ERIC Number: EJ1103642
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1536-7967
EISSN: N/A
Improving the Patron Experience: Sterling Memorial Library's Single Service Point
Sider, Laura Galas
Journal of Access Services, v13 n2 p91-100 2016
This article describes the planning process and implementation of a single service point at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library. While much recent scholarship on single service points (SSPs) has focused on the virtues or hazards of eliminating reference desks in libraries nationwide, this essay explores the ways in which single service points can improve the patron experience by bringing together circulation, information services, and library privileges. It begins with an overview of the process at Sterling, including the library renovation that enabled our transition. After laying out the planning, training, and implementation phases of the single service point, the essay presents the major issues with which SSPs must contend (staff expertise, integration within the library, and designing a space to suit both staff and patrons) and considers the potential of such service points to improve library services.
Descriptors: Academic Libraries, Library Services, Library Administration, Improvement, Users (Information), Facility Improvement, Library Facilities, Program Development, Program Implementation, Training, Library Personnel, Expertise, Interior Design
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Connecticut (New Haven)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A