Maryland Library Draws Fire for Axing Children's Reference Desk

Staff -- School Library Journal, 8/1/1998

Some residents of Silver Spring, MD, are not happy about losing the children's reference desk at their library, saying children won't get the service they need at a new, combined desk for children and adults.

"By replacing Silver Spring's specialized, kids-only point of service with a one-size-fits-all, combined adult/juvenile information desk, library administrators intend to save money and conceal . . . longstanding staff shortages," wrote Alvin D. Rivera, President of the Alliance for Better Library Service, in a letter to the County Council.

Under the old system, the adult reference desk was on the other side of the building from the children's room. Children's librarians spent half their time staffing the adult desk, leaving the children's desk vacant. Under the new system, two librarians will work at a single, centrally located desk. That, says Branch Manager Ann Irvine, the new plan is actually an improvement, because it places a librarian next to the children's room at all times.

The Silver Spring library is part of the Mongtomery County library system, which has been consolidating reference desks in its smaller libraries for the last few years.