The University of Baltimore Library was recently renovated. Part of the design in the newly renovated space was having one single service point, that we call the Information Desk. This desk serves as the public facing portal for what was previously three public facing service points to services by three separate departments, Academic Success,…

This issue's column focuses on online tools and resources available for leadership development of academic, public services staff. The resources are not targeted solely to professional librarians, but rather to all levels of library staff engaged with the public. In addition to inspirational and coaching videos, reviewers recommend resource guides…

This column contains information on how students in graduate library and information science programs participate in a forum to discuss key issues they see in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to state their visions for the profession, or to tell of research that is…

Student workers have always been a traditional and valuable component to the smooth running of many academic health sciences libraries. However, in recent years many libraries have redefined student workers' roles to extend beyond their traditional scope due to a range of factors, such as loss of staff and budget cutbacks. The Bio-Medical Library…

Circulation is the library's tireless foot soldier: it serves as the front gate to the library's services and resources. This service point is where most patrons enter and leave; and experience their first and last impressions--impressions that linger. In an age when academic libraries are facing meager budgets and declining usage statistics, this…

As libraries change to meet the evolving needs of our patrons, including the development of online services, many libraries are considering consolidating physical service points to maximize staff and better serve the in-house patron. This article describes the planning, implementation, and evaluation process involved in merging the circulation and…

Beginning in July 2002, the Health Sciences Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill underwent an 11 million dollar renovation. During three phases of the renovation, parts of the collection were inaccessible to patrons. In order to continue to make the library's collection available, library staff created a paging system.…

As resources become more constrained in the library community, many organizations are finding that they need to have a better understanding of their costs. To this end, this article will present one approach to conducting a cost analysis (including questions to ask yourself, project team makeup, organizational support, and data organization). We…

Identifies sources of technological stress for public services librarians and patrons and proposes ways to reduce stress, including communicating with staff, implementing a system gradually, providing adequate training, creating proper documentation, planning, considering ergonomics in hardware and software selection, selecting a good interface,…

Examines the present services offered by university libraries in Nigeria, future users' expectations, the role of information technology, the type of staff needed, and the impact of computers on acquisitions, circulation, interlibrary loan, serials control, and online information retrieval. Finances, staff development, and the need for library…