Thursday, August 9, 2007

Reference desks - part 1


As part of the trend for reference and information staff to be more mobile within a library the service desks are becoming smaller.

This example from King County Library System in Washington State shows an ergonomic reference and information desk. It can be raised or lowered depending on the staff member on duty, or the clients needs for example it can be low enough for people to sit at. It is easy to approach and very easy for a staff member to be able to walk away from it to help someone. The desk does not present a barrier, but gives opportunities from staff to help the public.

King County has done a lot of work about changing service models – see Barbara Pitney and Nancy Slote’s article Going mobile: the KCLS roving reference model, Public Libraries. Chicago: Jan/Feb 2007. Vol. 46, Iss. 1; p. 54 (15 pages)

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