Staffing an Information Desk for Maximum Responsiveness and Effectiveness in Meeting Research and Computing Needs in an Academic Library

Abstract

Once widely accepted as a librarian-staffed research hub in academic libraries, the reference desk has become a source of wide-ranging debate. Desks have been reconfigured, combined, and in some cases eliminated. In many libraries, the traditional Reference Desk has evolved into the Information Desk to provide immediate answers to preliminary research and computing questions at a visible service point. In its new incarnation, some have questioned the necessity of librarian service at the desk. However, although transaction content has changed over the years, librarians continue to be indispensable at the desk, providing instruction and ensuring consistent, patron-centered service to meet users’ immediate needs.

KEYWORDS:

• academic libraries
• computing
• information desk
• reference services
• research
• undergraduate students