, the job includes a lot of persuading. If instruction is built into certain courses, ask which ones and how many sessions that comes to.
How does the library respond when a patron is in crisis or becomes disruptive, and who backs up the person on the desk?
Why ask it
Listen for specifics: a written procedure, a radio or call button, a manager who comes out of the office, security or a social worker on site. 'We just use common sense' is the worrying one, because it leaves both the judgment and the blame with whoever is at the desk.
Is there a written code of conduct, and who decides when someone is asked to leave or loses access?
Why ask it
Front-line staff need to know what they may do themselves and what goes up the chain. A story about the last time the code was enforced, and whether management stood by the staff member afterward, is worth more than the document.
What do staff do when someone asks what a patron has borrowed, whether that is a parent, a teacher or the police?
Why ask it
Privacy rules differ by place and by type of library, so the point is to hear that a procedure exists and that a new assistant is never left to decide alone. A reassuring reply is short: the request goes to the director or another named person, every time.
Books and budget
How is the collection budget divided, and would I be selecting for any part of it?
Why ask it
Selection may be done by each librarian, by a central office or largely through a vendor's standing order. If you would select, ask for the rough amount and how it was spent last year. If you would not, ask how staff suggestions reach whoever does.
Has anyone formally challenged a book, a display or a program here recently, and what happened?
Why ask it
You want the story more than the policy: who received the complaint, how long it took, where the item is now. A panel that tells it calmly and in order has been through it. One that changes the subject may not have decided yet what it would do.
Is there a written reconsideration policy, and who makes the final decision?
Why ask it
Ask to see it, or look for it on the library's website afterward. The details to find are whether an item stays on the shelf while it is reviewed and whether the decision sits with librarians, the director, a board or a school committee. Laws on this vary, so ask what applies there instead of assuming.
If someone complains to me at the desk about a title, what should I do in that moment?
Why ask it
The answer to hope for is a simple script: listen, offer the form, pass it to a named person. That protects a page or assistant from being drawn into an argument they have no authority to settle. If nobody on the panel can say, the script does not exist yet.
How is weeding done here, and who decides what goes?
Why ask it
Removing worn and outdated books is routine work that some communities, and some long-serving staff, dislike seeing. Ask when the section you would look after was last weeded. A shelf untouched for years is a large first project, and you should know whether you would have backing to do it.
Is there a programming budget for this role, and how do I get a purchase approved?
Why ask it
The amount matters less than the route. Someone who pays for craft supplies out of pocket and waits weeks to be reimbursed will run fewer programs than someone with a small fund and a purchasing card. Money from a Friends group or a parent association can keep its own calendar, so find out how far ahead a request has to go in.
How has the library's funding changed over the last few years, and what do you expect next year?
Why ask it
Where the money comes from differs from place to place: a local levy, a city or county budget, a university allocation, a school's own funds. Ask how it works there and when the next decision is due. Cuts mentioned openly are not a warning in themselves, so follow up with what was protected.
Who does the library answer to, such as a board, the city, a dean or a principal, and what are they asking of it right now?
Why ask it
Whoever it is, their priorities turn into your assignments. A director who can state them in a sentence has a working relationship upstairs. Glances between panel members at this point are worth noting.
Which numbers does the library report, such as circulation, door count or program attendance, and which would this job be judged on?
Why ask it
Whatever gets counted is what gets defended at budget time, so the list shows what the library believes it is for. If program attendance is the headline figure and you would run programs, find out what happens to one that draws six people. A panel that also mentions work it cannot count, such as the questions answered at the desk, is looking past the report.
What are the library's plans for the next year or two, and is a renovation, a move or a new strategic plan among them?
Why ask it
Building projects close floors, shift collections and reassign staff, sometimes for a long stretch, and a new plan can redirect a role just as much. If one is under way, the detail you need is where this position sits in it: untouched, moved to another site for the duration, or created because of it.
Staff and terms
How many people work here, and are any positions vacant or frozen right now?
