Arthur Young

Founders Memorial Library moves reference desks

by Mark McGowan

Some users of the Founders Memorial Library reference desks won’t have as far to travel this fall.

The library is consolidating all reference services to the main desk on the first floor in response to university-wide budget cuts. The library’s total rescission exceeds $400,000.

Physical moving of about 40 percent of the reference materials from the second and third floors will begin soon.

The consolidation, meanwhile, will permit double-staffing of the desk during peak hours – all efforts will be made to provide at least two different broad fields of expertise throughout these busy times – as well as professional assistance on Saturdays.

“We’ve been subject to the budget cuts, as has every other area of the university. We were unable to fill some recently retired positions, and these fell in the general reference area,” said Arthur Young, dean of the University Libraries. “Looking at a general reference area that would’ve been severely understaffed, the idea of consolidation came to the front burner. The more we discussed it, we saw some positive aspects.”

This fall’s consolidation affects only an estimated one-third of reference desk users, Young said, because two-thirds of the services already originated from the main floor location.

Librarian offices will not move. All other services, including bibliographic instruction and subject specialist expertise, also remain in their familiar locations.

NIU’s belt-tightening spared the libraries until late in the process – “due to the excellent support of President John Peters and Provost Ivan Legg. They should be applauded,” Young said – and removed only $50,000 from the library materials budget, a 1.5 percent reduction.

“Despite the recent cuts, the University Libraries continue to have a higher level of support than that found at many other comparable universities,” Young said. “The long-term commitment of our faculty has made a big difference.”

7-21-03