The Information Desk: the Library's Gateway to Service

Large Libraries and Information Desks

“…Jane P. Kleiner surveyed the member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries in 1967 regarding information desk services and reported her results and conclusions in the November 1968 issue of College and Research Libraries . 1 To broaden the knowledge base concerning information desks, the author conducted a mail survey of large academic and public libraries in the spring of 1972. This survey included a wider range of topics than did Kleiner's and was mailed to a larger sample of libraries.…”

Assessing User Interactions at the Desk Nearest the Front Door

“…1 A 1978 study at the University of Chicago Library supported the use of non-librarian staff, and suggested that the realistic need for the desk was actually periodic, a few weeks out of every year. 2 As presented in the 1991 Association of Research Libraries SPEC Kit Information Desks in ARL Libraries, the more extensive use of information desks as part of structured, tiered service models is a fairly contemporary development, as assistance provided from the reference desk became increasingly more sophisticated with the multitude of electronic resources and interdisciplinary research demands.…”

Extreme Makeover Reference Edition: Restructuring Reference Services at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center

“…The logistics surrounding the delivery of reference services in academic libraries-from where and by whom-are a long-standing point of contention among academic libraries that has spanned decades (Fritch and Mandernack 2001;Harrelson 1974;Kleiner 1968). Reference service delivery has evolved from a single desk to multi-tiered service points to onsite delivery at remote locations to the electronic delivery reference services at the point of need (Arendt and Taylor 2006;Radcliff 1998;Sonntag and Palsson 2007;Whitson 1995).…”