Evenings and weekends service providers staff AskAway after regular office hours (weekdays after 5pm, Saturdays, Sundays). Are you an evening or weekend service provider? If so, this page has information to help your shifts go smoothly.
Mailing Lists
All evenings and weekends service providers should be subscribed to both of the following lists to receive important communication from the Admin Centre and to communicate with one another:
Not sure if you're subscribed to the lists? Please contact your local coordinator or the Admin Centre.
BC ELN contractors who work evenings and weekends will be subscribed to these lists as well as to the auxiliaries@askaway.org mailing list.
On-Shift Emergencies
How to contact us
If you experience an on-shift emergency after regular office hours, please don't hesitate to contact the Admin Centre at our evenings & weekends emergency contact.
Alone on a shift or someone is missing
There should always be at least one other person on shift with you. If you find yourself alone or short-staffed, the Admin Centre and your colleagues are here to help.
Follow the steps in the FAQ "I'm alone on my shift or someone is missing. What should I do?" (see steps for an evening or weekend shift).
For strategies to manage calls while you wait for help to arrive, see the FAQ "How can I make my shift easier during busy times?"
A colleague is still logged in after their shift ended and we're closing soon
Until everyone has logged out, the service will remain open. If a colleague seems to be logged in past the end of their shift, there are steps you can take to try and contact them and/or the Admin Centre.
See the FAQ "How can I report issues that come up during my shift?" (see LibraryH3lp: Logout problems or queues open after closing).
LibraryH3lp technical issues
Check out the FAQ "How can I handle technical issues on my shift?" for general tips.
If LibraryH3lp crashes and the issue doesn't resolve itself within several minutes, or if you think you may not be able to close the service properly, please contact us at the evenings & weekends emergency contact.
Shift Trade Protocols
Evenings and weekends service providers
Use the evenings-weekends@askaway.org mailing list to communicate about evening / weekend shifts that you would like to trade with other evening / weekend staff. As always, trades for daytime shifts go through the serviceproviders@askaway.org mailing list.
Trading with another institution:
- Before putting a trade out to the list, work with your local coordinator to see if someone at your library can cover for you.
- If no one is able to cover, you can put the trade out to the list.
- Once your shift has been covered, it's good practice to send a quick message to the list, so that folks don't continue to contact you.
- Note: How you arrange to trade the shift is up to you and the other person, but please make sure all shifts are filled according to the schedule.
Trading with BC ELN contractors:
- Any shifts swapped between libraries and BC ELN contractors must maintain the balance of hours over the course of the term (e.g. if you cover 2 hours for someone, they cover 2 hours for you).
- There cannot be any hours owing at the end of the term, as you are paid out of different budgets.
- Once your shift has been covered, it's good practice to send a quick message to the list, so that folks don't continue to contact you.
BC ELN AskAwayers
If you are a BC ELN contractor, please follow the protocols below when swapping shifts.
Trading with other BC ELN contractors:
Use the auxiliaries@askaway.org mailing list to arrange shift trades or coverage with each other.
- Keep in mind that some auxiliary librarians prefer to trade shifts, while others may prefer to cover without a swap. Please be respectful of each other's preferences.
- It makes no difference to the AskAway budget if someone decides to trade or cover as long as all hours are covered. You simply invoice us for the hours you have worked.
- When you offer up a shift, let your colleagues know if you have a preference for either a trade or cover.
- Once your shift has been covered, it's good practice to send a quick message to the list, so that folks don't continue to contact you.
- Please let Cristen know when you are swapping a shift or offering coverage so that we can follow-up if a shift is missed.
Trading evening and weekend shifts with other libraries:
Use the evenings-weekends@askaway.org mailing list to arrange shift trades with other institutional evening and weekend staff.
- You are welcome to swap shifts with other institutional evening and weekend staff.
- It is critical that you keep the number of hours balanced over the course of the term (e.g. you work 2 hours for them, they work 2 hours for you). There can't be any hours left owing at the end of the term, as you are paid out of different budgets.
- Once your shift has been covered, it's good practice to send a quick message to the list, so that folks don't continue to contact you.
Shift trades on the main service providers listserv
Please don't volunteer to take shifts posted on the AskAway service providers mailing list (serviceproviders@askaway.org). If a library is having trouble filling the shift, they'll let us know and we'll put it out to you ourselves.
Unable to find a trade?
If you've tried putting a trade out to the auxiliaries list and the evenings/weekends list but are unable to find someone to take it, please contact Cristen and we'll work with you to find a solution.