Comments on: History and change

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:14:47 +0000

I don’t think it would work well for us, but I do like your idea about thinking outside of the box (or desk) and trying out different service models. I know that some of us have tried to do roving reference in the past and it didn’t work well with our population. Not that we got rid of our desk during that time. Our desk is not something we can just get rid of temporarily (it is more like a fortress than a desk), so I don’t think we ever could do a true experiment of life without the desk.

By: Just a thought...

Just a thought... — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:34:29 +0000

Is there anything that would keep you from, say, abandoning the desk for a month? This would be on a trial basis, just to see how having no desk might impact your interactions with the students. You could adopt a “roving” model where you wander around a bit and do more assisting students at point of need, just to see how it works out.

You might find that you don’t miss the desk at all, or it might create total panic and confusion, but you won’t really know one way or the other until you try something, right?

By: Sharon Clapp

Sharon Clapp — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:26:57 +0000

Yes, I hate making other people angry, too. But that’s not a good enough reason to do or not do something. I think that’s a problem in our field. We all want to avoid confrontation. As a result, the aggressive folks who come into our field either find a backwater in which to ply their stock & trade of bullying others or everyone tiptoes around one another & the true issues never get on the table to get resolved.
Neither of these results is good for organizations that have to start living in perpetual beta and neither is good for the field of librarianship.
Have a debate on courses of action with all of the stakeholders involved, trust one another to not take things personally when you disagree on a topic (and ground rules, no one can impeach one another’s integrity or intellectual capacity – we’re all in this together, after all), then make the decision. Concede graciously, if need be, and carry out what is decided on… even when you disagree with the decision.
As Eppo said at ALA a few days ago, be courageous, speak up, just do something!

By: Kristine

Kristine — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:12:10 +0000

Hi Meredith

We have a traditional reference desk that makes it clear that we work here and people can approach us for help. If a teaching moment comes up, we often pull up another chair and have the patron come around and drive. If we see that the person would have difficulty moving behind the desk, we go over to a free public computer and sit next to them there. It’s simple and works well.

By: Cindy Maxey

Cindy Maxey — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:32:56 +0000

Any possibility of repurposing the desk in place? Use it for displays or student desk space or something else, and install a new, more appropriate reference desk in another location in the library.

By: Concilier histoire et changement « pintiniblog

Concilier histoire et changement « pintiniblog — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:30:22 +0000

[...] History and change [...]

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:36:10 +0000

Thanks, Rich. That’s exactly why I have issues with us having just a really tall desk. How could that possibly work for someone in a wheelchair???

By: Rich

Rich — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:53:31 +0000

Hi Meredith

Have you contacted the alumn’s family to see if a.they want the desk or b. donate money so the plaque can placed on the new desk.

Also don’t forget about meeting Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements with the new desk.

Cheers

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:27:03 +0000

We’ve been discussing the idea of repurposing it for a while, but we can’t find any uses for it nor anyone on campus who would want it. I’m sure we could find someone who would want the wood (an artist perhaps), so it wouldn’t be a total loss.

By: bibliotecaria

bibliotecaria — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:36:21 +0000

Have you considered if there is a way to re-purpose the desk? That might honor its history by continuing to use it, just not in the same way.