[Publib] reference desk time

[Bruce Bumbalough]

Here at Grapevine Public Library there are three full-time reference
staff for the adults side and two part-timers that fill alternate
Sundays.   That is 124 person hours a week.  We are open 70 hours a
week.  During the three days (Tu-Th)  the schedule has all three FT
persons at the library, we split the reference duties shifts faily
evenly.   That is 4 hours a day done in two hour shifts.  On Monday and
Friday there are two people and again  the time  is split into two hour
shifts, but we spend more tiome on the desk.   On Saturday the person
working (me) works all day on the desk.  On Sunday the library is open 4
hours and two people work all day on the desk.   Sunday is a very busy
day for this library.   The single Saturday staff is left from the days
in the old building when the adult and children's desk were close
together and staff could cover for each other.  Now the two desks are in
different rooms and neirher can be seen from the other.  Still I seldom
get so busy that I need help.   Many of the Saturday patrons are
browsers.  The Sunday ones are students diong homework etc.

Hope this helps.

Bruce Bumbalough at the start of a 8 hour tour on the desk in sunny but
cool Grapevine, Texas

>>> Kathleen Fargo <kaf33 at yahoo.com> 3/2/2007 6:50 PM >>>
Hi all you reference workers out there!
Think about your typical shift at work...how many
hours are you actually "on call" at the reference
desk?  Also, does your library have reasons for the
amount of time each reference librarian is at the
desk? If so, please explain.  
Thanks,
Kathleen



 
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