Two research questions guided this study: (1) Is there a gap in customer service quality perception between librarians (service providers) and patrons (service beneficiaries)?; and (2) How do patrons perceive the relational service qualities of librarians who staff the reference desk? Quantitative results based on a Likert scale survey showed no…

Student workers are a well-established component of academic library operations. Recently, their traditional role has expanded to include responsibilities that were previously assigned to librarians, including in-person and virtual reference support. This trend has raised concerns about service quality and highlighted the importance of adequate…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This issue includes the following articles: (1) ARL Library Budgets after the Great Recession, 2011-13…

Profile of fee-based information services offered by the Information Exchange Center of Georgia Institute of Technology notes history and background, document delivery to commercial clients and on-campus faculty, online and manual literature searching, staff, cost analysis, fee schedule, operating methods, client relations, marketing, and current…

Describes a survey that was conducted at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville library to count and categorize the types of questions coming into the reference department from telephone calls. Informational and directional calls are examined, implications for staffing are considered, and queuing theory is applied. (seven references) (LRW)

This 1974/75 survey with a follow-up study in 1980 assembles data on the management and use of vertical file (VF) collections in the 18 libraries of the City University of New York. Results of questionnaires sent to 188 reference department heads or reference librarians show that the sizes of the VF collections studied range from 1,000 to 79,000…

This manual presents the policies and procedures of the Reference Department of Chicago State University's Douglas Library. General information about the reference department's staffing, functions, and services is given in the first section. In the next nine sections information is provided about the following areas: scope and circulation period…

Findings of a survey of the level of reference service requested at service points conducted at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University indicate that, while 20.5 percent of 14,026 questions recorded fall in the reference category, only 0.7 percent required research by professional librarians. Models of reference desk service and…

Major goals of study of online systems as reference tools--DIALOG, OCLC, Research Libraries Information Network--in a university library were to evaluate effectiveness of each system as supplement to printed reference tools and public catalog; determine costs; and investigate effectiveness of brief training sessions for reference desk staff.…

Outline of the operation and services of the Data Library in the University of Florida Libraries includes a brief history, administration of the library system, development of collection of machine-readable data files, data users, technical services, reference services, funding, and staff recruitment, training, and development. Four references are…

Raises questions about influence of present reference practice on library user perceptions of the librarian as information intermediary and on user ability to distinguish between librarians and other staff. Questions are discussed within context of client-professional relationship, using data from study of users of three midwestern university…

Description of the rapid growth and development of Texas A&M's Sterling C. Evans Library during the past decade focuses on collection growth to over 1.4 million volumes, staffing increases, automated programs and services including over 100 microcomputers for computer-assisted instruction housed in Learning Resources Department, and online…

Discussion of performance appraisal and evaluation focuses on a peer review and evaluation process of reference services that was developed at Louisiana State University. Formative evaluation principles are discussed, user survey results are reported, and a checklist for implementing a peer desk review process is provided. (20 references) (LRW)

Discusses problems and opportunities encountered in implementing staff exchange programs among reference departments of a multibranch academic library, based on experiences at the University of New Mexico. Highlights include communication; collaboration; uniformity of service; implementation criteria; goals; training; workloads and scheduling; and…

This document applies theories of participatory management to a proposal for a model that uses a team approach to staffing university library reference centers. In particular, the Ward Edwards Library at Central Missouri State University is examined in terms of the advantages and disadvantages of its current approach. Special attention is given to…