ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


490 /C&RL News ■ July/August 1998

C o l l e g e  & R e s e a r c h  L i b r a r i e s

Making federal work-study work

Four steps that one library uses to hire students

by Sherry E. Young

T he federal w ork-study program pro­vides funds to pay for work done by 
college students who meet certain financial 
aid qualifications. Campus financial aid per­
sonnel use a need-analysis formula, as de­
fined by program guidelines,1 to calculate stu­
dent eligibility for participation. Institutions 
then use their own individualized methods 
to put eligible students to work. Many of 
these students go to work in the library to 
help fill the never-ending needs for student 
employees.

Scholars frequently criticize the work- 
study program for some of its outcomes. They 
argue that the system of federal funding for 
student jobs fosters discrimination against 
students who are ineligible for program par­
ticipation.2 Discrimination occurs when de­
partments, in efforts to conserve money, hire 
students based upon the sources of their pay­
checks as opposed to their job qualifications. 
Employers may thus discrim inate against 
well-qualified students who seek part-time 
campus jobs by hiring less qualified work- 
study award recipients to avoid departmental 
funding of student positions.

Critics of the work-study program also 
charge that its participants often do substan­
dard work. Observers blam e this problem 
on the fact that the system encourages su­
pervisors to employ poorly qualified students 
who do not possess the abilities to learn prop­
erly their jobs. According to this argument, 
departments may hire unqualified or poorly 
motivated individuals for work-study posi­

tions in the event that no qualified applicant 
applies. When supervisors select underquali­
fied students for jobs that require immediate 
and specific skills, those students will likely 
fail to successfully perform their jobs.3 Simi­
lar problems occur when work-study students 
possess the ability to master the skills they 
need to do their jobs but cannot do so b e­
cause their employers fail to teach them those 
skills.

It has been suggested that institutions of 
higher learning solve the problems that o c­
cur when colleges and universities hire work- 
study recipients by restricting their employ­
ment to areas where poor job performance 
cannot hamper an institution in its quest to 
fulfill its mission, and that colleges and uni­
versities should ban such students from li­
brary work.4

It is possible for librarians to utilize the 
federal work-study program to maintain or 
improve library service. They can accomplish 
this goal by familiarizing themselves with 
program guidelines, by understanding the 
problems associated with their implementa­
tion, and by working to avoid those prob­
lems. By adhering to a few basic guidelines, 
librarians can eliminate poor student employee 
performance and make the work-study pro­
gram work as envisioned by its creators.

Step one: Create jobs th a t m a tte r 
Critics o f the work-study program often com ­
plain that the program encourages colleges 
to design “make work” jobs to ensure that

About the author
Sherry E. Young is assistant professor a t th e  U niversity o f  Tennessee a t C hattanooga's L upton Library; e-m ail: Sherry- 
Young@utc.edu

mailto:Young@utc.edu


C&RL News ■ July/A ugust 1998 / 491

Student assistant files microfiche at Lupton L

the maximum number o f eligible students 
receive aid from the federal governm ent.5 
Administrators who create jobs where no 
need exists may end up with a bored and 
apathetic workforce. Similar problems occur 
when supervisors, who lack the time to ad­
equately train and supervise students to do 
com plex work, assign them simple, repeti­
tious, and boring tasks. Departments that hire 
students to do unchallenging tasks will face 
problems associated with poorly motivated 
workers. Such employees may make care­
less errors that detrimentally impact a library’s 
ability to fulfill its mission. Thus, librarians 
should consider carefully both their library’s 
need for student assistance and the availabil­
ity o f supervisors who can adequately train 
and manage student workers. Administrators 
may avoid the problems that poorly chal­
lenged workers cause by requesting only that 
number of work-study positions for which 
genuine need and adequate supervision e x ­
ists.

Fortunately for librarians who wish to take 
advantage o f the work-study program, the 
nature o f library work encourages the de­
sign o f substantive student jobs. Library stu­
dent assistants can do work that is both short- 
and long-term. They may process and shelve 
materials or complete special projects. The 
variety o f possible tasks makes it possible 
for librarians to create jobs with meaningful 
duties that challenge students to work at their 
full potential.

