Library assistant supporting statement: public service

A library assistant supporting statement needs examples of helping the public, finding information and handling library tasks accurately. Start with the person specification for your vacancy: this guide uses Lambeth Council's public library pack to show how to choose evidence for the application stage.

Read the application marks

Lambeth Council's Weekend Library Assistant pack, read on 9 November 2026, says applicants must "give evidence or examples of your proven experience" for each shortlisting criterion marked "Application (A)". It also says all the listed areas will be assessed during the interview and assessment process for shortlisted applicants.

The table below follows the pack's knowledge and experience rows. Each carries both a tick and A. The pack separately describes its tick marks in instructions for applicants under the scheme it calls the "two ticks scheme". Those are the document's own terms; follow the instructions in your current vacancy.

Lambeth criterion	Mark in this pack	Evidence to recall
K1: good literacy and numeracy	Tick and A	A record you checked, or a written enquiry you answered accurately
K2: interest in books to help readers	Tick and A	How you helped someone choose reading material suited to their interests
K3: IT skills, including finding information	Tick and A	A search you carried out and how you checked the information
K4: excellent customer and communication skills	Tick and A	How you listened to a customer and explained the next step
E1: working with the public, paid or voluntary	Tick and A	A real encounter showing what you personally did

Use the evidence column to recall your own examples. Lambeth also lists coping with the physical demands of the job as SR1, without an A beside that row. Read it alongside the job duties and any questions in the form.

For the wider council application process, use the council supporting statement guide.

Connect your evidence to library duties

Lambeth's duties include helping customers use public computers, access Wi-Fi and print or save documents. The pack also covers accurate customer records, reservations, returning stock to shelves and assisting with events. For simple enquiries it asks staff to find reliable information online and hand more complex enquiries to the senior on duty.

Choose an example that lets you explain the help you gave. For a digital enquiry, describe what the customer needed, how you explained the task and when you asked a colleague for help. Avoid including customer details in your draft. For stock work, explain how you checked where an item belonged or dealt with a discrepancy.

An interest in reading can support the books criterion. Add an action: how did you find out what a reader enjoyed, locate a suitable resource or explain the available choices? Keep the account relevant to the criterion you are answering.

If your experience comes from another setting

The National Careers Service library assistant profile says experience in administration, customer services or IT can be useful for direct applications. It also describes volunteering in a local authority or community library as a way to gain experience. Lambeth's E1 explicitly accepts experience working with the public in a paid position or as a volunteer.

Use the setting you actually worked in. A shop enquiry could supply evidence of listening and explaining; a volunteer role could show how you helped people find information. State the connection to the library criterion, then describe your own action. Do not claim experience of a library system you have never used.

This page concerns public library assistant jobs. Check a professional librarian or specialist information-service vacancy against its own requirements before using these prompts.

Plan one evidence paragraph

The criterion is from Lambeth's pack. The prompts show the shape of an answer; fill them with your own experience.

Criterion: "Good IT skills including using IT to find information"

• When and where: identify the workplace or volunteer setting and when the enquiry happened.
• What you did: describe the information needed, the search you carried out and how you checked the result.
• What happened: explain whether the person found what they needed, or how you passed the enquiry on.

Keep enough detail to show your contribution. If a colleague completed part of the task, say which part belonged to them. Read the paragraph against the criterion again: an account of being friendly may still leave the information-search requirement unanswered.

Before you submit

Check that each application criterion has evidence, and that any qualifications you mention are ones you hold. Read the form's instructions for its length limit. Keep examples of digital help, stock work and activities only where they answer the vacancy's requirements.

You can check your draft against the person specification before submitting it.