116 · Representative Documents: Planning and Progress
Georgia Tech
Combined Service Area Progress
Combined Service Area Progress
The Combined Service Area (CSA) will include the services currently offered at the Circulation,
Information Services, and the Special Formats &Maps service desks. The CSA will have a
Library Services Desk that will be open 24/5 and a Research Consultation Desk that will be
staffed by subject librarians approximately seven hours a day Monday-Friday.
The original goal of opening the CSA by fall semester 2010 has been postponed due to several
factors: the absence of support from a campus architect from facilities for an extended time in
spring 2010 due to priorities on other campus projects Facilities recommending the
postponement because of the noise /disruption of services caused by construction during fall and
or spring semester and the opportunity to apply for a grant to supplement our existing funding
for the project. While the grant request was submitted in late July, we will most likely not know
if we will receive funding until December. For these reasons, we have decided to hold off on
construction until after spring semester 2011. During this time we will continue refining
programmatic aspects of the project including training, staffing, referrals, visitor access policies,
etc. We will also have more time for feedback from our users.
Background
The CSA Task Force began meeting in September 2009 and was initially comprised of Bruce
Henson and Stella Richardson as Co-chairs and Bob Fox, Roland Garner, and Karen Glover as
members. The group identified the need for a neutral facilitator and in October chose the newly
hired User Experience Librarian Ameet Doshi to join the group. Bing Wang joined the group in
April 2010 after assuming the responsibilities of Assistant Head of Research, Instruction &
Outreach Services. Katharine Norris is our liaison with facilities and expert on the Library’s
physical systems. A literature review of library combined service desks showed that many
libraries implement a combined desk to consolidate service locations but services are usually not
integrated at the shared desk. The Task Force agreed that to provide a successful one-stop-shop
service point Circulation and Reference services needed to be integrated.
Ameet facilitated several information gathering sessions in October without the Task Force
present, and the Task Force then met with staff in several follow-up meetings. From the
information gathered the Task Force created a document with minimum levels of service
expected at the CSA and two initial work groups were implemented, Operations/Service Model
and Layout. The workgroup reports were submitted in early January 2010 and informed our
initial discussions with the campus architect. Additional committees were formed in March
2010: Referral Process, Branding &Signage, Training, and Visitor Policy, the latter whose work
is still ongoing. Please see appendix for workgroup goals, membership, and reports.
Progress
Reorganization of the Information Services Dept. in April 2010 – although not a direct result of
planning for the CSA, the reorganization of the ISD into two departments -the Faculty
Engagement Department and Research, Instruction &Outreach Services (RIOS), affected the
CSA.
Georgia Tech
Combined Service Area Progress
Combined Service Area Progress
The Combined Service Area (CSA) will include the services currently offered at the Circulation,
Information Services, and the Special Formats &Maps service desks. The CSA will have a
Library Services Desk that will be open 24/5 and a Research Consultation Desk that will be
staffed by subject librarians approximately seven hours a day Monday-Friday.
The original goal of opening the CSA by fall semester 2010 has been postponed due to several
factors: the absence of support from a campus architect from facilities for an extended time in
spring 2010 due to priorities on other campus projects Facilities recommending the
postponement because of the noise /disruption of services caused by construction during fall and
or spring semester and the opportunity to apply for a grant to supplement our existing funding
for the project. While the grant request was submitted in late July, we will most likely not know
if we will receive funding until December. For these reasons, we have decided to hold off on
construction until after spring semester 2011. During this time we will continue refining
programmatic aspects of the project including training, staffing, referrals, visitor access policies,
etc. We will also have more time for feedback from our users.
Background
The CSA Task Force began meeting in September 2009 and was initially comprised of Bruce
Henson and Stella Richardson as Co-chairs and Bob Fox, Roland Garner, and Karen Glover as
members. The group identified the need for a neutral facilitator and in October chose the newly
hired User Experience Librarian Ameet Doshi to join the group. Bing Wang joined the group in
April 2010 after assuming the responsibilities of Assistant Head of Research, Instruction &
Outreach Services. Katharine Norris is our liaison with facilities and expert on the Library’s
physical systems. A literature review of library combined service desks showed that many
libraries implement a combined desk to consolidate service locations but services are usually not
integrated at the shared desk. The Task Force agreed that to provide a successful one-stop-shop
service point Circulation and Reference services needed to be integrated.
Ameet facilitated several information gathering sessions in October without the Task Force
present, and the Task Force then met with staff in several follow-up meetings. From the
information gathered the Task Force created a document with minimum levels of service
expected at the CSA and two initial work groups were implemented, Operations/Service Model
and Layout. The workgroup reports were submitted in early January 2010 and informed our
initial discussions with the campus architect. Additional committees were formed in March
2010: Referral Process, Branding &Signage, Training, and Visitor Policy, the latter whose work
is still ongoing. Please see appendix for workgroup goals, membership, and reports.
Progress
Reorganization of the Information Services Dept. in April 2010 – although not a direct result of
planning for the CSA, the reorganization of the ISD into two departments -the Faculty
Engagement Department and Research, Instruction &Outreach Services (RIOS), affected the
CSA.
