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Response to Reference Hours and question on security



I am the one Special Collections FTE in an academic library (state
university) and sometimes I get a grad assistant half time (and even only
half the year).  The hours are basically whenever I'm there, and I try to
encourage researchers to make appointments in advance so I schedule being
there when they come.  Considering I am required to attend faculty meetings,
university meetings and a host of whatever else comes up, I'm only "onsite"
about half the time I'm "on the clock."  The Reference staff (five
professionals and one paraprofessional) do Special Collections when I'm not
there.  Since they keep the key in an insecure area (anyone can see where
they get the key and that office is very casual and accessible to about
anybody) I'm uncomfortable about the arrangement.  They also never keep stats
on what they do when I'm not there, and since they never bother to sign for
the key (as I've requested) I also never know who to ask about anything when
I come back and find that someone's been in there (and yes, I can tell...)

So, reference is a major problem for me, too, and I don't really have an
answer.  But I am posing a question to anyone in a "shared reference"
situation--how does one convince the powers-that-be that the goal of instant
public access is not necessarily ideal in situations when it is done by using
staff that doesn't recognize that "casual" security is not necessarily
appropriate in a special collections environment?

Frances H.
in Tennessee

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