Designing an Active Academic Reference Service Point

Abstract

When designing a reference service point, there are numerous issues explore. The author covers some of them here: a review of the counter-desk debate; research on personal space applied both patrons and professionals; the need for ergonomically correct positioning; and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In conclusion, the author offers a reference service point design for consideration. Information seeking in an academic library often involves interacting with of the most profitable resources the library has offer: the reference service point. To function optimally, the service point needs be user-friendly, make the information and the assistance the patron needs easily accessible. In addition, patrons pass on their information needs the professional, turning the librarian into as of an information seeker as the patron. Therefore, designing the interface for the reference service point is of great importance for both professionals and patrons. Drawing on research and opinions from the literature of library and information science, personal space research in psychology, ergonomics, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, we will review several issues important consider in the design of the reference service point, and then introduce possible design of benefit information seekers on both sides of the desk. In the last fifteen years, there have been a number of studies on how design a reference service point that is welcoming and approachable patrons, as well as convenient and healthful for those who staff it. Some writers, however, have suggested that the reference service point is an outdated model for service and, instead of being redesigned, should be eliminated. Ford said that it is one of the traditions that should be examined ... [it has possibly] made general users less self sufficient and more dependent on library staff ... the reference desk does not provide the most effective and efficient service.(1) Ford believes that librarians ought be available much like teaching faculty, by appointment, for certain hours each week in their office. This might leave patrons terribly frustrated by not having a readily available person turn to, but it might make them begin to answer simple requests for themselves, or carefully read written aids and handouts.(2) Biggs also suggested encouraging patron independence and removing the reference service point.(3) She contended that the reference service point puts librarians on the same level as Burger Barn, [and] Super Susie the Automated Teller.(4) Several other authors identified various activities that could be performed in lieu of desk time, such as creating handbooks, pathfinders, and help sheets, studying the collection, performing bibliographic instruction, reading the literature, and attending conferences. All of these duties are important, but should we eliminate the reference desk accomplish them? Hendrickson offered a proposal modify the reference desk that would replace the professional at the reference desk with a referral agent. This agent would serve as an introduction the library and the array of services it offers: consultation, computer searches, browsing opportunities, [and] instruction.(5) Hendrickson's proposal was greeted with less vehement criticism from her peers than Biggs's was, probably because Hendrickson did not suggest the complete elimination of the desk. Still, she was criticized for not recognizing the user's immediate need for a professional, and for not being realistic about the resources available in most libraries.(6) The rebuttals Biggs's article point out that with the elimination of the reference desk, the patrons' needs are not being considered, only the dissatisfactions of the professional. Several arguments suggest that the model comparing library service the services provided by doctors and lawyers is in error. A more apt comparison, they contend, might be that of fire fighters and police officers. …

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