Runway Reference: Extending the Reference Catwalk Beyond the Library WallsSUNYLA 2012

Matthew LaudicinaColleen LougenLauren MarcusValerie Mittenberg

Sojourner Truth Library,SUNY – New Paltz

Sojourner Truth Library:Renovated Main Entrance

Floor Plan: Renovated Main Floor

Mock Up: Renovated Study Room

LES Being Renovated

Reference Books in Temporary Compact Shelving

Temporary Office Spaces

West Elevation:Current View

Mock Up: Renovated West Elevation

Holland House Library, September 1940

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000

AskRef VirtualTechnologicalInformationalDirectional

Reference as we know it…

Meaty Questions:

• I need a book about Hittite Rhytons.

• Are dress sizes the same in England?

• I need the weather report for New Paltz from this same day last year, but it has to include precipitation.

• I need primary sources published by the Society for the Suppression of Vice.

• What is the cost of a commercial security system?

• I need the transcript of a 2005 Good Morning America episode about a cocktail waitress fired for being too fat.

Enhanced Remote Access:

1. Virtual Reference: • Underutilized

• Proven effectiveness as remote reference

• Effectively promote print and electronic resources as well as reference services

• May not promote continued use of “physical” library

2. Roving Librarians:

• Librarians take reference to the stacks

• Outreach to students that do not often visit Reference Desk

• Possible reduction in desk hours

• Privacy and noise concerns

• Learning curve for librarians

3. Satellite Librarians:

• F2F library help at dedicated location, most similar to Reference Desk

• Outreach to faculty and students that don’t often visit library

• Promotion of services and resources to entire academic community

SatelliteIdea

Buzz Session

Transparency

Library Help Survey

• Designed as a team

• First draft too broad (included questions about past experiences using different forms of reference services and user satisfaction)

• Final draft focused on Satellite service (preference for campus locations “in addition to the library” for satellite Library Help Station and time of day staffed)

Win $50!Survey Introduction informed students about upcoming Renovation of Main Floor

The survey open month of April.

Survey Takers entered into a drawing for a $50.00 gift certificate at the campus bookstore.

Survey Monkey Select

• $204.00 annual subscription

• Unlimited responses vs. 100

• Excel export and printable results

• Multiple custom reports

• Month of April

• Library webpage under Announcement Tab

• Large Rotating Image

• Embedded in Libguides

• Instructional Sessions

226 217 67 215 114 83 104 36 other

579 total responses

Comments: You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

226 217 67 215 114 83 104 36 other

First Choice: Student Union Building

• Gathering place

• Hub of student & faculty activity

• Renovated in 2010

Student Union Atrium

Student Union Atrium

• Upstairs, away from main hub

• Low traffic & visibility

Second Choice: Lecture Center

Third Choice: Humanities Building

• High visibility & foot traffic

• Close to computer labs, classrooms, vending machines, cafe

Career Resource Center

Schedule of Service

Hours of Operations:

Monday: 1:30 – 3:30

Tuesday: 1:30 – 3:30

Thursday: 1:30 – 3:30

Staffing of Satellite Service

Furniture and equipment

Outreach & Assessment

• Did you find the service useful?

• Would you like to use the service in the future?

• Where else do you think this service could be offered?

Survey Questions

Dawson, Patricia A. “Are Science, Engineering, and Medical Libraries Moving away from the

Reference Desk? Results of a Survey of New Jersey Libraries.” Science & Technology Libraries

30.4 (2011): 343-353. Print. This article summarizes the results of a 2009 survey, conducted by a

53 member consortium of academic and special libraries, that explores the use of traditional and

nontraditional reference models. Models include virtual reference, roving reference, research

consultations, and tiered reference services. Data extracted from the study supports the

conclusion that science, engineering, and health sciences libraries still use traditional reference

models, and often supplement services with virtual reference.

Dempsey, Megan. “Blending the Trends: A Holistic Approach to Reference Services.” Public Services

Quarterly 7.1/2 (2011): 3-17. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text.

Web. 17 May 2012. Reference/Instruction Librarian Dempsey presents a study of a holistic

Annotated Bibliography

reference model implemented at Raritan Valley Community College in 2009. This model

combines tiered reference services with roving librarians, increased virtual reference, on-call

librarians, and reduced staffing at the reference desk. Issues of concern for continued study

include reorganization of staff, privacy and noise issues surrounding roving librarianship, and

effective scheduling of traditional reference desk service.

Hines, Samantha Hines. “Outpost Reference: Meeting Patrons on Their Own Ground.” PNLA Quarterly

72.1 (2007): 12+. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 17

May 2012. This article provides an overview of outpost reference programs in academic

libraries, evaluating these programs as an extension of more traditional outreach efforts. Topics

include program promotion and publicity, outpost locations (academic vs. social spaces), and

scheduling. The author also distinguishes between roving and outpost services, providing case

studies of each model.

Annotated Bibliography

Lavoie, Lisa. “Roving Librarians: Taking it to the Streets.” Urban Library Journal 15.1 (Spring

2008): 1-5. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 17 May

2012. Although the author describes her experience as a “roving librarian” at a rural

community college library, the program is actually an outpost service model. Lavoie includes

step by step guidelines for “setting up shop,” along with an evaluation of long term benefits of

outpost programs to non-traditional students.

Moore, Anne Cooper, and Kimberly A. Wells. “Connecting 24/5 to Millennials: Providing Academic

Support Services from a Learning Commons.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 35.1 (2009):

75-85. ScienceDirect. Web. 17 May 2012. This study, conducted in an academic library and

Learning Commons in 2006, investigates user preferences for reference and roving services, as

well as technical support. The results of this study indicate an overwhelming preference for face

to face reference services, with 40% of respondents favoring roving by librarians. This is an

interesting evaluation of the continuing debate over face to face vs. virtual reference services.

Annotated Bibliography

Nunn, Brent, and Elizabeth Ruane. “Marketing Gets Personal: Promoting Reference Staff to Reach

Users.” Journal of Library Administration 51.3 (2011): 291-300. Library, Information Science &

Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 17 May 2012. Nunn and Ruane review trends in the

promotion of library services, suggesting that successful marketing campaigns are essential to

reaching a diverse user group of part-time, distance learners, and non-traditional students.

Topics include staff re-organization, collaboration between departments, outreach efforts, and

remote reference services such as roving and outpost programs.

Penner, Katherine. “Mobile Technologies and Roving Reference.” Public Services Quarterly 7.1 (2011):

27-33. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 17 May 2012.

This article provides an overview of the Roving Librarian project at the University of Manitoba

Libraries. In addition to discussing the long term benefits to students and faculty, university

librarian Katherine Penner includes a list of technical and wireless requirements, mobile devices,

and staffing challenges to consider in the development of similar outreach programs.

Annotated Bibliography

Rudin, Phyllis. “No Fixed Address: The Evolution of Outreach Library Services on University

Campuses.” The Reference Librarian 49.1 (2008): 55-75. Library, Information Science &

Technology Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 17 May 2012. This article provides a comprehensive

overview and evaluation of changing patterns in library usage, user groups, reference and

outreach services, and even library design and construction over the last 15 years. Topics

include trends in remote access to services, space planning, collaborative search behaviors, and

outpost and roving programs. Recommendations are given for project duration, location of

services, as well as staff/faculty collaboration and motivation. Many of these guidelines would

be useful for start-up outpost projects.

Annotated Bibliography