Comments on: The Reference Desk Under Fire http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/reference-desk-under-fire.html Learning in Libraries and Loving It Fri, 04 May 2012 00:51:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Iris http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/reference-desk-under-fire.html/comment-page-1#comment-261 Iris Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:50:00 +0000 http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/the-reference-desk-under-fire/#comment-261 Hi Meredith, Your Barns & Nobel example is a good one because usually there are people "in the stacks" but there's always somebody at the information station.<br/><br/>Luckily, at Carleton I can wander the reference area and the lab at the same time, because the lab is integrated into the reference room. So I try to do that several times per shift if it's not too backed up at the desk. But other than that I feel like I'd be reducing my chances of helping students rather than increasing them if I wandered any farther.<br/><br/>By the way, I've really appreciated your recent blog posts! Hi Meredith, Your Barns & Nobel example is a good one because usually there are people “in the stacks” but there’s always somebody at the information station.

Luckily, at Carleton I can wander the reference area and the lab at the same time, because the lab is integrated into the reference room. So I try to do that several times per shift if it’s not too backed up at the desk. But other than that I feel like I’d be reducing my chances of helping students rather than increasing them if I wandered any farther.

By the way, I’ve really appreciated your recent blog posts!

]]> By: Meredith http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/reference-desk-under-fire.html/comment-page-1#comment-260 Meredith Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:12:00 +0000 http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/the-reference-desk-under-fire/#comment-260 Hi Iris! I totally agree with you. Here at Norwich, we only have one librarian staffing the reference desk at a time (we have a very small reference staff). If I spent my time walking around looking for people who need help, people would likely have a harder time finding me, since our library has 5 floors and I could be anywhere. I sometimes walk around the reference area and the computer lab on the same floor as the ref desk if it's really slow at the desk, but if no one is at the desk, students usually assume no one can help them. I know I hate hunting around for someone at Circuit City and I greatly prefer the Barnes and Noble/Borders model with the desk in the middle of the store where I know I will find someone. But, like you said, it is totally dependent on the set-up and staffing situation at the library. Hi Iris! I totally agree with you. Here at Norwich, we only have one librarian staffing the reference desk at a time (we have a very small reference staff). If I spent my time walking around looking for people who need help, people would likely have a harder time finding me, since our library has 5 floors and I could be anywhere. I sometimes walk around the reference area and the computer lab on the same floor as the ref desk if it’s really slow at the desk, but if no one is at the desk, students usually assume no one can help them. I know I hate hunting around for someone at Circuit City and I greatly prefer the Barnes and Noble/Borders model with the desk in the middle of the store where I know I will find someone. But, like you said, it is totally dependent on the set-up and staffing situation at the library.

]]> By: Iris http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/reference-desk-under-fire.html/comment-page-1#comment-259 Iris Mon, 13 Nov 2006 13:44:00 +0000 http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/the-reference-desk-under-fire/#comment-259 Hi Mark, I'm glad you emphasized that the decision should be situation dependent. I think that's really the key, and I wish that people would think about that before condemning the desk outright. What I'd like to see is someone who thinks through the key issues and decisions to be made and present us with those rather than the conclusion that fit their libraries.<br/><br/>But even when you think of the Best Buy model, you have physically small areas, each of which is staffed with at least one person, and within which there are usually good enough sight-lines that you can see the wandering high-schooler who's about to help you make and "informed" decision between two laser printers. If we look to them for a service model (minus the unhelpful high-schoolers), we'd have to staff ourselves with many more librarians and cut the stacks down to shoulder hight. Hi Mark, I’m glad you emphasized that the decision should be situation dependent. I think that’s really the key, and I wish that people would think about that before condemning the desk outright. What I’d like to see is someone who thinks through the key issues and decisions to be made and present us with those rather than the conclusion that fit their libraries.

But even when you think of the Best Buy model, you have physically small areas, each of which is staffed with at least one person, and within which there are usually good enough sight-lines that you can see the wandering high-schooler who’s about to help you make and “informed” decision between two laser printers. If we look to them for a service model (minus the unhelpful high-schoolers), we’d have to staff ourselves with many more librarians and cut the stacks down to shoulder hight.

]]> By: Mark http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/reference-desk-under-fire.html/comment-page-1#comment-258 Mark Mon, 13 Nov 2006 13:03:00 +0000 http://pegasuslibrarian.com/2006/11/the-reference-desk-under-fire/#comment-258 It sounds like you've done a great job thinking this through, Iris.<br/><br/>I'm not sure where I stand on this issue, assuming the librarians are approachable in the first place. Maybe I'm just too old, but I really don't expect the library to be, say, Best Buy. I don't want to go looking for a librarian when I need one. But then I do see some merit in different approaches.<br/><br/>I can't speak for the typical student but I know I'm going to get freaked when some stranger comes up to me in the stacks and asks if they can help.<br/><br/>I do think it is fully dependent on the physical library situation and campus culture, and it sounds like you have reasoned yours out well. It sounds like you’ve done a great job thinking this through, Iris.

I’m not sure where I stand on this issue, assuming the librarians are approachable in the first place. Maybe I’m just too old, but I really don’t expect the library to be, say, Best Buy. I don’t want to go looking for a librarian when I need one. But then I do see some merit in different approaches.

I can’t speak for the typical student but I know I’m going to get freaked when some stranger comes up to me in the stacks and asks if they can help.

I do think it is fully dependent on the physical library situation and campus culture, and it sounds like you have reasoned yours out well.

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