Someone’s already posted a great entry on this meeting, so I won’t repeat what’s already been covered. As a library student who’s never actually worked behind the reference desk before, I couldn’t have picked a more engaging (and at times, heated) discussion to crash. To give an idea of the level of urgency present in the room, at one point a librarian stood up and cried “We’re a fast-food restaurant!” to which a colleague added “and the food has to be quality!”

A few highlights that capped off the too-short meeting:

• Reference usage statistics have declined and also leveled off;
• Reference print reshelving numbers continue to nosedive;
• In terms of resource sharing, Dave believes Google is the best one ever invented. People now are able to answer ready-reference questions on their own, and as a result,
• Librarians have become researchers/consultants.
• The period we are in as a good thing, as librarians are finally utilizing our skills the way we’d always wanted to.

What an awesome session. Pity it didn’t last a minute longer than its scheduled time.