[Genealib] Roaming librarians

[Miranda Van Horn]

Here is an interesting way that some libraries staff their collections.  Interesting.
Just FYI
mvh

________________________________

From: Larry Naukam [mailto:lnaukam at mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us]
Sent: Wed 3/7/2007 10:22 AM
To: genealib at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
Subject: [Genealib] Roaming librarians



To Curt Witcher: This is what I do and have done at my library for more than
20 years. And yes, it is effective. Two of us tend wander the division
working with patrons, and the other two of us sit behind the desk. It comes
down to a personality preference.

To Lynette Jones: The U.B. library school list is called LIS-LIST. I have
been having problems with it because of our mail servers here - I can read
it, but cannot reply to it. And without being subscribed to it, I don't
think that you can search the archives efficiently. The latest info I had
was from (http://informatics.buffalo.edu/alumni/listserv.asp); but I don't
know if it is still current. I pasted this from a digest that I just got
this morning - (LIS-LIST at LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU)

To anyone: I was upset when I read the initial description of the article
because it mentioned that many positions were being eliminated. Snippets
that I saved show why - and listmom, this is germane to the provision of
genealogical ref services! This was quoted from the list, describing what
someone had found in a study - I have not edited or commented:

To:      'UB School of Informatics, Department of Library and Information
Studies List'

They found customers were using the library more as a place - a lounge, a
meeting space - than as a place to find answers to their questions, Banister
said.

They also found that visitors preferred to find information quickly and on
their own - after all, what can't a person find on Google? Reference desk
queries had dropped 40 percent during the past 15 years.

"It really varied from the way we thought customers were using the library,"
Banister said.

On a recent day, library visitors came for a variety of reasons, but few
said they had cause to swing by a reference desk.

Jerry Banks, sitting in a chair with a book, said he stopped by the library
to "get out of the cold." Banks said he visits the library daily, mainly to
hang out and browse books.

Ramona Jones, on the other hand, was there for more traditional reasons -
she was passing the time while her daughter, Noelle, did research for a high
school paper.
"We try to come here on a weekly basis," the Pleasant Ridge woman said,
noting that the main library has more resources than some of its branches.

ML/21 streamlines staff - roughly 24 positions will be cut through attrition
or reassignment - and puts the customer at the center of what the library
does.

"The goal is to be more proactive," said Greg Edwards, library services
manager for the Main Library. "We're going out there and asking them, 'Do
you need help?' "

Michael Stephens of TAME THE WEB blog wrote: Many libraries have blogs, but
the movement to turn on comments creates a whole different environment, that
can scare some librarians or overwhelm others.

In the Teen area and gaming blogs, it is not unusual to see a thriving
discussion with 200+ or 300+ comments. In sessions on Weblogs in libraries,
Jenny and I have asked the audience: "How many of you can say you have a
thriving teen presence inside your library Web site?"

How many libraries have actively engaged their users in this way?

Larry back live -

See: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6413450.html

"Staff redeployments are part of the concept, and 24 positions will be
eliminated"; "Those losing positions are expected to find other spots in the
system; some could retire. Both professional and nonprofessional positions
will be cut, including some reference librarians and supervisors" and "A
genealogy and local history department also will be instituted, as well as a
technology center with more expert staff".

My take on it is if the 11 subject department reference desks are eliminated
and replaced with a centralized reference desk plus roving reference
librarians, how is the subject expertise going to be delivered? I for one
will be watching to see how this plays out.





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Miranda Van Horn 
Reference Librarian 

Cherry Hill Public Library
1100 Kings Hwy 
Cherry Hill, NJ  08034 
Work: (856) 667-0300 
Fax: (856) 903-1219 
www.chplnj.org 


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