College and Research Libraries L.etters To the Editor: It was both discouraging and encouraging to read David Kaser's article on academic li- brary planning [C&RL July 1984]. Discouraging, because so many libraries have been-and continue to be-built with little, if any, consideration for their function, including the peo- ple who have to work in them every day. Encouraging, because he has again confirmed what many have known for many, many years, that the square or rectangle is still the most economical and functional shape for libraries. I would suggest that library administrators are their own worst enemies for allowing themselves to be bullied into agreeing to architectural and design concepts which they, of all people, should know will not work. From long experience, I know you can have an es- thetically pleasing, but still functionally efficient building. The library administrator faced with planning a new building has a responsibility to edu- . cate academic administrators, fund-raisers, and architects. To put it bluntly, it is the library administrator who should tell the architect what kind of a building is needed, not vice versa. Kaser's article should be required reading for all library planners and architects. To the Editor: T. D. PHILLIPS University Librarian Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada I read with great interest the article by Courtois and Goetsch ''Use of Nonprofessionals at Reference Desks" (September 1984). The use of nonprofessionals in reference work is largely taboo in British academic libraries. When we introduced the practice into our library some five years ago, we were unaware of any other academic libraries here who were per- mitting their nonprofessionals to move into what was (and is) considered to be the territory of the professional. Our experience has been wholly encouraging. Although one of our main reasons for hav- ing an information desk manned by nonprofessionals was a desire to ease pressure on the professional readers' advisers by siphoning off the more routine inquiries, the ensuing ad- vantages lie elsewhere. The study by Courtois and Goetsch did not seek to investigate the views of nonprofes- sionals on their reference work. If they had sought to do so I have no doubt that they would have discovered that the benefits to the individual are considerable. The addition of refer- ence work to duties at the Issue Desk or in some back-room activity provides welcome vari- ety. The training essential before undertaking reference work gives the nonprofessional a new perspective on the work which forms the major part of his or her duties. The acknowl- edgement that the nonprofessional is capable of more than the most routine duties is a great boost to morale and self-confidence. N. J. RUSSELL Pro-Librarian University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Northern Ireland 179 180 College & Research Libraries March 1985 To the Editor: I would like to thank you very much for the article by Martin P. Courtois and Lori A. Goetsch entitled "Use of Nonprofessionals at Reference Desks" in your September 1984 issue. My Director of Libraries, ever-concerned that I remain aware of currents in the li- brary field, has your fine journal routed to me on a regular basis. As a result of what I learned from that article, these changes have occurred at the Univer- sity: 1. Since the use of nonprofessionals at the Reference Desk seems to be acceptable to many library directors, we have shifted responsibility for that function completely to non- professionals. We are not worried about a lack of preparedness on the part of these nonpro- fessionals since according to the study "few institutions reported having a systematic training program to prepare nonprofessionals for answering and referring questions." Moreover, since we treat our evening and weekend students the same as our day students, we see no reason for addressing such a distinction in our library service patterns. 2. Our public service librarians have now all been made part-time personnel since they have been relieved of their reference duties and there is no need for them to oversee the work of their nonprofessional colleagues. (From the study: "Nonprofessional staff and students at the reference/information desks frequently work alone, without a professional at the desk or on call.'') The time of these librarians is now devoted entirely to collection development and library instruction. 3. We are hiring persons with a MLS and placing them in nonprofessional positions, thereby taking advantage of their knowledge but without having to pay them professional salaries. Courtois and Goetsch gave us that idea by indicating that "for purposes of this study nonprofessionals are defined as library workers who do not work in a librarian, pro- fessional or academic position. They may or may not hold a master's degree in library sci- ence." 4. We are excited about our new college graduates who are working at the Reference Desk (unsupervised, of course) while deciding whether or not to go on to library school. They are here as part of the University's new "Career Awareness Development" (C.A.D.) program. 5. Given these changes in our utilization of professionals, we have established a task force to examine long-term salary requirements in the library. It is possible that our librari- ans are overpaid for what they do, since replacing them with nonprofessionals seems to be no big deal. Parenthetically, I was reading the ''Emperor's New Clothes'' to my child when the MLS and its importance came to mind. There may be additional opportunities for us suggested by your article; we are looking into that. In the meantime, thank you again and keep up the good work! Sincerely, President, Day of Reckoning University JOHNM.COHN County College of Morris, Randolph, New Jersey To the Editor: Because the underlying tone of [Mr Cohn's] letter to the editor expresses concern about the results of a survey described in our article on the use of nonprofessionals at reference desks [C&RL Sept, 1984], we feel that it is important to respond to you. The goal of the survey was to describe current staffing practices at the reference desk involving the use of nonprofessionals. In reporting the results, we, too, noticed several problem areas: lack of adequate training for nonprofessionals, poorly defined job roles for both professionals and nonprofessionals, and inadequate referral arrangements between professionals and nonprofessionals. These areas of concern need development, discus- sion, and experimentation to ensure both the effective integration of nonprofessionals into reference service and the professionalization of librarianship. Despite these problems, our survey is only one of many in the literature demonstrating Letters 181 that nonprofessionals are being used at reference desks and that the limited number of in- depth questions warrants this use. (Please see the sources listed in our "References" as well as Nancy J. Emmick and Luella B. Davis, "A Survey of Academic Library Reference Service Practices,'' RQ 24:67-81 [Falll984]) Satirizing these findings is not going to make this practice disappear. Rather, we hope that librarians will take a closer look at such problems as training and referral in order to develop more creative and effective roles for themselves and for nonprofessionals as well. MARTIN P. COURTOIS and LORI A. GOETSCH Assistant Reference Librarians, University of illinois at Chicago "INVALUABLE" Don't take just our word for how well the BIOSIS Previews Search Guide meets users' needs! " ... the 8/0SIS Search Guide, 8/0SIS Previews Edition, . .. provides invaluable assistance in building BIOSIS search strategies." - Barbara Newlin, Answers Online: Your Guide To Information Databases, 1985 "It is imperative that a searcher consult the 8/0SIS Search Guide prior to using this database (8/0SIS Previews) ... the Master Index section of the guide is a good source of suggested terminology." - Robert Skinner, " Searching the History of Science Online," DATABASE, June 1983 Introducing the new 1985 edition of the 8/0SIS Previews Search Guide- containing over 700 additional entries to the Master Index, revised Scope Notes for the Concept Codes, an expanded list of taxonomic references . .. and much, much more! The price? Only $85.00. Order your copy today! Contact BIOSIS Customer Service, 2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1399, U.S.A. or call toll free (800) 523-4806 (U .S.A., except AK, HI, PA); worldwide: (215) 587-4800. Telex: 831739. Overseas subscribers should contact a BIOSIS Official Representative. If you have something to say about the 8/0SIS Search Guide, we'd love to hear from you! BIOSIS is a not-for-prof it organ izat ion serving the biological commun ity since 1926.