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Some library users come in the door knowing exactly where to go, with clearly defined and communicated needs. However, many more enter the library on an exploratory mission and often stop at the first service desk that catches their eye. In many libraries, this point of first contact is a security or general information desk, not a full-service reference desk. This opens the question, are users being served effectively and their expectations being met? During the first several weeks of the fall 2003 semester, staff at the service desk closest to the front door of a large academic library recorded the specific questions asked by library patrons and their responses. This data was subjected to qualitative analysis techniques and revealed some trends in what current students are seeking when they initially come into the library. The results are useful for managers to consider in establishing appropriate staffing models (such as who should work at this desk), developing relevant training, and planning service desk and collection spatial configurations. This article presents the results from this study and explores possible factors that managers should take into consideration.
The presence of a service desk within sight of the front door of the library is not a new phenomenon. Depending on the individual library layout, this may be a primary operation desk with senior staff or librarians, such as for circulation or reference. Alternately, in many libraries, the first desk a visitor to the library encounters may be a basic information desk staffed by volunteers, non-library track employees (such as a security monitor), student workers, or less-experienced library support staff. A desk may be visibly designed around a security function, but the expectations of the user coming in the door may force it into a directional assistance role, similar to that of an information desk. Though limited in role, this service point is still a user’s first contact point with a representative of the library, and they approach it with questions and expectations of assistance.
The implementation of actual information desks separate from reference desks has been around for the past forty years, with the first real assessment of information desks conducted by Jane Kleiner in 1968 and followed up with a more focused survey conducted by Larry Harrelson in 1974.1 A 1978 study at the University of Chicago Library supported the use of non-librarian staff, and suggested that the realistic need for the desk was actually periodic, a few weeks out of every year.2 As presented in the 1991 Association of Research Libraries SPEC Kit Information Desks in ARL Libraries, the more extensive use of information desks as part of structured, tiered service models is a fairly contemporary development, as assistance provided from the reference desk became increasingly more sophisticated with the multitude of electronic resources and interdisciplinary research demands.3 In this study, 45 percent of the responding eighty-nine libraries indicated having an information desk, but they did not keep statistics on the detailed nature of the questions being asked and the percentage of questions referred to other library service points. The premise behind the information desk model is that of providing tiered service with better resource utilization by having senior staff and librarians spend more time answering in-depth research questions rather than directing students to photocopiers and bathrooms.
Since these early surveys, there have been periodic assessments of the services provided by these desks and the staffing models supporting them. In 1997, a survey of two hundred library users assessed the effectiveness and user satisfaction with the tiered service model at Texas A&M University Library. The results of this study raised concerns that user expectations were not consistent with the information desk tiered service model.4 In 1998, an article in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association reported the use of focus groups to evaluate information desk services provided by library support staff.5 A subsequent article in the Journal of Academic Librarianship in 2000 presented the results of an analytical study of how library users move between different service points, including those available electronically.6 A recent evolution from the information desk/tiered service concept of the 1990s has been the exploration of taking the library to the students and the reconfiguration of many service points to an information commons model.7 However, many large libraries do not have the architectural space layout, power and data wiring configuration, and available renovation budget to immediately implement the sort of models presented in these recent studies. These libraries may be trapped in a model where the desk nearest the door is a security or basic informational/directional/referral service model, with considerable variation in staffing across institutions.
