eliminating the physical reference desk: one year later
DESCRIPTION
Presented at GaCOMO14 by Sharon Holderman, Tennessee Technological UniversityTRANSCRIPT
ELIMINATING THE REFERENCE DESK:ONE YEAR LATER
Sharon HoldermanCoordinator of Public Services
Tennessee Technological University
PREVIOUS STATUS desk location
staffing
hours
stats
PREVIOUS PROBLEMS chained librarians empty desk syndrome limited hours wasted time perception of librarians decreasing stats substitution nightmare comp time meaningless stats
FINDING A SOLUTION worked with librarians
no solutions
reference triage
the pager
HOW IT WORKS front desk for everything
answer if possible
push the paging button
help to the rescue!
NEW STATUS desk location desk location
staffing
hours
stats
NEW BENEFITS mobility of librarians no empty desk syndrome expanded hours recognizing circulation staff student workers more engaged easier scheduling larger staff for substitutions better statistics
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED who’s on board? moving desk was KEY stats went down pushing the button is hard patrons have no clue chat reference / reference email circulation plays a huge role
OVERALL success
time will tell
pager system will continue
feedback
