Access Services Management Measures Revisited: From Triage to Marketing to Disarticulation

Abstract

Library has changed and evolved over the last 20 years. Interlibrary Loan and Reserve Material services experienced explosive growth followed by recent continuous declines. Circulation of library materials also generally declined. The previous necessity for and advantage of managing Access Services units together may now be outweighed by new user needs and organizational opportunities. The following new strategic alignment is proposed: combining Circulation, Stack Management, and Copy Services with Reference in an Information Center (and eventually a Student Learning Commons); integrating Interlibrary Loan with Acquisitions; and affiliating Course Reserve Materials with Instruction and Distance Education.

Access services statistics: showing our story through LibInsight

“…There have been several case studies exemplifying how the use of quantitative measures helps in decision-making in access services units. In Brown’s (2010) paper, statistics across 20 years in access services units of interlibrary loan, circulation, stack management and course reserve material were examined. Each unit was transformed because of changes in use patterns shown by statistics and personnel changes.…”

Utilizing Building Usage Assessment: Determining Deployment of Student Workers in an Academic Library

“…Brown (2010) examined data that "helped identify and guide management priorities and resource requests," over long periods of time. Brown presents the changing nature of the Access Services Unit at the University of Montana over the last 20 years and how that data was used to not only determine staffing levels and workflow, but changes to the overall structure of the Access Services Unit over time.…”