The Library at McMaster University has done away with their reference desk and introduced "blended services" which allow their patrons to go to one desk for all their library needs - circulation and reference.
You can read about it at these two posts from the McMaster Library blog: Reference Desk - GONE and More on the Reference Desk is Gone
What do you think? Is this a good idea? Or, at the risk of being overly dramatic here, is this the end of the world? How important is a separate reference desk at an academic library?
22 July 2010
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As someone who has worked at the reference desk at uO's Morisset Library, I like to think we were important. At Morisset the ref desk is shared with Computing and Communications Services (CCS), so in a sense they are already offering "blended services".
ReplyDeleteHaving a multi-purpose or mult-service ref desk provides more opportunities for collaboration and team work.
No it's not the end of the world, but it does create an interesting work flow situation. Another potential issue is the pressure on library staff members to be able to do everything. Having specializations and expertise, rather than having a bunch of people with superficial knowledge, can increase the quality of service.