Zoe Covey
Contributing Writer
At the start of the semester, the Research Help Desk moved to the first floor of the Gault Library for Independent Study. The desk is now in the space formerly occupied by the Gault Library’s circulation desk. The Help Desk was moved primarily because its previous location in the Collaborative Research Environment (C.o.R.E.) was too heavily-traversed, according to Research Librarian Elys Kettling Law.
“[The Research Help Desk was] in a busy, but narrow, traffic corridor, directly across from a central stairwell entrance, the filtered water fountain [and] bottle refiller and the [C.o.R.E.],” Kettling Law said. “Persons seeking assistance at the Research Help Desk were easily interrupted [or] distracted by large Admissions tour groups passing through, food carts with deliveries for various events and the general collective exuberance of other C.o.R.E. activities.”
Because of this, it was determined that something needed to change. According to Kettling Law, the desk’s services were helpful to students, but not always in the ways the library intended it to be.
“In its C.o.R.E. area location, the Research Help Desk received a significant number of requests for assistance in troubleshooting difficulties with printers, copiers and scanners, routing persons to various meetings and events and responding to frequent requests to borrow office supplies,” said Kettling Law. She noted that while the desk was conveniently located for those students looking for paperclips or staplers, research could be time consuming and require a lot of focus.
“[W]e believe the quieter, more reflective and user-friendly environment will encourage greater utilization of the research resources and expertise available in the libraries,” said Kettling Law.
While the desk can serve as a convenient first stop for students dealing with confusion about a project, Kettling Law said that it also has many more functions.
“[The Research Help Desk] also [handles] all initial phone and email questions regarding research databases, locating [and] accessing items in the libraries’ collections, setting up [and] using research technologies and requesting materials from other libraries,” she said.
The Research Help Desk in Gault will be able to expand these functions now that it has access to the employee work space behind the former Gault Circulation Desk and is in close proximity to the library’s Reference Collection. In addition, the desk includes a newly constructed help area extension table that allows for up to three people to receive assistance at the same time.
“The help table extension is completely Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible, and has table-top power outlets for easy access by persons with laptops or other powered devices,” said Kettling Law.
Staffed by student workers on weekdays and part of the day on Sunday, Kettling Law said that the Research Help Desk’s main goal is “to provide timely, effective, knowledgeable and welcoming first line assistance with questions regarding access to, connections with and use of research resources available through The College of Wooster libraries, with appropriate referrals for more in-depth assistance, as needed.”