College and Research Libraries B y R U T H M . E R L A N D S O N A n Analysis of the W o r k of the Information Desk at the University of Illinois Library Miss Erlandson, a reference assistant at the University of Illinois Library, has com- pressed into this article the results of a master s thesis prepared at the University of Illinois Library School* and approved there in 194.3. INFORMATION SERVICE o f t h e t y p e d e -s c r i b e d in t h i s s t u d y is p r o v i d e d in a l l l i b r a r i e s . H o w e v e r , o n l y the l a r g e r insti- t u t i o n s h a v e f o u n d it f e a s i b l e to e s t a b l i s h s e p a r a t e desks f o r t h i s p u r p o s e . S i n c e these i n f o r m a t i o n desks u s u a l l y h a v e as t h e i r p r i m a r y p u r p o s e the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the p u b l i c c a r d c a t a l o g , t h e y a r e f r e q u e n t l y r e f e r r e d t o as p u b l i c c a t a l o g desks. T h e i n f o r m a t i o n desk a t the U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i - nois L i b r a r y m i g h t be so d e s i g n a t e d if it w e r e n o t f e l t t h a t the d e s i g n a t i o n " i n f o r - m a t i o n d e s k " a p p e a l s t o r e a d e r s w i t h a w i d e r r a n g e of q u e s t i o n s t h a n does t h e m o r e r e s t r i c t e d t i t l e . T h e p r e s e n t d e s c r i p t i o n a n d a n a l y s i s of the i n f o r m a t i o n desk a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i n o i s L i b r a r y a t t e m p t s t o a n s w e r t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s : ( 1 ) W h a t is t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u e s t e d a t the d e s k ? ( 2 ) J u d g e d b y t h e w o r k of the desk, w h a t s h o u l d be t h e q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of l i b r a r y assistants a s s i g n e d t o i t ? ( 3 ) * B a s e d on a thesis presented in partial fulfill- ment of r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r the degree of M a s t e r of A r t s in L i b r a r y S c i e n c e at the U n i v e r s i t y of Illi- nois. U s e d with permission of the dean of the grad- u a t e school. B a s e d o n v o l u m e of use of the desk, d u r i n g w h a t seasons of t h e y e a r , d a y s of the w e e k , o r p a r t s of t h e d a y is it m o s t e s s e n t i a l t o p r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n s e r v i c e ? ( 4 ) W h a t a r e the i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h i s s t u d y f o r t h e c o m p i l i n g of l i b r a r y m a n u a l s f o r s t u d e n t s ? T h e f i r s t , second, a n d f o u r t h q u e s t i o n s w i l l be a n s w e r e d w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e d f r o m the c l a s s i f y i n g of q u e s t i o n s r e c o r d e d a t t h e d e s k ; t h e t h i r d q u e s t i o n m u s t ob- v i o u s l y be a n s w e r e d b y a s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y - sis of the n u m b e r of q u e s t i o n s r e c o r d e d d u r i n g v a r i o u s t i m e p e r i o d s . T h e i n f o r m a t i o n desk is n o t the o n l y in- f o r m a t i o n a g e n c y in t h e U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i - n o i s L i b r a r y s y s t e m . Q u e s t i o n s a n s w e r e d a t this desk a r e a l s o asked a t a l l o t h e r p u b - l i c s e r v i c e desks a n d t h e y a r e of c o u r s e a d d r e s s e d a l s o t o i n d i v i d u a l s w o r k i n g at the c a r d c a t a l o g . T h i s s t u d y , t h e r e f o r e , does n o t p u r p o r t t o a n a l y z e a l l t h e i n f o r - m a t i o n s e r v i c e f u r n i s h e d b y the u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r y b u t r a t h e r t o describe w h a t is d o n e a t this p a r t i c u l a r p o i n t . T h e d a t a used as a basis f o r this s t u d y w e r e : r e c o r d s of a l l q u e s t i o n s a s k e d a t the desk d u r i n g its f i r s t t h r e e y e a r s of s e r v i c e , s t a t i s t i c s k e p t b y the desk, a n d a n n u a l re- p o r t s of t h e r e f e r e n c e d e p a r t m e n t . O b - s e r v a t i o n s f r o m p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e o v e r a p e r i o d of f o u r y e a r s w e r e of h e l p in i n t e r - p r e t i n g the d a t a . T h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s c h e m e f o r q u e s t i o n s w a s p r e p a r e d e s p e c i a l l y f o r 36 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES this s t u d y , since n o e a r l i e r s y s t e m of classi- f y i n g r e f e r e n c e q u e s t i o n s w a s f o u n d satis- f a c t o r y . History and Description T h e i n f o r m a t i o n desk at t h e