Personnel Policy
IV. PERSONNEL
Selections of staff should be based upon merit alone, determined by the applicant's vocational and professional qualifications, recommendation letters, other qualifications and testing where applicable.
Presently the staff consists of:
1. One full-time Library Director
2. One full-time Library Assistant
3. One full-time Library Technician
4. One full-time Youth Services Librarian
5. One part-time Library Aide
6. Three part-time Circulation Aides
7. Two part-time Student Aides
8. One Substitute
Others, i.e., building custodian, yard man, etc. are hired at the discretion of the Library Director.
A job description for each full-time and part-time employee shall be recommended by the Library Director for approval by the Board of Trustees. The Library Director shall review each job description annually and suggest necessary revisions to the Board of Trustees for consideration and approval. The personnel file for each employee shall contain an updated job description.
A minimum work week of forty hours is expected of each full-time employee. Other employees are expected to adhere to a schedule as established by the Library Director.
D. Leave
1. Annual Leave
a. Full-time employees shall earn annual leave in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Number of days of annual leave Years of Service |
Number of days of annual leave Each Completed Month |
Consecutive Leave Earned each Completed Year |
| 0 to 4 years | 1 | 12 |
| 5 to 9 years | 1.25 | 15 |
| 10 to 14 | 1.50 | 18 |
| 15 to 20 | 1.75 | 21 |
b. Employees may not use annual leave during the first six months of employment, although compensatory leave should be allowed.
c. Leave may be accumulated for two years only. In the event of dismissal, resignation, or retirement, the employee may be paid for all accumulated annual leave. Holidays falling during annual leave shall not count against the leave time of the employee.
d. During their first three years of service, hourly employees (those working less than forty hours per week) shall not be entitled to annual leave, but may take up to two weeks of unpaid leave per year.
e. Beginning in the fourth year of service, hourly employees shall earn one week of paid annual leave according to the average number of hours worked weekly during the previous six months. Additional unpaid leave may be granted by the Library Director.
f. Leave time for all staff members will be logged when earned and when taken by the Library Director.
2. Sick Leave
a. Full-time employees shall earn sick leave for personal (not family) illness at the rate of one day per completed month of service. In the event of personal hardship, upon the recommendation of the Library Director, approved by the Board of Trustees, additional sick leave may be granted. There shall be no compensation for unused sick leave.
b. Part-time employees shall not be granted sick leave; but at the discretion of the Library Director, may be excused from work for personal illness and may make up lost hours.
a. The Library Director, upon consideration of the needs of the Library and the basis of the request, may grant an employee leave without pay. Leave without pay is not allowed until all balances of applicable leave with pay have been used. Leave without pay shall not be granted for more than 30 working days without approval of the Board of Trustees. The employee must reimburse the Library for the cost of health, retirement and insurance programs which are normally deducted from his or her pay. The employee shall not lose seniority as a result of having taken approved leave without pay.
a. The Library Director may grant an employee "comp time" in 1/4 hour units for working beyond scheduled work hours. Such "comp time" may be taken in addition to earned annual leave but shall not accumulate more than 10 hours at any time in a calendar year unless by special dispensation by the Library Director.
b. The Library Director may take "comp time" in 1/4 hour units for working beyond scheduled work hours. Such "comp time" may be taken in addition to earned annual leave but shall not accumulate more than 16 hours at any time in a calendar year unless by special dispensation by the Library Board.
a. As long as job requirements are met, the Library Director may adjust his/her working hours within a week to allow for any requirements to work at times before or after normal working hours.
The Library Director is responsible for maintaining a personnel file for each employee: a standard personal record, the current leave record, all annual evaluations, previous work records, recommendations and commendations, and salary history.
F. Promotion/Salaries/Benefits
1. Salaries and wages should be reviewed by the Library Board of Trustees when the annual budget is prepared each fiscal year. Promotions and pay raises may or may not be granted depending upon the employee's performance, seniority and the discretion of the Board of Trustees.
2. In accordance with County policy, health insurance and the Virginia Supplemental Retirement benefits are available to full-time Library employees.
