Have Answers, Will Travel: Libraries’ New Roving Reference Serves Students

A new program at WSU’s Holland and Terrell Libraries brings the traditional reference desk to students instead of the other way around.

The roving reference service runs 11 a.m.-2 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday. Library reference staff carrying tablet PCs circulate between book stacks, study areas and cubicles to help students answer questions wherever they are.

“Roving will especially target early-career students who are unfamiliar with the libraries’ resources and layout,” said Erin Hvizdak, WSU Libraries reference and instruction librarian.

“So many of the questions we answer are about how to look up and find books,” she said. “And even when we provide directions, students will tell us it took them 30 minutes or more to find what they were looking for. This will allow us to help them become geographically comfortable with the libraries.”

For more details, read the WSU News article at https://news.wsu.edu/2015/08/25/libraries-new-roving-reference-serves-st….