U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i n o i s L i b r a r y w a s f i r s t e s t a b l i s h e d in S e p t e m b e r 1 9 3 7 as an e x t e n s i o n s e r v i c e of the r e f e r e n c e d e p a r t m e n t . I t s p u r p o s e s w e r e to o r i e n t s t u d e n t s b y s e r v i n g as a c l e a r i n g house of i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t the l i b r a r y a n d to h e l p r e a d e r s in u s i n g t h e c a r d c a t a l o g . T h e desk is l o c a t e d n e a r the p u b l i c c a r d c a t a l o g o n the second floor of the l i b r a r y b u i l d i n g , a p p r o x i m a t e l y n i n e t y f e e t f r o m t h e r e f e r e n c e desk a n d t h i r t y f e e t f r o m t h e l o a n desk. I t is p l a c e d in s u c h a posi- t i o n t h a t the assistant on d u t y c a n o b s e r v e m o s t of the p e r s o n s w o r k i n g a t the d i c t i o n - a r y c a t a l o g a n d the p u b l i c s h e l f l i s t a n d it is in t h e d i r e c t l i n e of t r a f f i c f r o m the c o r r i d o r to the l o a n desk. A s i g n r e a d i n g " I N F O R M A T I O N " o c c u p i e s a p r o m i - n e n t p o s i t i o n on t h e desk d u r i n g h o u r s of a t t e n d a n c e . A f t e r some e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n in the m a t - ter of h o u r s ( p a r t i a l l y based o n the find- i n g s of this s t u d y ) a s c h e d u l e of t h i r t y - s i x a n d o n e - h a l f h o u r s p e r w e e k is n o w in f o r c e . H o u r s of a t t e n d a n c e a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e a r e : 9 - 1 1 A.M. a n d 2 - 4 1 3 0 P.M., M o n - d a y t h r o u g h F r i d a y ; 7 - 9 : 3 0 P.M., M o n d a y t h r o u g h T h u r s d a y ; 9 - 1 1 A.M. a n d 2 - 4 P.M. on S a t u r d a y . D u r i n g h o u r s w h e n t h e desk is n o t a t t e n d e d , it b e a r s a s i g n r e a d i n g " I N F O R M A T I O N : A s k a t R e f e r e n c e D e s k , " w i t h an a r r o w w h i c h p o i n t s t o w a r d t h e r e f e r e n c e r o o m . A t t e n d a n t s a t the desk h a v e been m e m - b e r s of the r e g u l a r f u l l - t i m e staff of the r e f e r e n c e d e p a r t m e n t . T w o of t h e y o u n g - e r r e f e r e n c e assistants c a r r y the b u l k of t h e i n f o r m a t i o n desk s c h e d u l e , e a c h w o r k i n g a p p r o x i m a t e l y s e v e n t e e n h o u r s a w e e k at the i n f o r m a t i o n desk a n d t w e n t y - t w o h o u r s in the r e f e r e n c e d e p a r t m e n t . A l l a t t e n d a n t s h a v e been q u a l i f i e d l i b r a r i a n s w i t h a b a c h e l o r ' s d e g r e e in l i b r a r y s c i e n c e ; in a d d i t i o n , t h e y h a v e e i t h e r r e c e i v e d or h a v e been w o r k i n g t o w a r d t h e i r m a s t e r ' s d e g r e e . S e v e r a l of t h e m h a v e h a d e x p e r i - ence in c a t a l o g i n g , a b a c k g r o u n d w h i c h h a s been of g r e a t v a l u e in i n t e r p r e t i n g the c a r d c a t a l o g to s t u d e n t s . I n o r d e r to fill some of its d i v e r s e re- quests, the i n f o r m a t i o n desk is e q u i p p e d w i t h v a r i o u s p r i n t e d aids. M o s t u s e f u l of these is t h e Library Handbook for Under- graduate Students, w h i c h is d i s t r i b u t e d f r e e a n d is also used in a n s w e r i n g q u e s t i o n s . O t h e r m u c h - u s e d m a t e r i a l s i n c l u d e : " C o l l e g e a n d D e p a r t m e n t a l L i - b r a r i e s a n d R e a d i n g R o o m s in the U n i - v e r s i t y of I l l i n o i s L i b r a r y , " a m i m e o - g r a p h e d p a m p h l e t g i v i n g l o c a t i o n s , h o u r s , c i r c u l a t i o n r u l e s , etc., f o r a l l p o i n t s of p u b l i c s e r v i c e in t h e l i b r a r y s y s t e m ; the u n a b r i d g e d e d i t i o n of D e w e y ; L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s Subject Headings; a s a m p l e c o p y of t h e Readers' Guide; U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i - nois c a t a l o g s , t i m e t a b l e s , a n d d i r e c t o r i e s ; r e a d i n g lists f o r c e r t a i n c o u r s e s ; a l i s t of l o c a t i o n s of c u r r e n t class r e s e r v e s ; a l i s t of c u r r e n t p e r i o d i c a l s k e p t in the r e f e r e n c e r o o m . M a p s of t h e c a m p u s , m i m e o - g r a p h e d copies of filing r u l e s , of i n t e r - l i b r a r y l o a n r e g u l a t i o n s , a n d of " P o i n t s of I n t e r e s t " ( a g u i d e t o the l i b r a r y b u i l d - i n g s ) a r e d i s t r i b u t e d u p o n o c c a s i o n . A file of m i s c e l l a n e o u s i n f o r m a t i o n , n o t e s of s u g - gestions f o r the c a t a l o g d e p a r t m e n t , a n