A sharp decline in the number of reference queries prompted the library administration at Indiana State University to begin a project to combine the circulation, reference, and IT desks to reduce staffing at a new consolidated service point. All faculty and staff in the reference/instruction and circulation units participated in the project. The…

Remodeling an academic library according to the Learning Commons service model will challenge the library staff. This paper gives insight into four of these challenges: Working with the design team, preserving a scholarly environment, ensuring the most efficient arrangement of the library's service centers, and moving the library's collection. It…

This article describes the planning process and implementation of a single service point at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library. While much recent scholarship on single service points (SSPs) has focused on the virtues or hazards of eliminating reference desks in libraries nationwide, this essay explores the ways in which single service…

An automated retrieval system, adapted from a commercial warehouse application, has been installed at Georgia Southern University and has been well accepted by patrons and library personnel due to its reliability, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and responsiveness. (Contains 1 figure.)

In the past three years, the Union County Carnegie Library (UCCL) in South Carolina has "been transformed." The library board, selected by the county supervisors, knew something had to be done. In October 2005, the board hired Nancy E. Rosenwald as UCCL director. Longing to get back to South Carolina from western Connecticut, Rosenwald…

The central argument of the article is that while the building, the collection and the staff were inseparably linked, in a digital environment these facets of the library are diverging. This divergence clouds the process of envisioning a future for the library, but, if properly defined, it is a source of clarity, which sheds light on strategic…

Any organization must build a good reputation and image in order to "anchor" its relevance and indispensability in the minds of a wide variety of audiences. Many commercial organizations maximize opportunities to raise favourable awareness about what they do--and their techniques and approaches can be applied to libraries. Examples from…

A funny thing happened while the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL), already suffering from deteriorated facilities and systems, slogged through stasis (and three interim directors) after the 2003 departure of Director Molly Raphael. Mayor Anthony Williams presided over the city's economic turnaround--or, some charged, cozied up to…

Describes an orientation tour allowing library staff to work together in introducing large numbers of students to library services and facilities. Groups of students move through a series of five stations in an hour's tour with a minimum of congestion and traffic. (Author/RAA)

Discussion of space planning for special libraries focuses on questioning the need for stacks for printed materials with the proliferation of electronic resources. Topics include considering all information resources formats; costs of space; and space-needs assessment, including a collection survey, staff, and function areas. (LRW)

Offers suggestions for libraries on how to develop a customer service plan to provide excellent service, create a positive environment for staff members, foster new and continued positive relationships with patrons, and evaluate customer service goals and objectives. Also discusses policies and building appearance. (Author/LRW)

Profiles an education library which services a community of users including students of all ages, parents, classroom teachers, alumni, faculty, researchers, consultants, administrators, and professional staff. Institutional setting, history of the library, facility, collections, personnel, and programs are highlighted. (EJS)

Presents overview of common characteristics and problems of academic libraries in China which operate under rules issued from the central government in Beijing. Discussion covers building design, furniture and equipment, budgets and salaries, personnel management, collection development, library materials, use rate, effects of the Cultural…

Reports on problems involved in staff workspace design--impact of environment on behavior, productivity, and job satisfaction--and relates issues to library workplace (level of staff, type and size of library). Herzberg Theory, Hawthorne Effect, and findings of Buffalo Organization for Social and Technological Innovation are highlighted. (15…

Describes the Danville Public Library's (Illinois) planning and implementation of a groundbreaking ceremony and provides guidelines for the process. Highlights include early planning, the planning staff, publicity, videotaping, selecting a convenient time, decorations, invitations, knowing individual responsibilities, commemorative items, and a…