With a new and larger location, expansion of resources and implementation of innovative live help software called "QuestionPoint," the ASU East library now has more facilities to serve the needs of East students.
The library moved to the downstairs of the Center Building and eventually will take up the entire ground floor, except for about five study rooms that will be shared with the Learning Center.
Librarian Barbara D'Angelo said, "It's exciting because we'll have more space, and at the same time we are dealing with change.
"We haven't altered the original business plan we had set out in 1996," library director Charles Brownson said. "We didn't have enough space upstairs, and we couldn't have shelves; the floors didn't support it.
"We're now in a position to realize the print part [of the library]," Brownson added. "The idea was we would buy the most current undergraduate research material. Around 30,000 volumes is the first estimate. As new material came in, the old would go out."
Brownson said he is trying to maintain a physical library of reference material for students to use on location.
Brownson said the library's new location and space would be stable for at least five years.
"It is not adequate for 10,000 students, but it will serve 5,000," he said.
D'Angelo said the "Live Help" button now on all ASU East computers is a new remote reference service that allows librarians to answer questions without requiring people to physically come into the library.
The button is displayed on: the campus Web site, an online publication for students called The Insider and the library's Web site. By clicking the button, a person is immediately able to send a question to one of two available librarians.
"The software lets us 'push' Web pages while answering questions and also share the user's desktop if we need to be able to demonstrate how to navigate through a database, for example," D'Angelo said.
"Right now it is using text chat, but it also has the ability to do voiceover IP so we can talk to them in real time," D'Angelo added. These, along with video hookup options are amenities that the main campus library software does not offer.
D'Angelo said there were several issues the library staff had to deal with, such as "getting people to recognize where we are [and] just getting the word out." She added, "People who have been here a while know we are an electronic library, and we will always be."
Reach the reporter at erika.camardella@asu.edu.