o t e - b o o k f o r m e m o r a n d a w h i c h need t o be passed o n f r o m one a t t e n d a n t to a n o t h e r , a n d s u p p l i e s of v a r i o u s k i n d s c o m p l e t e t h e e q u i p m e n t of the d e s k . A c o m p l e t e r e c o r d of a l l q u e s t i o n s asked has been k e p t since the b e g i n n i n g . S t a t i s - DECEMBER, 1943 37 tics of q u e s t i o n s h a v e also been t a b u l a t e d . F r o m a t o t a l of 7 0 3 8 q u e s t i o n s r e c o r d e d in the school y e a r 1 9 3 7 - 3 8 the n u m b e r has i n c r e a s e d to 9 7 5 4 q u e s t i o n s in the s c h o o l y e a r 1 9 4 2 - 4 3 , in spite of a c o n s i d e r - a b l e d e c r e a s e in school e n r o l m e n t d u r i n g t h e l a t t e r y e a r . A l t h o u g h p r i m a r i l y i n t e n d e d to s e r v e u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s , t h e desk is used also by g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s , f a c u l t y , m e m - bers of the r e s e a r c h , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e , a n d l i b r a r y s t a f f s , a n d v i s i t o r s . I n r e c e n t y e a r s s e r v i c e m e n f r o m n e a r b y C h a n u t e F i e l d or f r o m the A r m y a n d N a v y s c h o o l s o n the c a m p u s h a v e m a d e f r e q u e n t i n q u i r i e s at t h e desk. I n c a r r y i n g o u t its a c t i v i t i e s as a c l e a r - i n g h o u s e of i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e l i b r a r y , t h e desk h a s been of s e r v i c e n o t o n l y to s t u d e n t s b u t also t o the v a r i o u s d e p a r t - m e n t s of the l i b r a r y . I t h a s a c t e d as an i n t e r m e d i a r y b e t w e e n s t u d e n t s a n d s e r v i c e d e p a r t m e n t s , p r o c e s s i n g d e p a r t m e n t s , a n d l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the i n f o r m a - t i o n desk a n d p u b l i c s e r v i c e d e p a r t m e n t s is r e c i p r o c a l . L o a n a n d r e f e r e n c e desks r e f e r a l l c a t a l o g q u e s t i o n s t o the i n f o r m a - tion desk a t t e n d a n t d u r i n g h o u r s w h e n she is o n d u t y . O n the o t h e r h a n d , t h e a t t e n d - a n t is a b l e t o i n t r o d u c e m a n y s t u d e n t s to t h e s e r v i c e s of those d e p a r t m e n t s . T h e same c o o p e r a t i o n exists b e t w e e n t h e desk a n d d e p a r t m e n t a l l i b r a r i e s . P e r s o n a l i n q u i r i e s o r t e l e p h o n e c a l l s to t h e a c q u i s i t i o n , c a t a l o g , a n d b i n d i n g d e p a r t m e n t s p r o c u r e f o r p a t r o n s o r d i n a r i l y inaccessible i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g b o o k s in p r o c e s s o r o n o r d e r . A t t h e same t i m e s u g g e s t i o n s based o n s t u d e n t s ' n e e d s a r e m a d e to t h e a c q u i s i t i o n a n d c a t a l o g d e p a r t - m e n t s , b o t h as t o the o r d e r i n g of d e s i r a b l e t i t l e s a n d as to the c o r r e c t i o n of i n c o n - sistencies in the c a r d c a t a l o g . A s a s o r t of " l i a i s o n o f f i c e r " b e t w e e n s t u d e n t s a n d the l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n desk a t t e n d a n t i n t e r p r e t s l i b r a r y r u l e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s t o s t u d e n t s a n d a c t s as a " l i s t e n i n g p o s t " f o r g r i e v - a n c e s r e g a r d i n g l i b r a r y p r a c t i c e s w h i c h m a y need i n v e s t i g a t i o n . P L A N O F T H E LIBRARY S E C O N D F L O O R U N I V E R S I T Y OF I L L I N O I S L I B R A R Y I N F O R - M A T I O N D E S K Classification of Questions Q u e s t i o n s r e c o r d e d a t the i n f o r m a t i o n desk f a l l q u i t e n a t u r a l l y i n t o f o u r m a i n g r o u p s , d e s i g n a t e d as f o l l o w s : G G e n e r a l i n f o r m a t i o n questions C C a r d c a t a l o g and classification questions, e x c l u d i n g requests f o r m a t e r i a l on sub- jects S S u b j e c t questions U Unclassified questions T h e f i r s t t h r e e g r o u p s a r e d i v i d e d i n t o p r i m a r y d i v i s i o n s ( e a c h d e s i g n a t e d by a 38 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES I N F O R M A T I O N D E S K A T T H E U N I V E R S I T Y OF I L L I N O I S L I B R A R Y T h e l i b r a r i a n w h o is dispensing the i n f o r m a t i o n is R u t h M . E r l a n d s o n , the w r i t e r of the a c c o m p a n y i n g a r t i c l e . double l e t t e r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n ) w h i c h i n d i c a t e the c o n t e n t of the m a j o r g r o u p s . T h e s e p r i m a r y divisions are briefly described b e l