Changing Times, Changing Needs: Opening Course Reserves

Abstract

The demand for Course Reserves at the University of Toronto Scarborough Library is growing every year. The circulation rate for Reserves has eclipsed the total circulations of our general book collection. Previously, Reserves were behind the Circulation Desk requiring staff assistance to retrieve books; the collection was not accessible when the Desk was closed. To increase access to Reserves, we have created a self-service model. Now, students can access the collection whenever the library is open. We will present our project plan, implementation, outcomes and lessons learned for this exciting initiative as well as the ripple effect this project produced in the unit and the entire library.