Library Telephone Center Services

By Beth Sandore, Assistant Automated Services Librarian, andSharon Clark,
Coordinator, Technical Services Division

Do you need to have your library books charged or renewed? That special
book saved? Perhaps a question answered about a bibliographic record in the
online catalog? Or help with remote access? You can do any or all with a
quick telephone call to the Library Telephone Center at 333-8400.

The Library Telephone Center has been offering these services to faculty
members, students and other library users at the UI for 16 years, and
remains as popular as ever. Last year, Telephone Center staff completed
more than a million transactions, with renewals continuing to be the most
popular service.

Before modems and dial-up access, the Library Telephone Center was launched
to provide remote access to the online catalog so that faculty members and
students could call in requests for materials, and have those materials
mailed to a campus address without having to come in-person to any of the
libraries on campus. Today, students and faculty members on the UI campus
have direct access to collections of 48 libraries in Illinois with a
database of more than 10 million records. Remote-access opportunities have
expanded to include, in addition to dial up, the Internet through direct
telnet, gopher menu or World Wide Web. Users on campus and around the world
account for an average of 50 million logons annually to the online catalog
and attendant bibliographic databases.

Staff members in the Telephone Center are kept very busy helping users
successfully connect to the online catalog. The services are so popular
that at times it is difficult to get through. In 1987, the library
contracted with the campus to install a queuing system, which has helped
streamline service.

The Telephone Center has been staffed over the years - approximately 100
hours per week - with a small number of dedicated staff members and
students. Sue Joyce, chief library clerk since 1982, estimates that she has
trained more than 300 students and staff members during those years. Even
with the proliferation of computer expertise and general feeling of comfort
with using the online catalog remotely, many faculty members and students
continue to prefer interacting with a human being. International faculty
members and students find the service especially helpful. It also is
convenient and serves a real need for individuals who may not have a
computer at home or do not want to stand in line for one on campus or who
do not have time to come in to the library. New students in particular may
find searching a database of more than 10 million records intimidating and
therefore appreciate personal help in searching the online catalog.
Further, the center recognizes that renewing books with lengthy call
numbers - which can extend upwards to 35 characters - can be difficult for
many users. Sixteen years of experience suggests that it is the interaction
between human beings that may be the clue to the Telephone Center's
continuing popularity. After all, it is the ultimate interface, interactive
between people.

The Telephone Center hours during the semester (hours are expanded during
finals):

    Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 10  p.m.
    Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Saturday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
    Sunday: 1 to 10 p.m.