o w : Group G General information questions G A G e n e r a l locations G B Locations of library materials (an- swered w i t h o u t reference to the card cata- l o g ) . T h e s e are requests which any li- brarian w i t h experience at the desk could answer immediately. G C G e n e r a l library and campus informa- tion G D Procedures f o r obtaining library ma- terials, when titles are not given and pro- cedure only is w a n t e d G E C i r c u l a t i o n rules f o r all public serv- ice departments G F Questions looked up in processing de- partments G G G e n e r a l knowledge questions, such as spelling and the meaning of common ab- breviations Group C Card catalog and classification questions C A Content and arrangement of the card catalog C B Requests for specific library materials (answered by use of the card c a t a l o g ) . T h i s includes requests f o r books by personal authors, government publications, nongov- ernment materials under corporate entries, periodicals, series, and pamphlets. O f t e n the information given by the questioner is incomplete or incorrect. C C T e c h n i c a l details of the typical unit card. Special problems here are editions and DECEMBER, 1943 39 translations, collation difficulties, and inter- pretation of the location of copies. C D Special c a r d s and c a r d files (not s h e l f l i s t ) , including c r o s s - r e f e r e n c e cards and substitute cards C E F i l i n g rules C F L i b r a r y science questions ( f r o m stu- dents in the u n d e r g r a d u a t e course on l i b r a r y u s e ) . T h e s e are classified here because the questions such students ask at the i n f o r m a - tion desk are almost entirely concerned w i t h entries and filing in the card c a t a l o g , though the e x a c t questions asked are not usually recorded at the desk. C G Classification system C H U s e of the s h e l f l i s t C I S u b j e c t headings as such Group S Subject questions S A S u b j e c t questions involving use of the card c a t a l o g plus r e f e r e n c e to m a t e r i a l s in other departments of the l i b r a r y . In help- ing the student find s u b j e c t m a t e r i a l s t h r o u g h the c a r d c a t a l o g , the desk attendant makes a practice of explaining h o w the items of i n f o r m a t i o n on a c a t a l o g c a r d can help in e v a l u a t i n g the usefulness of a book f o r some p a r t i c u l a r purpose. T h e need f o r reading the complete title is stressed, as w e l l as the importance of noting the date of publication, the number of pages, and notes r e f e r r i n g to bibliographies in the book repre- sented. R e f e r e n c e is a l w a y s made to period- ical indexes and special s u b j e c t bibliographies w h i c h may be of additional help. S B S u b j e c t questions f o r w h i c h m a t e r i a l s in the reference department are recom- mended immediately S C S u b j e c t questions r e f e r r e d directly to departments other than r e f e r e n c e Group U Unclassified questions Q u e s t i o n s w h o s e content w a s not noted in the original records Summary and Conclusions R e s u l t s of a s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s of a l l q u e s t i o n s r e c o r d e d d u r i n g the f i r s t t h r e e y e a r s of i n f o r m a t i o n desk s e r v i c e a n d re- s u l t s of the i n t e n s i v e s u b j e c t a n a l y s i s of a c a r e f u l l y s e l e c t e d s a m p l e l e a d t o c e r t a i n d e f i n i t e c o n c l u s i o n s . T h e s e a r e discussed b e l o w in t e r m s of the f o u r q u e s t i o n s set f o r t h as o b j e c t i v e s of this s t u d y . I. Character of Information Requested T h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s c h e m e g i v e n a b o v e i n d i c a t e s t h e v a r i e t y of r e q u e s t s w h i c h c o m e to the i n f o r m a t i o n desk. Q u e s t i o n s m a y be d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e m a i n c l a s s e s : g e n e r a l i n f o r m a t i o n questions, q u e s t i o n s on t e c h n i c a l d e t a i l s of the c a r d c a t a l o g a n d on the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s y s t e m used in t h e li- b r a r y , a n d r e q u e s t s f o r m a t e r i a l o n m a n y d i f f e r e n t s u b j e c t s . T o these t h r e e g r o u p s is a d d e d in this s t u d y a s m a l l g r o u p of u n - classified q u e s t i o n s , so c a l l e d because t h e i r c o n t e n t w a s n o t k n o w n a n d t h e y c o u l d t h e r e f o r e n o t be p l a c e d in a n y of the o t h e r t h r e e g r o u p s . W i t h i n the t h r e e m a i n classes a r e m a n y d i v i s i o n s a n d s u b d i v i s i o n s w h i c h i n d i c a t e the c o n t e n t of e a c h class. A