[Publib] Displaying Reserved Items

[Lise Chlebanowski]

Maybe you're looking at it too much from the staff side...as a patron I can walk into my local library, go right to the reserve shelf, find my name, grab my items and check them out at one of three self-check out machines. The alternative would be to go to the desk, probably wait in some kind of line and increase my total time by at least 5 minutes. Doesn't seem like much but if a patron is in a hurry, having a self-service reserve area can really be a great customer service. That's my 2 cents! 
 
Lisë Chlebanowski
Library Manager
Sam Garcia Western Avenue Library
495 E. Western Ave.
Avondale, AZ   85323
623-333-2611 D
623-333-0260 F
lchlebanowski at avondale.org <mailto:lchlebanowski at avondale.org> 
 
Now Reading on my Kindle: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (trying anyway)
Now Reading: Dewey by Vicky Myron
Now Listening: Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? by Peter Walsh
 

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From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Tom Cooper
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 1:50 PM
To: Mary Soucie; Natalie Morgan
Cc: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: RE: [Publib] Displaying Reserved Items



This is a discussion that has interested me for some time. I'd like to know what, exactly, is the purpose of self checkout of reserves. As I see it, there is nothing gained in terms of service: indeed, you take away the service of circulation staff retrieving the reserved items for the patron, in favor of patrons getting them themselves. And, since so much paperwork must be instituted to maintain privacy, I can't imagine there is any savings in actual staff time spent on reserves. As long as I'm going to be paying staff, I think I'd rather have them interacting with patrons than spending hours wrapping books in paper slips and writing names on them. I think that busy libraries first instituted self checkout of reserves as a way of saving staff time, but once they began to deal with the privacy issues, the staff time savings evaporated. Or am I seeing this wrong? Is there truly a different and very good reason for making patrons retrieve their own reserved items?

Tom Cooper, Director

Webster Groves Public Library

301 E. Lockwood Avenue

Webster Groves, MO 63119-3102

 

 (314) 961-3784 
tcooper at wgpl.org 

Do not judge beliefs by their plausibility, but by the harm they may do. 
                                             Nassim Nicholas Taleb 

 

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Mary Soucie
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 2:50 PM
To: Natalie Morgan
Cc: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Publib] Displaying Reserved Items

 

Natalie,

Several libraries in our area provide self pickup of holds. When we implemented it at my previous library patrons responded favorably. We wrapped the item in a paper and wrote patron's last name, first initial down the spine. I know other libraries that do a combination of library card number and phone number. We didn't have any problems with people taking other patron's books or looking to see who had what checked out. 

I hope to implement this in the future at my new facility, along with self checkout. They go hand-in-hand nicely.

 

Good luck!

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 1:00 PM, Natalie Morgan <morgan at boernelibrary.org> wrote:

  Hi All,

We're building a new library, and as part of the planning process we'll be providing space for our reserved items. I personally am not excited about them being put out in the public for a self-service type of display because of privacy issues. Can any of y'all tell me how you do your reserves, if indeed they're in a public space? Am I crazy to be too worried about the privacy issue? Thanks for any help you can send our way!  

Natalie Morgan
Assistant Library Director

Boerne Public Library
Boerne, TX
Error! Filename not specified.

 


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-- 
Have a great day!

Mary

Mary J. Soucie, MLIS 
Library Director 
Three Rivers Library District 
Channahon/Minooka IL 
25207 W Channon Dr     PO Box 300 
Channahon IL  60410 
815-467-6200 x303 
815-467-4012 Fax 
Yahoo IM: trldirector

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