Why ask it
Vacancies are covered by the people who remain, so an unfilled post next to yours is partly your post. How long it has sat empty, and whether anyone has approval to fill it, tells you if the extra load is for a season or for good.
How do the librarians and the support staff work together here, and who does which kind of work at the desk?
Why ask it
Some libraries keep a firm line between what a librarian and an assistant may do at the desk, and others share almost everything. Neither is a fault, but the line decides how much of the interesting work reaches you. Friction tends to show in phrases like 'that is not their job'.
How would you describe the way you supervise, and how often would the two of us sit down together?
Why ask it
Aim it at the person you would report to instead of the whole panel. On a staff built around desk shifts, a supervisor and a new hire can go a week without sharing one, so a fixed meeting counts for more than any style they describe. If your hours would rarely overlap, find out how you would get an answer on the days they are not in.
What do volunteers, student workers or pages handle, and who supervises them?
Why ask it
In an academic library the evening desk may be staffed largely by students, and in a public one volunteers may do much of the shelving. If supervising them falls to this role, ask how many there are, who hires them and how much of your week it takes.
Is this position covered by a union contract or a civil service system, and where can I read the terms?
Why ask it
Ask it plainly, as a matter of fact. The answer tells you where your pay scale, your schedule rules and your grievance route are written down, and all of that differs by employer and location. Read the document itself before accepting, since a panel member's summary comes from memory.
Is there a probationary period, and how will I know during it how I am doing?
Why ask it
Length and rules vary, so ask what applies to this classification. The better answer includes check-ins along the way with a named person, so that nothing in the final review arrives as a surprise.
How is the starting step or grade for this job set, and what moves someone up?
Why ask it
Where pay runs on a published scale there may be little to negotiate except where you start, so this is the moment to ask whether earlier library work or a degree counts. HR usually has the last word on it, not the panel, so ask who to speak to.
Does this job require a library degree or a certification, and if I do not hold it yet, by when?
Why ask it
Requirements for librarians and for school library posts differ by state, country and employer. Get the exact credential and the deadline from the panel or HR and check them against the posting. If you are partway through a program, say when you expect to finish.
Is there support for someone studying for a library degree, in tuition or in scheduling?
Why ask it
This is for assistants who want to become librarians. Even where there is no money, a manager who will build your shifts around classes or let you do a practicum in the building is giving real help. Ask whether anyone on staff has done it recently.
What professional development does the library pay for, and does it cover staff at my level?
Why ask it
Conference travel, association dues, webinars on work time and a staff training day are the usual forms. The second half is the one that counts: in some libraries the budget stops at librarians. Ask what the last person in this job attended.
Is this a faculty or a staff position, and what does that mean for evaluation and promotion here?
Why ask it
At a college or university this can decide whether you are expected to publish, sit on committees and go up for review on a timetable. Each institution defines it differently, so ask for the written criteria and how recent hires have fared.
Do pages and assistants here move into higher positions, and how did the last one manage it?
Why ask it
Some systems promote from within routinely, and others require an outside application or an exam for every step. A named example settles it. If nobody can think of one, weigh the job as it stands and not as a way in.
Closing
What has kept each of you working at this library?
Why ask it
Put to a panel, this gets several answers at once and shows how the members get along. People who mention coworkers and patrons are describing the daily job. Notice anyone who answers only with the pension or the commute.
Is there anything in my experience that makes you unsure I could do this job?
Why ask it
Panels that score from a fixed sheet may not be allowed to answer, and that is fine: the offer to address a doubt still registers. If they do name one, such as no children's programming or no time on a public desk, reply with one short example and stop.
Could I see the desk and the workroom I would be working in?
Why ask it
A staff area shows what nobody says aloud: whether there is somewhere to sit off the floor, how deep the cart backlog is, how people speak to each other. If a tour is not possible that day, come back as a patron on a busy afternoon.
What happens between now and an offer, and does anyone outside this room have to approve the hire?
Why ask it
Public and academic hiring can involve a board vote, an HR review, a ranked list or a background check, any of which can add weeks. Knowing keeps you from reading silence as rejection, and tells you whether to keep other applications moving.