s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s of q u e s t i o n s classi- fied b y t h e s y s t e m o u t l i n e d r e v e a l e d c e r t a i n t r e n d s in the t y p e s of i n f o r m a t i o n re- q u e s t e d a t d i f f e r e n t t i m e s a n d i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e desk p e r f o r m s c e r t a i n g e n e r a l f u n c - t i o n s : a. A s a g e n e r a l rule questions in the sam- ple rank in descending o r d e r as f o l l o w s : g e n e r a l questions, c a t a l o g questions, s u b j e c t questions. T h i s o r d e r in rank remains the same in all parts of the y e a r and at all times of the day, though the percentages v a r y s o m e w h a t . C o n s e q u e n t l y it appears that a certain homogeneity prevails in the w o r k of the desk t h r o u g h o u t the y e a r , an indication t h a t the attendant must be constantly pre- pared f o r any and every type of question. b. W i t h i n the three main classes there are f o u r m a j o r divisions w h i c h constitute 55 per cent of the entire sample. T h e s e f o u r divisions predominate in all p a r t s of the sample and t h e r e f o r e may be said to f o r m the principal portion of the duties per- f o r m e d at the desk. In order of rank these classes a r e : C B , requests f o r specific l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s w h i c h require use of the card cata- 40 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES l o g ; G A , requests f o r locations of places, persons, and supplies; S A , s u b j e c t questions involving use of the card c a t a l o g plus r e f e r - ence to m a t e r i a l s in other departments of the l i b r a r y ; and G B , requests f o r l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s w h o s e location in the l i b r a r y can be supplied by experienced attendants w i t h - o u t search in the card catalog. I t may be noted that these f o u r " s t a p l e s " include at least one division f r o m each of the three main classes of questions. T h i s f a c t probably indicates that the desk has achieved its original purposes of orientation in library locations and procedures, instruction of stu- dents in use of the card catalog, and direc- tion of students' search f o r subject materials. Since t w o of these f o u r m a j o r divisions are concerned w i t h the location of specific li- b r a r y materials, it may be concluded that students come to the l i b r a r y to look up specific books more o f t e n than they come to search f o r m a t e r i a l s on given subjects. Subdivisions c. W i t h i n the f o u r m a j o r divisions listed above, certain subdivisions predominate, in- dicating that even minor groups in the classification should not be overlooked in listing trends. A m o n g requests f o r specific m a t e r i a l s w h i c h require use of the card catalog, over half apply to books by personal authors. T h e g r e a t m a j o r i t y of requests f o r loca- tions of places, persons, and supplies are concerned w i t h locations of rooms in the l i b r a r y building. A study of s u b j e c t questions (both those requiring use of the card c a t a l o g and those directly r e f e r r e d to other departments of the l i b r a r y ) indicates that the f o u r highest rank- ing subjects a r e : social sciences ( w i t h eco- nomics, criminology, and education predom- i n a t i n g ) , u s e f u l arts ( p a r t i c u l a r l y medicine and business), history (especially t r a v e l and b i o g r a p h y ) , and fine arts (chiefly music and r e c r e a t i o n ) . T h e prevalence of these sub- j e c t s may be considered an indication that the main l i b r a r y is used l a r g e l y by students in the schools of liberal arts and sciences, commerce, education, physical education, and music. T h e s e are schools w h i c h do not have special libraries in their o w n buildings but depend on resources of the main l i b r a r y f o r study materials. Requests f o r m a t e r i a l s of w e l l - k n o w n lo- cation include chiefly questions about the g e n e r a l location of reserve sections f o r spe- cific courses and f o r specifically named books. d. O v e r half the g e n e r a l questions in the sample w e r e recorded during the first w e e k of the school y e a r . In other w o r d s , the number of g e n e r a l questions asked d u r i n g the first w e e k of any school y e a r is likely to be twice as g r e a t as d u r i n g any midsemester w e e k . In contrast, c a t a l o g questions are f a i r l y w e l l distributed t h r o u g h the y e a r , the l a r g e s t number of requests in the sample occurring in the middle of the first semester. S u b j e c t questions f o l l o w the same pattern as c a t a l o g questions, though the subject ques- tions