June Time Study Task Clarifications
June 10 - 16
Most of the Vanderbilt libraries' staff will be recording time during the seven days beginning with Thursday, June 10 and continuing through Wednesday, June 16. The time study web pages have all been updated.
Please keep track of your time during this week, and submit the list of tasks and time for the week to your unit head or division director just as soon as possible after the 16th.
Some staff have not participated before and will need to review the complete list of tasks as well as the other documentation. Some staff participated in November but not February; these staff should review, in particular, the document "Changes for 2004 Data Gathering" and revisit the tasks list. Staff who have participated in the two previous data gathering weeks may wish to review the task list as you think about those that you're likely to perform during the week.
Looking through the time that was recorded in February, there are several clarifications that I'd like to bring to your attention. PLEASE READ.
In selecting the best task for the work you're doing, select first the product center (two letter code), then determine the best task. It appears that a few people may have selected a task from another product center just because the description of that task seemed to fit better. Remember that any task description refers specifically to work performed in that center.
AS05 and xx05 Other. xx05 task codes should only be used when there appears to be no other task (in the appropriate center) that seems to cover the activity. We would like to make additions and clarifications to the tasks as they may be needed in order to minimize the amount of time that goes into OTHER. In some cases, staff have reported a significant amount of time in OTHER, but we have no way of knowing what it represents. Please record on the back of your summary data sheets the kinds of activities for which you've used an xx05 designation.
Review the two tasks AS03 Administrative Work and AS10 Office Management; these two tasks do not appear to have been used consistently across the system, and most often it looks as if staff may have not considered AS10 in recording their work. Again, if you're performing administrative activities for a single particular product center, record it in that product center under xx03. If it's in the AS center be sure to consider both AS03 and AS10 in your selection.
UA06 Reference Assistance and UA07 Directional Assistance.
A standard definition is used by libraries generally to differentiate
between reference and directional transactions; these distinctions have not
been clearly stated in the task list.
A reference transaction is an information contact that involves
the knowledge, use, recommendations, interpretation, or instruction in the use
of one or more information sources by a member of the library staff. The term
includes information and referral service. Information sources include (a)
printed and non-printed material; (b) machine-readable databases (including
computer-assisted instruction); (c) the library's own catalogs and other
holdings records; (d) other libraries and institutions through communication or
referral; and (e) persons both inside and outside the library.
A directional transaction
is an information contact that facilitates the logistical use of the library
and that does not involve the knowledge, use, recommendations, interpretation,
or instruction in the use of any information sources other than those that
describe the library, such as schedules, floor plans, and handbooks.
4 June 2004