Even though in-building use may be reduced from the peaks of previous decades, many people are still coming to the library and asking questions of the first official-looking desk or person they see. As with any interpersonal interaction, this first impression has a direct impact on how the user will perceive the library as a whole and is a critical factor in exploring quality of service issues. Are users approaching this service point expecting a full response to their information needs, or are they coming up and asking directional questions with the expectation that they need to be referred to a reference or circulation desk? If a referral is the best answer for a complex question, is it being handled appropriately, with the user being directed to the service or collection they need on the first referral, or is the user being passed along to a reference desk by default, with the hope that someone there can assist the user? Is there a need for an abbreviated reference interview, or are users communicating their directional assistance needs in a precise manner? There is a significant body of literature that explores information-seeking behaviors, especially in the context of technology. Unfortunately, there is little in the professional literature that asks what contemporary, computer-literate users are seeking as they walk into the library building’s front doors. Only by assessing what users are asking at that first service point is it possible for administrators to, first, determine if expectations are being met, and, second, make the necessary changes needed to develop the most appropriate and effective spatial configuration, training tools, and staffing models to improve this service experience. This article attempts to explore this issue by presenting qualitative data gathered on almost two thousand questions asked at the desk nearest the front door of a main library in a university setting during the first several weeks of the fall semester. It then introduces some library resource management and training issues that are part of implementing service improvement initiatives at this point of initial contact. The preliminary data from this study was presented as an American Library Association Annual Conference poster session in 2004. Based on the feedback from that presentation, the issue of quantitatively identifying what current users are actually coming into the library seeking at the first point of contact, and how they ask for it, is of interest to libraries of all types and sizes.
The data for this study was collected at the desk at the entrance to Texas A&M University’s Evans Library. This is the main library of a central library complex, with several connected buildings that serve the majority of the university population of 50,000 to 60,000 individuals. The Evans Library and adjacent Evans Annex each have six floors, with a cumulative assignable space of approximately 410,000 square feet. The two buildings are connected by a fourth-floor bridge. The sprawling campus has three smaller, subject-focused libraries on the west side of campus that serve the medical and veterinary programs, the college of business, and the political science and economics departments. Separate humanities and social sciences, and science and engineering reference units are located within the main complex, along with discreet service desks for circulation, reserves, current periodicals, interlibrary services, media (A/V) services, and microforms. Additionally, at the time of this study, the library had three tenant services, a university copy services satellite called the Copy Center, the thesis and dissertation office, and a newly created university writing center.
In this library, the desk nearest the door is called the loss prevention specialist, or LPS, desk. It is a multifunctional desk intended to answer basic facility and service directional questions, monitor incoming students for compliance with the library’s food and drink policy, and respond to any activation signals from the security gates at the exit door. After 5 p.m., the desk occupants also serve as the facility proctors and oversee any facilities maintenance emergencies or security issues. The desk was not designed to look or function as a reference desk. Intended to provide a quick directional answer and maintain attention to the entrance and exit doors, the LPS desk configuration included neither a computer workstation to search the Web site or online catalog, nor a place for a patron to sit down while asking a question. It was expected that most users with nondirectional, research, or service questions would recognize this and bypass the LPS desk to go directly to the larger, more visibly equipped circulation or reference service points. At one time, the information services and security functions at the desk were distinct, with each service having its own counter area and staffing. Senior student workers and library staff covered the information desk, and loss prevention specialists were responsible for building and security issues. However, shortly after a 1999 building renovation, the two functions were combined to a single desk and staffing model. At that time, it was believed that most questions that initiated at this desk were directional in nature and could be answered in a straightforward manner or accurately referred to the humanities and social sciences reference desk by LPS employees. Anecdotal evidence during the past few years appeared to support this assumption. Though the humanities and social sciences reference desk was some distance away, it was in a direct line of sight from the LPS desk at the opposite end of a main corridor. Figure 1 shows a layout of the library’s first floor. Obviously, the biggest challenge associated with a referral is that the user understands why they are being referred and will follow through on their request at the other service point.
The LPS unit was initiated in the mid-1990s, and staffing was originally modeled after a store greeter concept, with limited extra security patrolling responsibilities. In addition to sitting at the desk near the entrance, LPS employees patrol the building to encourage proper conduct, monitor compliance with the food and drink policy, and check perimeter exits for building access security. The basic position description and experience requirements can be seen on the Texas A&M University Human Resources Web site at http://employees.tamu.edu/managers/positions/PayPlans/ByTitle.aspx. The staff members are a very diverse group that come from a variety of backgrounds. Several of the loss prevention specialists have retired from other careers and work part-time. Very few have personal higher education experience as a student or instructor, or extensive technology skills.
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