reach a higher peak d u r i n g the middle w e e k of the first semester than do c a t a l o g questions. e. T h o u g h general, catalog, and subject questions rank in that order at all times of the day, in the evening period the actual number of g e n e r a l questions decreases w h i l e the number of c a t a l o g and subject ques- tions increases. T h i s may be considered an indication that students are more likely to come to the l i b r a r y f o r serious study at the time of day w h e n class schedules are least likely to interrupt continuous w o r k . f. T h e classification of questions reaffirms the statement that the desk serves the li- b r a r y as w e l l as the students, by introducing students to the services of the public de- partments, by relieving the loan and r e f e r - ence departments of certain duties, by m a k - ing available to patrons i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m processing departments w h i c h are not open to the g e n e r a l public, and by interpreting to l i b r a r y users regulations f o r m u l a t e d by the l i b r a r y ' s administrators. 2. Qualifications of Desk Attendants F r o m the t h r e e m a i n g r o u p s of t h e clas- s i f i c a t i o n s c h e m e f o r q u e s t i o n s , it m a y be c o n c l u d e d t h a t the f o l l o w i n g q u a l i f i c a t i o n s a r e d e s i r a b l e f o r i n f o r m a t i o n desk a t t e n d - a n t s : e x p e r i e n c e in the l i b r a r y w h e r e t h e desk is l o c a t e d , f o r c o m p l e t e f a m i l i a r i t y DECEMBER, 1943 41 w i t h procedures, rules, and l o c a t i o n s ; cata- l o g i n g t r a i n i n g and e x p e r i e n c e ; t h o r o u g h k n o w l e d g e of the resources and services of the r e f e r e n c e d e p a r t m e n t and to some e x t e n t of o t h e r d e p a r t m e n t s of the l i b r a r y ; and a g o o d g e n e r a l b a c k g r o u n d in m a n y s u b j e c t s . T w o of these q u a l i f i c a t i o n s indicate the need f o r at least one y e a r of p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r y t r a i n i n g . A f u r t h e r e x a m i n a t i o n of i n d i v i d u a l questions, p a r t i c u l a r l y those f r o m f a c u l t y m e m b e r s and g r a d u a t e stu- dents, p r o v e s the a d d i t i o n a l v a l u e of ad- v a n c e d courses in b i b l i o g r a p h i c techniques and other studies related to the s u b j e c t of books. T h e p e r s o n a l i t y traits desirable in an i n f o r m a t i o n desk a t t e n d a n t are those necessary f o r any l i b r a r i a n w h o is w o r k i n g d i r e c t l y w i t h the p u b l i c . H o w - ever, the c a r d i n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n in this instance m i g h t be said to be a c e r t a i n " a p p r o a c h a b l e n e s s , " based on a g e n u i n e lik- i n g f o r s t u d e n t s and a desire to help them solve their l i b r a r y p r o b l e m s . T h e i n f o r - m a l i t y of a s m a l l desk placed in a room w h e r e absolute quiet is n o t d e m a n d e d , as c o n t r a s t e d w i t h the m o r e r e s t r a i n e d atmos- phere of " c o u n t e r s e r v i c e , " p r o v i d e s an e x c e l l e n t o p p o r t u n i t y f o r m a k i n g f r i e n d l y c o n t a c t s f o r the l i b r a r y and creates an at- mosphere in w h i c h s t u d e n t s feel f r e e to express themselves. F o r such i n f o r m a l service an assistant w h o is d i g n i f i e d and w e l l i n f o r m e d b u t w h o s e m a n n e r is n o t too f o r m a l or " i n s t i t u t i o n a l " is r e q u i r e d . J . Desirable Periods of Service F r o m the point of v i e w of the n u m b e r of questions r e c o r d e d at the desk, the most i m p o r t a n t periods of service are the first t w o w e e k s of the school y e a r , w e e k s to- w a r d the end of the first semester, and w e e k s in the m i d d l e of the second semester. M o n d a y , T u e s d a y , and T h u r s d a y are the busiest days. I n p r a c t i c a l l y e v e r y instance the e v e n i n g period of service is busier t h a n the d a y t i m e h o u r s . A f t e r n o o n h o u r s are o f t e n v e r y busy also, t h o u g h u s u a l l y they a p p r o a c h the a v e r a g e f o r the d a y . T h e s e f i n d i n g s s u g g e s t t w o r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s : t h a t the e v e n i n g period of service is e s s e n t i a l ; t h a t , if necessary to shorten the h o u r s of service, the m o r n i n g period c o u l d be dispensed w i t h m o r e easily than the a f t e r n o o n and e v e n i n g periods. T h e c o n c l u s i o n s in the p r e c e d i n g para- g r a p h are based on s u m m a r y f i g u r e s and c a n n o t serve as a v a l