Abstract
The School of Public Health at Saint Louis University is located at a greater distance from the library than other programs on the main medical center campus. Physical distance diminishes the ease of access to direct reference services for public health users. To bridge the gap, the library developed the Mobile Reference Service to deliver on-site information assistance with regular office hours each week. Between September 2006 and April 2007, a total of 57 in-depth reference transactions took place over 25 weeks, averaging 2 transactions per week in a 2-hour period. Overall reference transactions from public health users went up 28%, while liaison contacts with public health users doubled compared to the same period the year before. The Mobile Reference Service program has improved library support for research and scholarship, cultivated and strengthened liaison relationships, and enhanced marketing and delivery of library resources and services to the Saint Louis University School of Public Health.
Highlights
Advances in computer and networking technologies over the past few decades have transformed library collections and services
A 2004 survey conducted by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) reported that forty-one libraries across the country provided scheduled, in-person services in academic departments or other institutional spaces outside of the library [2]
One month after the service started, some public health users suggested that the liaison librarian make the sign-up sheet, information request form, and service evaluation form accessible online so that they would not have to physically go to the service office to pick up hard copies
Summary
Advances in computer and networking technologies over the past few decades have transformed library collections and services. Virginia Tech went a step further by establishing the College Library program They moved librarian offices into selected colleges nearly full time and created ‘‘virtual branches’’ of the library there [18, 19]. Not every library has implemented onsite reference services successfully [6], these scheduled and in-person services at locations outside the library have created a new way to provide user-centered services. In 2005, the Medical Center Library at Saint Louis University launched a library liaison program that matched reference librarian subject specialists with users in the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, School of Nursing, Doisy College of Health Sciences, and School of Public Health, as well as the Saint Louis University Center for Advanced Dental Education and Center for Health Care Ethics.
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