Managing Reference and User Services: Exploring Management of Reference and User Services

Abstract

We are excited to be able to discuss current and changing practices in the management of reference services. Julia has worked in reference services for three decades. She started her career as an adult and reference services librarian in public libraries in the branches of the New York Public Library and at the Chandler (Arizona) Public Library. She then shifted to academic libraries, working as both a generalist and business reference and instruction librarian at Murray State University and the University of Toledo. She is currently the director of reference and instruction at the University of Toledo. Jo has worked in public libraries in Northeast Ohio since 2011. She earned her doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Dayton in 2023, where she focused on organizational change, leadership theory, and organizational effectiveness. Her dissertation studied staff engagement with and organizational support for readers’ advisory services in public libraries. She is currently the senior main library manager for Stark Library in Canton, Ohio.