Reference Desk Observation Analysis

I'm really glad we had this assignment, because I think that it was really eye-opening and helpful to me as a school library media coordinator.  It really sparked my interest and inspired me to better serve my own pint-sized patrons.  During the observation, I noted that the arrangement of the library (Charles A. Cannon Memorial Library in Concord, NC) was quite ideal.  The reference desk and office are situated directly across the library from the circulation desk, so librarians at both desks can see each other's patrons.  The stacks for fiction and nonfiction are on either side between the two desks, and off to the side of the reference room, there was an archive and special collections room.  The children's library, conference room, and auditorium were upstairs.  As soon as I walked in, I made my way to the reference desk, where I was greeted by John, one of the reference assistants.  He was sitting at the reference desk with another male assistant.  Chris, the head reference librarian, was inside the adjoining office.  I noticed that there was a variety of patrons in the reference section at this time.  To the right of the desk, there were 20 computers, and all of those were filled.  There were two high-school age girls sitting at a table nearby working on a school project, using reference books.  Then, there were a few adult patrons sitting on the couches/chairs near the reference desk.  So, fairly busy for a Monday night.

In the adjoining archive room, there were about four-five people working on a project.  Later, the reference librarian told me they were probably doing local history searches or genealogy.

I found that the reference librarians were only approached a few times.  Most of those that approached were asking about the class that John was providing at 6:30pm that evening.  This class was on eReaders and how to use the library's free eBook resources on those devices.

The atmosphere in the reference section was quiet, and everyone appeared to be absorbed in whatever task or project they were doing at the moment.