i d means of p r e d i c t i n g the n u m b e r of questions to be e x p e c t e d on a n y one d a y . V a r i a t i o n s in class assign- m e n t s and in e v e n t s on the g e n e r a l and u n i v e r s i t y c a l e n d a r s m u s t be considered. F u r t h e r m o r e , these c o n c l u s i o n s do not take into a c c o u n t the f a c t that in a statistical analysis all questions are c o u n t e d e q u a l , in spite of considerable i n e q u a l i t y in the time and experience required to a n s w e r v a r i o u s requests. A brief s u r v e y of the a m o u n t s of time required f o r a n s w e r i n g questions s h o w s that, w h i l e most questions can be a n s w e r e d in a m i n u t e or less, others ( p a r t i c u l a r l y s u b j e c t a n d c a t a l o g q u e s t i o n s ) r e q u i r e ten m i n u t e s or m o r e f o r s a t i s f a c t o r y c o m p l e - tion. I t is e v i d e n t , then, t h a t a simple c o u n t of the number of questions leads to a less a c c u r a t e appraisal of the a m o u n t of w o r k a c c o m p l i s h e d t h a n does a considera- tion of the kinds of questions and the a m o u n t of time and experience needed to a n s w e r t h e m . T h e s u b j e c t analysis indicates t h a t the l a r g e n u m b e r of questions d u r i n g the first w e e k s of the school y e a r is caused by l a c k of f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h the l o c a l l i b r a r y and its p r o c e d u r e s . T h a t same q u a l i t a t i v e a n a l y - 42 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES sis s h o w s t h a t s u b j e c t and c a t a l o g questions are m o r e or less stable in q u a n t i t y t h r o u g h - o u t the y e a r , i n c r e a s i n g s l i g h t l y after the first w e e k s . B e c a u s e these t w o l a t t e r types of questions require assistance of a m o r e p r o f e s s i o n a l n a t u r e and u s u a l l y r e q u i r e m o r e time t h a n do the g e n e r a l questions, it seems c o n c l u s i v e t h a t service s h o u l d not be l i m i t e d to the e a r l y w e e k s b u t should be c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h o u t the y e a r . S i n c e the q u a l i t a t i v e analysis s h o w s t h a t c a t a l o g and s u b j e c t questions are m o r e h i g h l y c o n c e n t r a t e d in the a f t e r n o o n and e v e n i n g hours, the c o n c l u s i o n t h a t those periods of service should be retained and, if possible, increased in l e n g t h ( e v e n t h o u g h m o r n i n g h o u r s should h a v e to be d i s c o n t i n u e d ) is r e a f f i r m e d . I n g e n e r a l , h o w e v e r , it is impossible to p r e d i c t e x a c t l y w h i c h periods of the y e a r or h o u r s of the day m a y be busy or d u l l ; too m a n y f a c t o r s beyond the c o n t r o l or vision of the l i b r a r i - an are present f o r such an analysis as this to be able to f o r e t e l l e x a c t l y w h a t is to be e x p e c t e d . 4. Library Handbooks I f it c a n be assumed t h a t the questions asked by p a t r o n s at the i n f o r m a t i o n desk are r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of w h a t s t u d e n t s need t o k n o w a b o u t their l i b r a r y , the classification scheme g i v e n above and the analysis of the r e l a t i v e i m p o r t a n c e of v a r i o u s types of questions s h o u l d p r o v e a l o g i c a l source of s u g g e s t i o n s f o r the c o n t e n t of l i b r a r y hand- books f o r s t u d e n t s . A p p a r e n t l y s t u d e n t s need to k n o w loca- tions, procedures, and r u l e s of the l i b r a r y ; they need to k n o w the f u n d a m e n t a l p r i n - ciples of c a t a l o g u s e ; they need some ori- e n t a t i o n in search f o r s u b j e c t m a t e r i a l s and a description of the p u b l i c service d e p a r t - m e n t s w h i c h c a n help t h e m o b t a i n such m a t e r i a l s ; they need to be t a u g h t the v a l u e of c e r t a i n r e f e r e n c e tools in c o m m o n use. I t has been questioned w h e t h e r the pub- l i c a t i o n of a l i b r a r y h a n d b o o k r e n d e r s un- necessary such i n f o r m a t i o n service as has been described here or w h e t h e r such in- f o r m a t i o n service renders a h a n d b o o k su- p e r f l u o u s . I t m a y be w e l l , t h e r e f o r e , to point o u t the p a r t i c u l a r v a l u e of each. A l i b r a r y h a n d b o o k , if d i s t r i b u t e d to g r o u p s outside the l i b r a r y , can s h o w stu- dents w h o have not y e t visited the l i b r a r y b u i l d i n g j u s t w h a t f a c i l i t i e s are to be f o u n d there. T h e i n f o r m a t i o n desk can help o n l y those w h o h a v e a l r e a d y come