Like those at so many other institutions, McQuade Library’s reference services were at a crossroads. With the design of a 21st century commons on its building’s first floor, a growing demand for varied information literacy instruction solutions, a decline in traditional reference statistics, and a small reference staff, Merrimack College librarians reinvented service delivery in the Library and to the campus at large. Using information collected, they made data-driven decisions to create a vibrant blended model of service delivery: staffing a service desk in the commons area and offering reference services in a newly established, inviting Research Center. The result is rejuvenated reference throughout the building and the physical space of the college.
VanScoy, A. (2012). Inventing the future by examining traditional and emerging
roles for reference librarians. In M. L. Radford (Ed.). Leading the reference
renaissance: Today’s ideas for tomorrow’s cutting–edge services (pp. 79-
93). NY: Neal-Schuman.
http://www.amyvanscoy.net/index.html
