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Introduction - Welcome to this resource

The ‘Handle With Care’ guidelines have been designed to increase awareness of manual handling issues and to help minimise the risk of injury as part of the Library's commitment to dealing with Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) in the workplace.

The contents were specially designed for staff working in the loans and shelving area of Deakin University Library but the manual handling principals may benefit all Library staff. The guidelines can be used as an induction tool for new staff and as a refresher for existing staff.

Handling books is labour intensive and is the most common cause of injuries in the loans and shelving area. WorkSafe figures indicate that around 25% of all workplace injuries are caused when carrying out manual handling tasks. In general, loans and shelving staff have had a higher than average number of WorkCover claims from manual handling injuries.

Many injuries require periods of time away from work. Some injuries can be serious and reduce the quality of life. Workplace injuries affect everyday lives, families and relationships – injuries don’t get left behind at 5pm!

Deakin University has small, medium and large campus Libraries and each has a different environment. We could not include all the variations that are used at each service desks or when sorting books or shelving etc. The principles are basically the same if you work in a large or small Library.

The term manual handling applies to any activity which requires the use of force exerted by a person to lift, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or restrain any object. Unsafe manual handling increases the risk of injury to our bodies – back, shoulders, neck, arms, legs, wrists, hands etc.

Staff encounter a number of repetitive tasks including checking out items and desensitising them when patrons are borrowing, moving books from chutes to desks, checking them in, loading and sorting onto trolleys and shelving. Injuries that result from manual handling include:

• muscle sprains and strains
• injuries to intervertebral discs and other structures in the back
• injuries to soft tissue such as nerves, ligaments and tendons in the wrist, arms, shoulders, neck and legs
• abdominal hernias
• chronic pain.

Repetitive tasks are especially hazardous.

No library is risk free; we must always be ready to recognise hazards and do what we can to prevent them. OH&S is a shared responsibility of employers and employees.