Changing Reference Collections

Posted on by Nicholas Ferraz de Oliveira

The Main Library Reading Room (200 Library) is being reconfigured to create better study space as well as space for reference collections currently housed in other Library units. During Fall 2010, large bookshelves currently placed around 200 Library will be removed and lower-use reference materials will be relocated in order to provide more inviting, comfortable, and functional space for our users. With the integration of higher-use reference materials from around the Main Library into the Reading Room collection, 200 Library will now provide access to a broader array of reference materials in a central location accessible during all hours of Main Library service and an improved physical space for their use.

Many lower-use reference materials previously housed in the Reading Room and in other Library units have been moved to the Stacks Reference (STX REF) Collection , located near the entrance to the Main Stacks. Materials in STX REF are used less frequently, but have enduring value for scholars. By creating the STX REF space, the Library may ensure ongoing, on-site access for scholars to materials that might otherwise be transferred to high-density storage at the Oak Street Library Facility . These changes to our physical reference collections also reflect ongoing changes in reference publishing, which now allows us to provide access to an increasing number of core reference materials through our Online Reference Collection .

The reconfiguration of the Main Library reference collections is being pursued as part of the New Service Models program and will provide enhanced access to print reference materials from around the Library even as an increasing number of reference materials move online. If you have any questions about the changes to the Reading Room or the Stacks Reference collections, please contact Scott Walter , Associate University Librarian for Services and Associate Dean of Libraries.

Do you have a story you’d like added to the Library News & Events? If so, please contact Heather Murphy ( hmurphy@illinois.edu ).

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