Academic
A survey reported in 1969 of the 54 largest academic libraries in the U.S. with the addition of 7 other libraries from the University of California system and 4 libraries from the California State system (65 libraries total; 53 or 82% responding) showed thatthe number of professionals working on the reference desk ranged from 2-11 with a mode of 5 and an average of 5.5, while the average number of daily hours each professional spent at the reference desk ranged from 2-8 hours with a mode of 3 hours and an average of 4.5 hours. (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatthe head of the reference department worked at the desk in 44 of the libraries (83%), with an additional 6 (11%) reporting that the head worked occasionally or in emergencies. The number of hours per day worked ranged from 1-7.5 hours with a mode of 2 and an average of 2.5 hours. (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatthe number of libraries using nonprofessionals in conjunction with professionals at certain hours was 17 (32%), while the number of libraries using nonprofessionals alone at certain hours was 22 (41%). (Source)
A mail survey of large (holdings of 500,000 volumes or more) academic and public libraries in 1972 (sample size: 197; usable returns: 102 academic and 47 public, for a total of 149) showed thatrespondents indicated that, of the time spent at the information desk, on the average 41.9% was taken with professional duties in academic libraries and 42.6% was reported taken with professional duties in public libraries. (Source)
Ibid…. showed that65% of the 48 academic libraries and 53% of the 30 public libraries with information desks reported that a professional librarian was needed at the information desk during the day, while 56% of the academic libraries and 50% of the public libraries reported that a professional librarian was needed during nights and weekends. (Source)
A survey reported in 1975 of a stratified random sample of libraries of accredited 4-year colleges and universities to include small, medium, and large institutions based on student enrollment (sample size: 150; usable responses: 141 or 94%) showed thatin 69% of the reporting libraries nonprofessionals were used at the reference desk, compared to 31% of the responding libraries that did not use nonprofessionals at the reference desk. No significant difference was found in the proportion of libraries reporting use/nonuse of nonprofessionals by institution size. (Source)
Ibid…. showed that, in libraries using nonprofesional staff at reference, 67% of the total reference desk hours were staffed by professional librarians, 19% by reference assistants (nonprofessional staff), and 14% by student assistants. (Source)
A survey reported in 1979 of 49 university libraries (48 responding) in the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities showed that66% have 1 or 2 professionals on duty at night; 17% have 3 on duty; and 8% have from 3 to 7 on duty (6% report the number of professionals on duty at night varies, and 2% have none on duty). (Source)
Public
A mail survey of large (holdings of 500,000 volumes or more) academic and public libraries in 1972 (sample size: 197; usable returns: 102 academic and 47 public, for a total of 149) showed thatrespondents indicated that, of the time spent at the information desk, on the average 41.9% was taken with professional duties in academic libraries and 42.6% was reported taken with professional duties in public libraries. (Source)
Ibid…. showed that65% of the 48 academic libraries and 53% of the 30 public libraries with information desks reported that a professional librarian was needed at the information desk during the day, while 56% of the academic libraries and 50% of the public libraries reported that a professional librarian was needed during nights and weekends. (Source)