What Tamar Learned at PLA: "The KCLS Roving Reference Model"

I am very excited about our discussion about roving reference here in CCPL. I attended a session at PLA on the topic, just to see what we could steal from their model, haha. First off, what is roving reference? It is answering questions in the stacks, being mobile and not being at a fixed point (stationary). Roving reference staff should not get involved in lengthy questions that involved using the computer or catalog, but should pass them to a reference person who is stationary, if possible, so that the roving staff person can continue to roam. When roving, that should be the staff person's primary task. You ask, but Tamar, sometimes there are no patrons needing assistance, what should we do then? Well, when that happens, there are jobs you can perform while in the stacks, that will keep you available and alert. You could do a library sweep, shelve misc items, straighten up, do displays, restock flyers, shelf-read (briefly), pull paging slips, shelve holds, and weed. In the KCLS model, staff are expected to spend 30% of their scheduled desk time doing roving reference. I think we could do even more. As a matter of fact, I spent a half-hour last night just to try out conscious roving and I really liked it. I was more aware of who was in the branch and what was going on in the branch. I took the opportunity to pick up books and straighten chairs, and found that, at the end of the night, I had less work to do to get the branch closed for the night. An added bonus was scaring the children who were hanging around the branch, because I kept popping up in the their area! It was a treat to keep them guessing as to what I was doing! I don't think you canNOT like roving reference.