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Vernon R. Alden Library (FILE)

Alden Library sees increase in foot traffic but staffing stays same

Ohio University’s Alden Library implemented several changes during Fall Semester, but hasn’t seen much of a change when it comes to foot traffic and staffing. 

Improvements have been made to the how the library staff itself services students as well. Kelly Broughton, assistant dean for Research and Education Services, said the library also worked to increase communication, collaboration and consistency in customer service across all employees in the library.

“We consolidated responsibilities for most public services operations in the User Services department and assigned one staff member,” Broughton said in an email.  “The overnight staff and students (there are about 10 of them altogether) also work out of our User Services Department.”

Broughton said the library is well-versed in dealing with the steady climb of students coming into the library. The two biggest focuses for the library during the end of the semester are making sure the building is kept clean and preparing for the “Finals by Alden” events.

“It is really difficult when you have 6-9,000 people a day through the building to keep it clean,” Broughton said in an email. “[The Finals by Alden events] … include therapy dog visits, pop-up snack carts, button-making craft breaks and more.”

Student entrances to Alden increased by 23 percent last year, he said, meaning Alden went from 1.1 million visits to 1.4 million visits in 12 months. 

However, Broughton said the amount of people visiting the library during the current Fall Semester is about the same as it was during the previous Fall Semester. Despite the overall foot traffic into the library increasing, Broughton said there is no need to hire more student staff at the moment.

“We have a solid group of students right now and so far, have been able to cover all our needs.  Hopefully they will all come back spring semester,” Broughton said in an email. “We will be hiring to replace our graduating seniors next fall.”

There have been several updates to the library this semester, and Dean of University Libraries Scott Seaman said students may find the most valuable updates on the fifth floor.

“The 5th floor is intended to be a quiet work area and it can be a great alternative when you’re not engaged in group work,” Seaman said in an email.

The fifth floor of Alden was previously filled with stacks of government documents. Several years ago, the library acquired electronic copies of those materials and were able to move the paper documents, Seaman said. 

“Over the Summer, we installed a variety of new workstations and chose to highlight our collection of atlases and globes,” Seaman said in an email. “It’s one of my favorite places to work in Alden.”

Seaman said the project to make the fourth floor of Alden Library open 24-hours began a few years ago.

“The project involved replacing failing 45-year old elevators with those capable of being programmed to only access the 2nd and 4th floors during late-night hours, re-locating book stacks that were on the 4th floor, upgrading the workspaces, and then adding the additional restrooms necessary for 24-hour occupancy,” Seaman said in an email. “In all, it was about a five-year project.”

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