34 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
Increasing reliance in the sciences on electronic collections, combined with emerging areas of emphasis such as
e-science, have led to a new service vision for sciences, with consultations and high-end equipment to be located in
the science library and print collections available for browsing and consultation in an annex. In addition, the library
instituted a liaison model in 2010 there is therefore a library-wide emphasis on proactive outside-the-library services
and availability that is consistent with a new service model for the sciences.
It simply made better sense to combine the two media collections and to coordinate staff and equipment in one building
in a redesigned, improved space. This also brought staff into closer proximity to our new Sharon Fordham Lab.
It was a change in service philosophy when we admitted that students and faculty were not and would not come up
the hill to the main library to use print resources and that we needed to deliver our services and content in the way that
worked best for them rather than insisting they come to us.
It was felt that user needs had changed over time and having a staffed reference assistance point was no longer
necessary. It was in close proximity to the circulation service desk so staff at that desk could contact librarians in their
offices for patrons with minimal/no delay in service.
Our goal is to have fewer physical locations on campus.
Provided user services in one location.
Reference service is now provided by trained library staff members who are scheduled to work service desks. Library
faculty continue to do in-depth reference, but are not scheduled to work at service desks.
Services delivered via “touch-down” space, and collection materials delivered from other locations.
Since much of the journal literature in this subject area is available online, the physical allocation of space for print
resources was no longer considered essential by the academic department.
The availability of e-journals and electronic means of communication meant that the physical library space was not as
critical as it was in years past.
The change in service philosophy around reference mirrors the change that had occurred with information resources
many years earlier—to focus on “just in time” rather than “just in case.” In reviewing the questions that were asked
at our desks and the level of library staff person needed to adequately respond to those questions, it became clear that
having a librarian stationed at a desk just in case a question requiring their skills and knowledge were to be asked was
a poor use of our resources. We found that only a small percentage (often less than 5%) of the questions that were
answered at our desks required knowledge beyond what a well-trained classified staff person could provide.
The changes implemented may not have been actual changes in philosophy but rather were a realignment of practice
with expectations around services. For some time, we have supported a just-in-time model of reference rather than a
just-in-case model of reference. During the process of moving digital reference services to the in-person service points
we worked on explicitly defining expectations around such a model. Examples of expectations that were clarified
through this process included: identifying baseline levels of reference expected at service points in a variety of subjects
(still in development), how and when to make referrals to subject specialists (with the understanding that appointments
in the future may be necessary), and expectations related to managing users in queue for assistance in a variety of
settings (i.e., how to deal with chat, in-person, phone, and email questions all at once). In order to free up liaison/
librarian time to take on new initiatives, we are always looking for efficiencies in our services. Making these changes
moved work to staff at existing service points and allowed liaisons previously supporting these services to have more
time to take on additional tasks related to engagement with faculty and students and our other strategic initiatives.
Increasing reliance in the sciences on electronic collections, combined with emerging areas of emphasis such as
e-science, have led to a new service vision for sciences, with consultations and high-end equipment to be located in
the science library and print collections available for browsing and consultation in an annex. In addition, the library
instituted a liaison model in 2010 there is therefore a library-wide emphasis on proactive outside-the-library services
and availability that is consistent with a new service model for the sciences.
It simply made better sense to combine the two media collections and to coordinate staff and equipment in one building
in a redesigned, improved space. This also brought staff into closer proximity to our new Sharon Fordham Lab.
It was a change in service philosophy when we admitted that students and faculty were not and would not come up
the hill to the main library to use print resources and that we needed to deliver our services and content in the way that
worked best for them rather than insisting they come to us.
It was felt that user needs had changed over time and having a staffed reference assistance point was no longer
necessary. It was in close proximity to the circulation service desk so staff at that desk could contact librarians in their
offices for patrons with minimal/no delay in service.
Our goal is to have fewer physical locations on campus.
Provided user services in one location.
Reference service is now provided by trained library staff members who are scheduled to work service desks. Library
faculty continue to do in-depth reference, but are not scheduled to work at service desks.
Services delivered via “touch-down” space, and collection materials delivered from other locations.
Since much of the journal literature in this subject area is available online, the physical allocation of space for print
resources was no longer considered essential by the academic department.
The availability of e-journals and electronic means of communication meant that the physical library space was not as
critical as it was in years past.
The change in service philosophy around reference mirrors the change that had occurred with information resources
many years earlier—to focus on “just in time” rather than “just in case.” In reviewing the questions that were asked
at our desks and the level of library staff person needed to adequately respond to those questions, it became clear that
having a librarian stationed at a desk just in case a question requiring their skills and knowledge were to be asked was
a poor use of our resources. We found that only a small percentage (often less than 5%) of the questions that were
answered at our desks required knowledge beyond what a well-trained classified staff person could provide.
The changes implemented may not have been actual changes in philosophy but rather were a realignment of practice
with expectations around services. For some time, we have supported a just-in-time model of reference rather than a
just-in-case model of reference. During the process of moving digital reference services to the in-person service points
we worked on explicitly defining expectations around such a model. Examples of expectations that were clarified
through this process included: identifying baseline levels of reference expected at service points in a variety of subjects
(still in development), how and when to make referrals to subject specialists (with the understanding that appointments
in the future may be necessary), and expectations related to managing users in queue for assistance in a variety of
settings (i.e., how to deal with chat, in-person, phone, and email questions all at once). In order to free up liaison/
librarian time to take on new initiatives, we are always looking for efficiencies in our services. Making these changes
moved work to staff at existing service points and allowed liaisons previously supporting these services to have more
time to take on additional tasks related to engagement with faculty and students and our other strategic initiatives.
