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)

 

Dr. David Kohl

 "Libraries in the digital age are experiencing the most profound transformation since ancient Mesopotamian scribes first began gathering and organizing cuneiform tablets."

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