With Reference to the Service Desk Personal reflections on a project that was developed for a University Library in 2005 and why it didn’t go ahead.

Current services provided at separate desks  Loans  Reference  Information – both university and library  It help desk  Audio visual

Layout of existing entrance and desk arrangement with traffic flows

Current staffing model  Staffing of the loans desk shared by all non professional staff in the library on a roster system  Staffing of the reference desk shared by all professional staff in the library on a roster system  Staffing of IT and AV desk shared by IT specialist staff and student casuals

Students feedback about current layout and staff service attitudes  This feedback was collected by focus groups of interested patrons, personal interviews with patrons at the desk and by informally monitoring patron complaints over a period of six months.

Staff feedback about current layout and patron attitudes  This information was collected by personal interviews with all staff as they arrived for their rostered shifts at the desks and in the returns area. It was also collected by informally monitoring staff complaints over a period of six months.

OH & S issues  These were identified by looking at previous six months incident reports and interviewing staff and patrons.

ITIL (IT in libraries) service desk  The software is already in use with IT help desk – with mixed results and feedback  The software exists on site and only requires minimal change to suit the purpose

Could ITIL provide:  One service desk for everything  Easier access to information for users  Better quality of service for users  Less stress on staff  Better staff/patron relationship

No reference desk!  No specific reference desk  Simple reference questions answered at the service desk  More complex questions referred to the appropriate reference librarian or subject group

Cost of service desk  Additional licence for software  Staff  Training for staff  Furniture for service desk area  Phones/ computer facilities

Proposed service desk with traffic flows

Problems  Staffing – could we really manage with so few staff?  Reference staff unhappy with change  Dedicated staff concerned about being always visible to patrons, needed the security of a closed office location

Project failed – why?  Not enough time to develop the staffing model?  Could reference services be provided successfully in this model?  Or was it really too much change in an environment where staff are concerned by change?