Step two: Select applicants w ith  care 
Librarians who successfully design substan­

tive work-study positions then 
face the challenge of hiring only 
those students who possess the 
qualifications needed to do the 
jobs. W hen hiring work-study 
awardees for library work, librar­
ians should follow standard pro­
cedures designed to gather in­
fo r m a tio n  n e e d e d  to  m a k e  
ap p ro p ria te hiring d ecisio n s. 
They may use com pleted appli­
cation forms to check the appli­
cants’ ability and desire to fol­
low written directions and to 
an sw er q u estio n s co m p letely  
and accurately. Those in charge ibrary.
o f making the hiring decisions 

should schedule face-to-face interviews with 
candidates who submit acceptable applica­
tions. Interviewers may ask open-ended and 
fact-finding questions designed to provide 
information about each candidate’s behav­
ior. Librarians may consider asking the bet­
ter qualified candidates to return for second 
interviews designed to identify students who 
are especially interested in library work.

It is an unfortunate fact that some aspects 
o f the work-study program may serve to dis­
courage librarians from following their nor­
mal hiring practices. When a limited number 
of students apply for various campus jobs, 
supervisors feel pressured into hiring some 
applicants before considering them in rela­
tion to the total group of applicants or b e­
fore checking their references. Prospective 
student employees may arrive at the library 
carrying a slip o f paper that requires only a 
departmental supervisor’s signature for ap­
proval to hire, thus tempting supervisors to 
hire work-study applicants before adequately 
considering their interview results. Hasty hir­
ing decisions may also be made by librarians 
who believe that rejection of applicants will 
anger financial aid officers.

Those who employ work-study students 
can prevent the problems that sometimes 
occur from hiring students whose employ­
ment must be coordinated with an outside 
department. Librarians who seek well-quali- 
fied and motivated student workers should 
make it policy not to hire work-study appli­
cants on the spot. Supervisors should instead 
interview applicants, check references, and 
consider each applicant in relation to the total



492 /C&RL News ■ July/August 1998

group of applicants who applies during any 
one hiring period. It is true that, by the time 
the library supervisor completes this process, 
some o f these students will have found jobs 
elsewhere on campus. If enough applicants 
accept other jobs, such an outcome may leave 
the library shorthanded. But this situation is 
preferable to hiring workers who harm library 
service by performing their jobs poorly.

Step three: Plan fo r job training th a t 
works
Once the hiring process is complete, the im­
portant and time-consuming work of training 
and supervising begins. It is essential that li­
brary su p erv iso rs ad ­
equately train students 
for their jobs. To become 
effective employees, stu­
dents must know what is 
expected of them, both 
in terms of general em­
ployment guidelines and 
in relation to specific job 
duties. Librarians should 
make certain that each 
student has meaningful 
access to the information 
he or she needs to suc­
ceed as a library student 
assistant. B eca u se the 
lack of adequate training 
may lead to substandard 
perform ance, librarians 
need to plan the nature 
and composition o f stu­
dent assistant job train­
ing. Many college stu­
dents have held few jobs Student assistant 

addition to
and have no library ex­
perience, and supervisors need to train such 
students from the basics upward.

Because work-study students usually ob­
tain their aid and apply for jobs at the begin­
ning of the school year, supervisors may find 
themselves faced with the seemingly over­
whelming job of training several new student 
workers simultaneously. Librarians can meet 
this challenge by planning for on-the-job train­
ing designed to cause as little disruption as 
possible to daily operations. Supervisors can 
help work-study students becom e focused on 
their jobs by meeting with each one. This is a 
good time to discuss the library’s mission and

to familiarize new student workers with such 
general matters as time and attendance guide­
lines. The librarian may take this opportunity 
to put students at ease by describing the li­
brary as an enjoyable place to work and gain 
job experience. A brief meeting between su­
pervisor and supervised can help workers 
identify their personal work goals and the 
library’s.

Full-time staff members are often respon­
sible for supervising student assistants. Librar­
ians do well to select carefully those employ­
ees who train new student workers. Trainers 
should be masters of the work they teach to 
others, have good communication skills, and 

take the ch allen ge o f 
teaching seriously. It is 
important that full-time 
staff members assigned 
the duty of training new 
w o rk -stu d y  stu d e n ts 
have the time to do so. 
It is illogical to expect 
those who lack good 
com m unication skills, 
have full daily w ork 
schedules, or are unfa­
miliar with the work that 
students will do, to suc­
ceed in teaching job du­
ties to new student em­
ployees.

