(This article reprinted from New England Libraries, Vol. 3, No. 2: February, 2007.)
Renovation Improves Customer Service at Maxwell Library
by Cynthia J.W. Svoboda
During the past two summers Bridgewater State College's Clement C. Maxwell Library has undergone two phases of a three-phase renovation project that has transformed library space and enhanced customer service. The first and second floors of the library were recently renovated and the third floor is scheduled for rejuvenation this summer. Fresh carpeting, improved lighting, updated furniture, new exhibit and display space, and warm colors have created a cheerful welcoming environment that draws users into and through the building. This redesigned space is a more attractive, navigable, and user-friendly learning area. It is a place where people want to hang out.
Pleasant color schemes, lighting, and comfy furniture have caught our users' attention, but they are not the only contributing factors that lure our students to visit the Library. Reorganizing has changed the electronic access area from cramped, tight-row-configuration work stations to multiple, dispersed pods that provide students with work space to spread out their materials. Plug and play stations and wireless connections are also available. Transformation has also added small group rooms where students can interact and focus on their work in an environment more conducive to studying. The makeover also created updated multipurpose meeting areas for the college community to gather. The refurbished Library is an active learning environment where users have an enjoyable place to gather, conduct research, teach, learn, study, and commune.
Modernizing the library also involved centralizing several services. Locating three previously dispersed departments: Circulation Services; Reference Services; and Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery Services (ILL/DDS). Keeping these departments in close proximity along the corridor at the front of the building provides quick, easy access and better continuity of services. This adjacency allowed Circulation Services to become the check out center for Interlibrary Loan materials as well as the Library's own resources. Relocation of Reference Services, opposite Circulation Services, by the main exit makes it easy to locate for people entering the library. Adding four express stations next to Reference Services enables staff to assist in answering questions and provides users with quick printing and service ports. Placing reference staff office and workspaces within sight line of the Reference Desk and Circulation Services also helps provide back up coverage as needed. Nearness of service areas provides more efficiency in working together and assisting users. Another change affecting customer service involved relocated isolated printers and copy machines into a copy/printing center where public printing and copying take place in one location. Students can pick up printing jobs, photocopy materials, and conduct an on campus phone call all in one handy location. A separate collection of ERIC microfiche was integrated within the other microfilm/microfiche titles, too.
Improving customer services also involved reorganizing the entire serials collection. Historical changes had created several mini collections of periodicals. While each collection was in alphabetical order, they were separated into a pre-1985 collection, a post-1985 collection, and oversized area. Reviewing these areas for title changes and then merging the three collections greatly simplified the search process. Users no longer need to move from one area to another to view various issues from the same title.
Renovation of the first two floors of the Clement C. Maxwell Library has created a lively interactive environment with streamlined services that help guide users through the facility and toward their next phase in their life-long learning.