At the ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle, one of the RUSA Discussion Groups talked about the idea of eliminating the reference desk and moving to other forms of assisting users. Naturally, this topic attracted a crowd (150+) and lead to some stimulating discussions. I would like to hear what readers of the RUSA blog have to say on this issue.
Do you think that a physical reference desk is going to be obsolete? Why or why not?
If the physical desk goes away, what type of service will replace it (if any)?
What steps have you already taken in moving toward the next iteration of reference service?
Here at the library at Baruch College (New York, NY), I don't see our physical reference desk going anywhere soon. Our desk stats have remained unchanged over the past 5-6 years (many other college libraries have reported a significant drop), and we remain quite busy at the desk. What I would like to see, though, is more roving. Not just roving in the library but across the campus. We should be setting up tables for a few hours at a time every week to offer reference assistance in places where students congregate (cafeterias, etc.)
We should also try to offer as many communication channels for our students as possible. We've been doing chat and email reference for 6 years, but we should also be doing reference via SMS (cell phone texting), VoIP, and IM. The more channels we offer to our patrons, the more likely we're going to get them to ask us for help (I'd love to know if there are any studies that show what percentage of a typical college community might ever ask a reference question).
At our library – the Engineering Library (a branch library) at the University of Texas at Austin – we do not have a reference desk but we do have “the desk.” It is near the entrance, large, and evident to anyone using the library. We think that it is also evident that the desk is where staff can be found. That’s what I worry about if libraries do not have reference desks. Will people in the library know where to go for assistance? I remember when I was a student (at another university) and the undergraduate library did away with its reference desk. As I found out later, reference staff members were supposed to roam and not be tied to a desk. My experience as a library user was that I could not find a desk and was not found by a rover. It was frustrating.
We've been doing virtual reference for years, via e-mail and QuestionPoint, and added IM in 2006. We get some traffic through these sources, but nowhere near the numbers of questions we get at the Information/Reference Desk. This desk is highly visible, facing the entrance, and between two large clusters of public workstations.
Last year I was on a team visiting libraries at other universities, in preparation for our building redesign. One in particular had a lovely information commons with state-of-the-art hardware, comfy furniture, etc., but no signs, special hats, or any other indication of where or whom to ask for help. It struck me as a maze of computers where a student could get lost and feel helpless, just as they can in a floor full of books with no help desk. Patrons often look for a nearby desk when they need assistance, and if no desk or assistant is visible, they either spend time getting frustrated before finding help elsewhere, or leave frustrated.
After our remodel at my branch, our desk is in visual line with the front doors and has a prominent sign composed of a question mark and the word “Information” below that. Staff knows it is Reference, but we no longer expect the public to know that jargon term.
Two librarians staff the desk, and while one or the other of us will often roam periodically (wearing VERY visible badges on lanyards), we try to maintain at least one person at the desk as a stationary point for customers to physically approach or call.
We also have offered e-mail reference for many years, and it has been popular. We looked into, but have not yet tried the 24/7 online or “chat” avenues. I think primarily because the committment to real-time online reference seems to require special staffing to have a librarian available at all times just for that purpose. Such a person wouldn't be able to answer phones or walk-ins simultaneously. E-mail is easier to handle because it can be done on our schedule or between walk-in/phone-in users by librarians at the public desk.
Roving works, but only on a serendipity basis. I do not wish to see the 'reference desk' (or whatever shape an 'information service point' might take on) disappear entirely. I think a service which answers users' questions needs to be available to users at a place THEY know how to contact us.
I do like the idea of a librarian desk presence in a Second Life! It will be interesting to see how it is used in action.
Clare Murphy
Reference Librarian
Pierce County Library System