MERGING THE REFERENCE AND CIRCULATION DESK

The Engineering Library at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, combined the reference and circulation desks. The main goals of the merge were: “provide a ‘one stop’ shopping environment for [their] users, extend at least basic reference services to all hours of library operation, respond to on-site service trends, provide an efficient and flexible staffing solution, [and] use the limited space more efficiently.” The paper presents a literature review and a description of the process and rationale. But I think that the most useful part of the paper is at the end—the two appendices that presents the perspective of the reference and circulation professionals’s perspectives on the process and outcome.

Powell, Jill, et al., Integrating an Engineering Library’s Public Services Desk: Multiple Perspectives, Issues in Science and Technology Leadership Winter 2007, http://www.istl.org/07-winter/article2.html