Once widely accepted as a librarian-staffed research hub in academic libraries, the reference desk has become a source of wide-ranging debate. Desks have been reconfigured, combined, and in some cases eliminated. In many libraries, the traditional Reference Desk has evolved into the Information Desk to provide immediate answers to preliminary research and computing questions at a visible service point. In its new incarnation, some have questioned the necessity of librarian service at the desk. However, although transaction content has changed over the years, librarians continue to be indispensable at the desk, providing instruction and ensuring consistent, patron-centered service to meet users' immediate needs.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, the College of Charleston's Addlestone Library merged the Student Computing Support Desk and the Reference Desk into a single Information Desk service point in the center of the first floor of the library. At the newly combined desk, students could receive research assistance as well as computer assistance in one centralized location. Workers at the newly combined desk included library staff, IT staff, and student peer staff. This innovation session demonstrated how an internal Information Desk Google site was used to streamline workflows and get everyone working together.

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Based on a desire to transition from a paper-based acquisitions system to a completely online system, College of Charleston Libraries have used the features in YBP Library Services' GOBI 3 (Global Online Bibliographic Information) to streamline firm order selections, to expedite and make more transparent the firm order process, and to advance our collection development efforts.