Step four: Treat all 
students fairly
Departmental supervi­
sors should employ the 
same disciplinary proce­

pares materials fo r dures for all stud ent 
e collection.

employees. The fear that 
financial aid officers will look unfavorably 
upon departments whose supervisors correct 
the mistakes of work-study employees is not 
a valid reason for exempting such students 
from adhering to normal rules of work con­
duct.6 Librarians may wish to make financial 
aid officers aware of any disciplinary actions 
the library takes regarding its work-study stu­
dents so that the officers understand the rea­
sons for the actions. Supervisors cannot afford 
to overlook the m istakes o f any student 
worker, which, if continued, will compromise 
library service. B ecau se o f its unpleasant 
(F ed eral work-study …  con tin u ed  on p. 525)

pre
 th



C&RL News ■ July/August 1998 / 493



C&RL News ■ July/A ugust 1998 /  525

ricular support in print, audiovisual, and elec­

tronic formats, and the teaching of critical 

information skills.

Higher Education Act (HEA): Reauthorize 

and fund the HEA postsecondary education 

program. Academic libraries as a central part 

of advanced learning and a key support of 

academic research benefit from HEA. The 

college work-study program also provides 

library work opportunities, the opportunity 

to learn in-depth information-seeking skills, 

and potential career possibilities. The inter­

(Federal work study cont. f rom page 492)

F o rtu n a te ly  fo r  lib ra ria n s  w h o  
w ish  to  ta k e  a d v a n ta g e  o f th e 
w o rk -stu d y  p ro g ra m , th e  n atu re 
o f lib ra ry  w o rk  e n c o u ra g e s  th e 
d e s ig n  o f s u b s ta n tiv e  s tu d e n t 
jo b s.

nature, many supervisors tend to avoid the 

task of correcting employee mistakes. Al­

though it may be tempting for these indi­

viduals to cite fear of complaints to finan­

cial aid officers as an excuse not to discipline 

work-study students, library supervisors 

should exercise fairness in their supervision 

of all employees. By doing so, and by keep­

ing open lines of communication with the 

financial aid office, they prevent complaints 

from occurring and make those that do oc­

cur understandable to others.

C o n c lu s io n
Some of the criticism that scholars direct 

against the outcome of the work-study pro­

gram is legitimate. Well-qualified and moti­

vated college students may miss on-campus 

employment opportunities because they fail 

to meet the financial aid criteria. And, be­

cause the federal government pays the 

wages of work-study students, students may 

end up with “make-work” jobs designed to 

put them to work in the absence of any real 

need to do so. It is also true that supervi­

sors sometimes hire poorly motivated or un­

qualified individuals who desire financial aid 

but have no real interest in working.

national education program assists some aca­

demic libraries in acquiring needed interna­

tional and foreign-language materials.

Next Generation Internet (NGI): Fund 

NGI at the requested $110 million. Just as 

the ARPANET and NSFNET and NREN initia­

tives led to today’s Internet and benefited 

educational institutions, libraries, and the 

p u b lic , N GI activities w ill p ro d u ce  

leading-edge innovation with broad public 

benefits, if NGI is focused on applications 

research as well as bigger “pipes.”

In spite of these potential problems, it 

is by following the com mon sense prin­

ciples of job design and personnel m an­

agement that librarians can make the pro­

gram work as intended. Librarians who 

follow  these com m only accepted prin ­

ciples will provide their departments with 

student help at little or no cost to the 

library’s budget.

These principles include the creation 

of meaningful jobs and the practice of ap­

propriate hiring, training, and supervisory 

techniques. In this time of financial hard­

ships for institutions of higher learning, 

librarians should view the successful em­

ployment of work-study students in librar­

ies as a challenge worth meeting.

N o te s
1. Department of Education, The Fed­

eral Student F in a n c ia l A id  H andbook, 

Chapter 7, p. 7.

2. Kenneth C. Petress, “A System in 

Need of Repair: The College Work Study 

Program,” College Student Jo u rn a l 28, no. 

1: 116- 118.
3. Ibid.

4. Thomas V. DiBacco, “Colleges Should 

Restrict the Kinds of On-Campus Jobs that 

Students Are Perm itted to H o ld ,” The 

C hronicle o f H igher E ducation (July 8, 

1987): 38-39.

5. Petress, “A System in Need of Re­

pair,” 117.

6. Petress discusses the subject of em­

ployers w ho elect to “endure an ineffec­

tive work study student rather than suffer 

the agony of being placed on the discharg­

ing employer list” in “A System in Need of 

Repair,” 118.