to the b u i l d i n g . T h e printed h a n d b o o k g i v e s u n i f o r m in- f o r m a t i o n to e v e r y s t u d e n t so t h a t each one m a y l e a r n the f u n d a m e n t a l s of l i b r a r y use. I t can serve as an aid w h e n there is not a l i b r a r i a n present to g i v e a p p r o p r i a t e e x p l a n a t i o n s . I t a n s w e r s questions o b j e c - t i v e l y and concisely, w h e r e a s o r a l ex- p l a n a t i o n s are l i k e l y to be less c a r e f u l l y considered and less c o m p l e t e . O n the o t h e r h a n d , the h a n d b o o k c a n n o t take into ac- c o u n t either the d i f f e r e n c e s in s t u d e n t s ' p r e v i o u s experience in l i b r a r y use or the p a r t i c u l a r details of his present p r o b l e m . T h e i n f o r m a t i o n desk deals w i t h the spe- cific and i n d i v i d u a l p r o b l e m in t e r m s of the o b v i o u s need of the i n q u i r i n g s t u d e n t . A t the U n i v e r s i t y of I l l i n o i s L i b r a r y , i n f o r m a t i o n desk a t t e n d a n t s h a v e f o u n d the Handbook u s e f u l as a tool in e x p l a i n - i n g t h e use of the l i b r a r y . I t has been d i s t r i b u t e d to s t u d e n t s w h o w i s h g e n e r a l i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t the l i b r a r y in a c o n v e n i - ent f o r m f o r their o w n r e f e r e n c e . I t has also been used at the desk to e x p l a i n , f r o m its i l l u s t r a t i o n s and its t e x t , such m a t t e r s as the p r o p e r m e t h o d of f i l l i n g o u t a c a l l slip, the p a r t s of the c a t a l o g c a r d , or the l o c a t i o n of r o o m s in the l i b r a r y b u i l d i n g . (Continued on page 61) DECEMBER, 1943 43 record. Evidence of the success of an ex- hibit planned to teach a lesson or to tell a story is far less tangible and can hardly be measured in terms as concrete as gifts or statistics. If, however, in the planning, assembling, and arranging of the exhibit, thoughtful consideration is given the tech- niques of exhibition which are soundly based upon principles of applied psychol- ogy, the success of the exhibit will tend to be ensured. T h e purpose of an exhibit once defined and justified will generally indicate the logical group toward which the exhibit should be directed. A college library ex- hibit prepared to attract donations will in all probability be directed toward prosper- ous alumni and influential Friends of the Library. A n exhibit planned to enrich the teaching program of a certain faculty member will be aimed at students enrolled in his classes. Purpose and audience are inseparable in the preparation of an ex- hibit, and other factors to be considered will hinge largely upon these two. T h e y govern the theme or central idea of the exhibit; they influence selection and ar- rangement of materials and the location of the exhibit itself; they determine the length of exhibition period and the type and amount of publicity the exhibit de- serves. Purpose and audience serve as the framework around which an exhibit is built. H o w well the exhibit is built de- pends largely upon the judgment and skill with which the exhibitor selects and ar- ranges his materials, relating them through appropriate written interpretations into an attractive whole which clearly expresses the theme of the exhibit. T h e ideal college library exhibitor would seem to combine with the charac- teristics of librarian those of psychologist and artist with a proper balance among the three. He never allows his enthusiasm for drawing attention to the exhibit to overshadow its real purpose and divert at- tention elsewhere; he never permits his zeal for creating a masterpiece of artistry to make his primary purpose a secondary one; and he never lets his background as librarian blind him to the fact that, though books in themselves may be infinitely de- lightful to him, an exhibit of them can be made more attractive and alive to others if, in its planning and arrangement, a due regard is given the principles of applied psychology and artistic design. A n Analysis of the Work of the Information Desk at the University of Illinois Library (Continued from page 43) A t the same time the attendant supple- ments printed rules with oral explanations applicable to the particular problem. A l l things considered, it is evident that no printed handbook can be expected to take the place of an information service conveniently located and attended by a trained librarian who can not only explain general rules but also give specific help with the problem at hand. A n informa- tion desk provides personal instruction in use of the library at the point where the student is most likely to encounter a need for such instruction. DECEMBER, 1943 8 7