Record Details
Full-Time Reference with Part-Time Librarians: Dealing with Staffing Realities, Meeting User Needs
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Full-Time Reference with Part-Time Librarians: Dealing with Staffing Realities, Meeting User Needs |
| Names |
King, Valery
(creator) Christensen-Lee, Sara (creator) |
| Date Issued | 2014 (iso8601) |
| Note | This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by the American Library Association, Reference and Users Services Association and can be found at: http://www.ala.org/rusa/communications/rusqinfo |
| Abstract | Shifting priorities in academic libraries have led to experimentation in methods of keeping a reference desk open for the users who still need in-person immediate help, while at the same time freeing up faculty librarians to pursue other pressing priorities. The Valley Library at Oregon State University has relied entirely on part-time professional librarians to cover reference desk shifts since Fall 2009, relieving faculty librarians of this task. Faculty continue to provide desk backup, chat reference and research consultation. In 2012 the authors invited both the part-time and faculty librarians to participate in a study, using a separate survey for each group, to elicit their experiences and impressions of the model. The goal was to determine the model’s effectiveness and to identify changes that might be needed to improve it. Participants concluded that the model works well, although faculty feel they may be under-informed on important research and instruction issues brought up by students in their departments. They believe that some improvements to the referral process should be investigated. A follow-up assessment of patron satisfaction is indicated before a full picture can be developed on the success of this model. |
| Genre | Article |
| Identifier | King, V., & Christensen-Lee, S. (2014). Full-Time Reference with Part-Time Librarians. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 54(1), 34-43. doi:10.5860/rusq.54n1.34 |