G. Evaluation
a. The Library Director of the L.E. Smoot Memorial Library shall be evaluated by the L.E. Smoot Memorial Library Board of Trustees each December for the preceding year.
b. All other employees shall be evaluated by their supervisors each December for the preceding year.
a. Each Trustee will complete a Performance Appraisal Form and then meet with the L. E. Smoot Library Board in Executive Session to determine a consensus Performance Appraisal. The Library Director will also complete a Performance Appraisal Form.
b. The Chairman of the Board, the Vice-Chairman (with the Secretary acting as Alternate), and the Library Director will then meet within 10 business days of the Executive Session to determine the final Performance Evaluation. The Performance Appraisal Form completed by the Library Director and the consensus Performance Appraisal Form completed by the Board of Trustees will be the basis for discussion between the Library Director, the Chairman of the Trustees, and the Vice-Chairman (or Secretary) in order to complete the final Performance Appraisal Form. When there is no consensus between the Library Director, the Chairman of the Trustees, and the Vice-Chairman (or Secretary), the opinion of the Chairman of the Trustees will prevail. This final Performance Appraisal Form will be signed by both the Library Director and the Chairman of the Trustees and will go into the Library Director's permanent personnel file. A follow-up report shall be given to the Board of Trustees.
c. All other employees will meet with their supervisors to discuss the evaluation form as completed by the supervisor. In the event the employee does not agree with the evaluation, he or she may submit, with five (5) working days following the conference, a written statement which shall be a part of the evaluation form.
3. Rating Scale
a. In evaluating employees, the rating of "average" is designed to be used to rate an employee who is performing his/her duties in an acceptable manner.
b. Care should be taken not to utilize the rating of "excellent" except on occasions when an employee demonstrates unusual performance in the elements being rated.
c. "Poor" indicates inferior performance needing immediate attention and improvement.
4. Conference
a. The Chairman of the Trustees and the Vice-Chairman (with the Secretary acting as Alternate) shall discuss each performance evaluation with the Library Director. If the Library Director disagrees with any statement in an evaluation, he/she may submit, within five (5) working days following the conference with the Chairman of the Trustees and the Vice-Chairman (or Secretary), a written statement which shall be a part of the evaluation form.
a. An employee’s performance will be reviewed again in 6 months if he/she receives an overall "Fair" or "Poor" rating. His/her performance will be reviewed in 6 months upon an overall "Average" rating, if the employee requests it.
1. Resignation
a. An employee is expected to give the Library Director at least two weeks advance written notice of intent to terminate employment.
b. The Library Director is expected to give the Board of Trustees at least four weeks advance written notice of intent to terminate employment.
2. Dismissal
a. Satisfactory performance of assigned duties is the basis for continuation of employment. An employee whose attitude, conduct or performance of duties are unacceptable may be dismissed by the Library Director. Dismissal should be a last resort and should not be decided upon lightly.
b. When the Library Director becomes aware of unacceptable performance, a conference should be held with the employee and supervisor to advise the employee of the unacceptability and to provide assistance toward correcting the deficiency.
3. Dismissal of Library Director
a. Two consecutive less than "Average" evaluations on the Performance Appraisal Form will result in a formal letter of warning from the Chairman of the Trustees to the Library Director. This letter will be delivered to the Library Director within 10 business days of the Performance Appraisal conference between the Chairman of the Trustees, the Vice-Chairman (or Secretary) and the Library Director. This letter will become part of the Library Director's permanent personnel file. If performance has not significantly improved within 30 days of the date of the letter, the Library Director may be terminated.
1. An employee desiring to enter a formal complaint or grievance shall address a letter to the Board of Trustees through the Library Director stating the basis of the complaint or grievance and the redress sought.
2. The Library Director may hold a conference with the employee and supervisor in an attempt to resolve the matter and to obtain a written withdrawal of the letter of complaint.
3. Unless the complaint is withdrawn by the complainant following a conference, the Library Director must forward the letter to the Board of Trustees with full comment as to the issues and recommended action.
4. The Board of Trustees will review the complaint and may, if it so desires, grant to the complainant a hearing before the Board. After full consideration, the Board may deny the complaint in whole or in part or may direct action to resolve the issue and to provide such redress as it may deem appropriate.
J. Volunteers
1. The Library Director is in charge of the Volunteer Program.
2. The objective of the program is to supplement, extend and enhance services and activities of the library by involving the general community in library activities and thereby promoting volunteerism.
3. Anyone is eligible to volunteer without regard to race, creed, religion, handicap, sex, age, national origin or income level. Volunteers must meet the same general standards as staff.
4. Any volunteers coming into contact with patron information must exercise discretion and consider all records confidential.
5. The Library Director is responsible for overseeing the recruitment and training of volunteer staff. Each volunteer will fill out an application and be matched to an appropriate job, based on their skills, experience and what tasks need to be performed. Any staff member can request the assistance of a volunteer. All volunteers will be given a name tag to wear while working at the library.
6. Each volunteer will report to his/her immediate supervisor and will be trained in the task to be performed by that supervisor. The immediate supervisor will be responsible for a written record of the volunteer's time and work performed.