Finding Information in a New Landscape: Developing New Service and Staffing Models for Mediated Information Services

Abstract

In response to changing user behavior and decreased funding, the University of Arizona Library recognized a need to reevaluate how it provided information and referral services. A project team conducted action gap surveys to determine customer satisfaction, logged questions actually asked to establish appropriate staffing needs, and calculated the cost of providing these services. As a result of the data gathered, new service and staffing models were implemented that reduced both the number of service points and reliance on professional staff without a reduction in perceived quality.