If I am hired, what should I read or learn before my first day?
Why ask it
A good last question, because it assumes nothing and shows you would arrive prepared. Useful answers include the policy manual, the collection development policy or the plan for the summer program. Ask for whichever they name once an offer is made.
How to use your questions in a library interview
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the interview
Visit as a patron first
If you can, spend half an hour in the building on a busy afternoon before the interview. Watch who is at the desk, what people ask for and how the staff speak to each other. It lets you swap a general question for a specific one: 'I noticed the teen area was full at four. Who staffs it then?'
Read what the library publishes
Many libraries post board minutes, an annual report, a strategic plan and a collection policy, and a college library usually has its own pages on the institution's site. Read what you can find, then ask about what it left out. A question about funding lands better when it starts from a figure in last year's report.
Choose questions for the level of the job
A page or shelver gets most from The job and Schedule: the hours, the lifting, the route to more. A library assistant should add Patrons, since the desk is the job. A librarian candidate needs Books and budget as well, because selection, programs and challenges will carry their name. Three questions fit one kind of library only: the school-day one, the one about teachers or faculty, and the one about faculty status. Leave them out anywhere else.
Bring five, in order
Panels often keep to a timetable and may leave only five or ten minutes for you. Pick one question from each group that matters to you, put first the one whose answer could change your mind, and keep the rest written down in case there is time.
Asking a panel
Expect a script on their side
Public and academic panels often ask every candidate the same questions and score the answers on a sheet. That can make the room feel stiff, and it has nothing to do with you. Your questions at the end may be the only unscripted part of the hour, which is a reason to choose them with care and to ask them as conversation, not as a second test.
Send each question to the person who knows
A panel may hold the director, the supervisor for the post, a future coworker and someone from HR or the board. Ask the supervisor about the desk schedule, the coworker about a typical day, the director about funding and challenges. Looking at one person as you ask keeps the others from waiting on each other to answer.
Keep contract questions factual
Asking whether the job is under a union contract or a civil service system is an ordinary question, and panels hear it often. Ask where the terms are published and leave it there. The detail on pay steps, leave and benefits belongs with HR once an offer is in sight.
Give a reason for the harder ones
Questions about incidents at the desk or a challenged book can sound like a test of the panel. One sentence of context helps: 'I have worked a public desk before, so I would like to know what backup looks like here.'
Reading the answers
Numbers beat adjectives
'A fair amount of desk time' and 'some weekends' give you nothing to plan around. Twenty hours on the desk and every third Saturday do. When an answer comes without a number, ask once for a rough one, and make a note if nobody can give it.
Listen to how they talk about patrons
The words a panel uses for the people who come in, whether regulars, students, families or 'problem patrons', show the tone of the place. Staff who tell a story about someone they helped are describing the job you would have.
On challenges, listen for a process and for backing
You are not checking the panel's opinions. You are checking whether a complaint has a written route to follow and whether a staff member who followed it was supported. A calm, ordered account is the reassuring answer, wherever the item ended up.
Notice when the panel disagrees
If the supervisor says the schedule is fixed and the coworker raises an eyebrow, you have learned something. Do not press in the room. Ask the same question again at the offer stage, in writing if you can.
Before you accept
Get the schedule in writing
Ask for the weekly hours, the evening and weekend rotation and the location or locations to be set out with the offer. Schedules do change, but a written starting point settles later questions about what was agreed.
Read the documents yourself
If there is a union contract, a civil service rule book or a staff handbook, read the parts on probation, pay steps, leave and scheduling before you say yes. Rules differ by employer and by place, so do not rely on what was true at your last library.
Confirm the credential and the deadline
Where the post needs a degree, a certificate or an exam, get the exact requirement and the date in writing from HR. If you are still studying, ask what happens if your completion date slips.
Go back at a time you would be working
Return on an evening or a weekend, the shifts a new hire is likely to be given first. How many staff are in the building, how busy it is and who is in charge will show you more about those hours than any answer in the interview.