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Ditching the Desk?

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?

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Enter RUSA's Frugal Librarian Contest and Win a Free Lunch!

Do you have any tips for helping ALA conference goers stretch their travel dollars?  Email your advice to Diane Zabel (RUSA Past President)  by May 15, 2007 (send  tips to dxz2@psu.edu with the subject heading Frugal Librarian) The RUSA Executive Committee will select the most creative and practical cost cutting strategy.  The winner is awarded a free lunch with incoming RUSA President David Tyckoson at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.   Tips will be compiled and posted on the RUSA Blog prior to the conference.

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RUSA STARS Preconferences at ALA AC 2007 in DC

ALA RUSA STARS* is hosting two pre-conferences for ALA Annual 2007 in Washington, DC.  One is for new practitioners of interlibrary loan, and the other is for advanced resource sharing practitioners.  Listed below is a brief description of each pre-conference.  If you have suggestions for or questions about these pre-conferences, please use the Comments link for this blog entry; the committee chairs of the pre-conferences will respond to any questions/comments. 

 

Each is a full-day pre-conference scheduled for Friday, June 22, 2007.  Locations will be assigned in mid-April.

 

ILL 101: Interlibrary Loan for New Practitioners (EVENT CODE RU5) is geared toward library staff and librarians who are new to interlibrary loan and resource sharing. This pre-conference will go in-depth into the borrowing and lending aspects of resource sharing, including various techniques and technologies used. Click here to register; remember to use event code RU5.

 

Yin & Yang: Bringing Balance to Resource Sharing (EVENT CODE RU4) is a pre-conference for advanced practitioners and includes discussions on consortia, committed lending, and unmediated/patron-initiated borrowing. The presentations examine the ideal perspective versus the current perspective (what is happening) for end users and resource-sharing practitioners. Click here to register; remember to use event code RU4.

 

*What is STARS (http://www.ala.org/rusa/stars)? The Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section (STARS) brings together librarians and library staff involved with interlibrary loan, document delivery, remote circulation, access services, cooperative reference, cooperative collection development, remote storage, and other shared library services as well as publishers, producers, and suppliers of products and services which support resource sharing activities.

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Reminder of New Orleans

 

As we move toward the ALA Midwinter conference in Seattle, I think back to the good that we all did by holding our annual conference in New Orleans last summer.  In revisiting my photos from that time, I came across this one that sums up the impact that we had on the city.  In a storm damaged storefront, this white board said it all.  I have never been prouder of my affiliation with ALA than during the conference in New Orleans.