The Information Professional

by JD Thomas:

"Despite budget cuts and other challenges facing libraries of all types there is room to grow and reach new levels of efficiency. As the library world comes together in Chicago next week for SLA 2012 Annual Conference & INFO Expo http://sla2012.sla.org/ people will be talking about Embedded Librarianship."

This case study will be of interest to libraries considering a shift from traditional reference service to one that provides in-depth and personalized service, and provides a discussion of the choices made and issues considered from such a paradigm shift. 

Eliminating traditional reference desk services requires careful analysis and planning, as well as adequate and ongoing training of desk staff on the frontlines of service.  The study indicates that the new service model resulting in more in-depth, lengthy consultations will require librarians' expertise. The elimination of walk-in specialized reference assistance has not negatively impacted overall reference statistics, with some reference and instructional statistics actually improving.  However, it concludes that each institution must balance its organizational needs with that of its customers when designing its future services.

Read the full text of the study here:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193369/