Shall We Get Rid of the Reference Desk?

Abstract

have all advocated for the elimination of the reference desk. 4 Steven Bell has been an active voice in calling for eliminating the reference desk. He reiterated the main problems of the reference desk and said that the reference desk is only a symbol of reference service, not the service itself. He then concluded it is time to eliminate the reference desk and adopt new models. 5What are the problems with traditional reference service? Karen Summerhill pointed out that reference librarians have an inefficient service model, one that is designed for "'emergency' style services in a non-emergency situation."6 Summerhill argued that the consultation services that professional librarians should give should be offered by appointment, like lawyers, doctors, teachers, and professors do, not in the emergency style that is common at the reference desk. 7 Ann Lipow felt that when a patron needs help from the reference librarian, it means that the tools that are in place to help the patron-the catalog, the signage-have failed.8 Aaron Schmidt said that putting librarians behind a desk is "unfriendly" to patrons and makes it easy for librarians to ignore what is going on around them. 9 Other problems cited with traditional reference service include• librarians wasting time waiting for reference questions to answer; 10

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign: What Does “Reference” Mean to Academic Library Users?

“…In more recent times, library literature indicates that the trend in academic libraries throughout the United States is to move away from the reference desk to an appointment or consultation-based approach (Meldrem, Mardis, & Johnson, 2005;Tyckoson, 2001) or even roving reference where the librarian meets the patron where they may be studying. However, in a 2011 survey of academic libraries of similar Carnegie Classification, 66.7% reported that they still use the traditional reference desk model to deliver service (Miles, 2013). Based on Regis University Library's previous LibQual+® surveys and personal experience, the Reference Services Department members agreed that the ready accessibility and visibility of the reference librarians is a vital part of their service and marketing efforts.…”

Where did the reference desk go? Transforming staff and space to meet user needs

“…Lewis (1995) believed a new paradigm for the mechanics of providing information was needed for libraries to be successful in the forthcoming move to electronic formats for information. From the more-recent literature, the authors found the point-counterpoint exchange between Watstein and Bell (2008) and the thorough summary by Miles (2013) to present balanced accounts Downloaded by [New York University] at 00:28 25 June 2016 of the pros and cons of eliminating desk-based reference services. Their findings made the Executive Team realize that there is no single, correct way to construct a library's desk and reference services.…”

Pop-Up Library at the University of Birmingham: Extending the Reach of an Academic Library by Taking “The Library” to the Students

“…While implementing a Roaming Librarian service outside of the library building is rare (Miles, 2013), literature on the concept does identify some key considerations. Penner (2011) suggests that the key to "any Roving Librarian project should be very simple: be approachable" (p. 29).…”