To improve customer service, some academic libraries have used a service philosophy statement to foster a shared understanding of service standards. The authors conducted semistructured interviews with heads of public services at academic libraries to understand how the service philosophy statement was used in practice and its impact on staff…

How can we best train student employees for public service roles? At UC Berkeley, as in many academic libraries, a student employee is the first person that a user will see when entering the library; they are the "face of the library." A positive interaction will set a positive tone for the user's library experience, while a negative…

Therapy dogs are trained and socialized to provide comfort to individuals who are ill or experiencing stress. The following article explores therapy dog outreach programs in academic libraries by describing a successful venture at McGill University Library. Background, planning advice, assessment results, and recommendations are presented with an…

There are many similarities between museums and academic libraries as public service institutions. This article is an examination of museum Web site practices and concepts that might also be transferable to academic library Web sites. It explores the digital manifestations of design and information presentation, user engagement, interactivity, and…

Libraries rely heavily on student workers for the day-to-day running of the library. Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas is no different. We report on Steen Library's training efforts to staff several public service points as well as keep materials on the shelves by cross-training student employees.

This column is typically devoted to discussion of the different ways in which public service librarians use technology. But for this, the special graduate student issue and her inaugural issue as the technology columnist, Breakstone is flipping things around. Public service librarians can best help their graduate student patrons by understanding…

Discusses technical services as a reader service in academic libraries and suggests that the successful implementation of digital libraries needs a systems approach that crosses functional and administrative boundaries. Describes the need for the integration of technical services with other reader services and explains forces pushing for and…

This study examines sixty academic libraries' Web sites and finds that 80 percent of them do not have a technical services' homepage. Data reveal that institution's status might be a factor in whether a library has such a page. Further content analysis suggests there is an appropriate and useful public service role that technical services…

Describes the development of a new interface called GPO Gate for accessing the Government Printing Office (GPO) WAIS (wide area information server) databases, GPO Access. Highlights include development and use of GPO Gate at the University of California, San Diego, and implications for public service. (Author/LRW)

A survey of public and academic libraries conducted to obtain information on length of reference desk shifts and proportion of the reference librarian's time spent at the desk found the two-hour weekday shift to be the most common, and that librarians typically work 7 to 21 hours per week at the desk. (EM)

Presents the results of a three-round Delphi technique study in which predictions about the education, roles, and functions of academic public service librarians in the year 2000 were compiled and analyzed. A table summarizes the predictions by area. (Author/JL)

Identifies major problems that affect reader's services departments in Nigerian university libraries. Highlights include the functions of the reader's services department, including circulation, collection management, user education, and interlibrary loan; student population explosion; funding shortages; staffing shortages; and suggested…

Examines the extent to which professional catalog librarians in academic libraries are involved in public services activities. Current literature is reviewed, results of a survey begun in 1983 and updated in 1986 and 1988 are analyzed and compared, and new areas in which an expanded role for catalog librarians would be beneficial are suggested.…

This case study describes the management system of Dickinson College Library. Highlights include a rotating chair instead of a director; collegiality in decision making; rotating departmental responsibilities; developing an acceptable level of expertise in both technical and public services; and an emphasis on professionalism. (Author/LRW)

Presents results of a study on communication channels used by academic librarians in different job categories and organizational levels. A literature review of information processing and internal and interdepartmental library communication is included. Face-to-face and telephone communication dominated as choice of medium. Public service and…