Community and Library Assistant

About Us At HounslowWe’d love you to join us at the London Borough of Hounslow! Our people are deeply committed to providing excellent services to our residents, doing all we can to make lives as good as they can be.We are an outstanding council, serving an outstanding borough. With brilliant, visionary leadership, a dynamic Cabinet and a can-do culture, we’ve built strong partnerships which have transformed how we serve one of London’s most diverse boroughs. Hounslow is the world in one place and full of potential. We are stepping up for our residents like never before.About Our Commitment To Diversity And InclusionWe live by five core values: Lead with Heart, Do New, Pass on the Power, Harness the Mix and Be a Rock. All our work has equality, diversity and inclusion at its very heart, best articulated in “Harness the Mix”. It's about breaking down barriers between our parts and people and unlocking the problem-solving power of our amazing mix of minds. We serve a diverse community, we have a diverse workforce and we are committed to being an inclusive employer.We work hard to create representation across our workforce and leadership community, we have thriving employee network groups and our learning and development programmes help us lead, model and breathe ways of working that eliminate inequality, inequity, injustice and bias.As part of this and under our commitments as a Disability Confident Employer, we make reasonable adjustments to accommodate our candidates. There’s space for you to tell us what you need within our application form.Our BenefitsAbout The RoleAn exciting opportunity has arisen for the appointment of an 18-hour permanent Community and Library Assistant to join the library team which is part of Localities and Community Hubs within the London Borough of Hounslow.The successful candidates will deliver the best visitor experience and act as the first point of contact for library, community hub and other information enquiries and will require a strong skill set across customer service, communication and organisation, and children and adult activity preparation and delivery. As well as be flexible to work across any of Hounslow’s 11 libraries to provide cover as required.Work PatternThe role is based at Feltham libraryWeek 1 Monday 1.15-8, Saturday 9.30-5.30Week 2 Monday 1.15-8, Friday 9-5.30, Saturday 9.30-5.30Sunday 11-4 at Hounslow library by rota every 10 weeksInterviewThe interview will consist of 5 questions followed by the reading of a book from the baby book or picture book collection and a strict ordering test. At the interview start time you will be given 10 minutes to choose a book from the selection provided and to preview the questions.About The Team You’ll Be Working InThe role is in the Hounslow library Service, based at Feltham library, but library staff can be asked to provide cover any of the 11 libraries in the borough.We have over 230,000 items available to residents excluding the specialist collections and c.345,000 annual visits. In June 2020 Hounslow Libraries joined The Libraries Consortium this gave our members access to more than 3 million items.Our libraries are community hubs which provide spaces for our residents to study and learn, build social connection through activities and access advice and guidance, and access council services.The service also operates an archives and local studies service and a specialist services teams, one serving discrete users e.g. those who are housebound and the other working alongside schools to improve their internal library service. Though this role does not work within this team.About You Deliver the best visitor experience and act as the first point of contact for customer enquiries and information for libraries and community hubs, and council services, by phone, email and in person. Offer advice, guidance and assistance to customers on the use of library materials and equipment including public-use IT and reference and stock enquiries. Prepare and deliver vibrant and engaging Storytime sessions and other activities for both children and adults in line with the service events and engagement plan including taking bookings and creating promotion materials. Take a positive role in promoting the library and community hub services, stock and ensure the library and its facilities are always well-presented and tidy, with a high standard of display and promotional materials. Ability to use a range of ICT software/hardware, including the MS Office suite, library information databases, internet search, and specialised Library-specific applications. Ability to work calmly, efficiently and accurately under pressure and in challenging scenarios. Ability to show initiative as will be on occasion working in a library without on-site supervision.Qualifications:English A-C GCSE or equivalent or able to demonstrate an equivalent level of attainment through qualification or experience in a relevant discipline.Essential For The Role:Enhanced DBS check is required for the role.Read more about the work you’ll be doing in the Role Profile.When Interviews Will Be Held And Who To ContactThe key information you need about the role should be in the Role Profile, but if you have any further questions about the role, please contact:Email: Interviews for this job will be held during week commencing Monday 8th December 2025.Email: Interviews for this job will be held during week commencing Monday 8th December 2025.