Muskogee Library becoming more open, service-oriented
Mar. 28—Muskogee Public Library is offering visitors a more open and helpful place to relax and check things out.
"That's our goal, to improve it and make it more of a welcoming space," Muskogee Branch Manager Julie Poor said. "We want to improve the look and the service."
Gone are the massive front circulation counter and the assistants' desks by the children's department. They are replaced with kiosks, where library assistants help check out items.
Poor said the change helps make library assistants more approachable "because they are not seated and working."
"They are able to be more mobile, so that if a patron were to approach them and say 'I'm looking for a book about sharks,' they can easily step away from that desk and help them find a book about sharks," she said.
The space formerly occupied by the circulation counter will become a sitting and reading area, she said.
"We're going to get some seating, decorative items for the shelves and different things like that," Poor said. "It's just someplace where they can go and sit, maybe read a book, look over their requests, just enjoy a quiet place in the library downstairs."
Library assistant Patty Roberts said it is definitely different not having the circulation shelf.
"But I do think it's going to have a strong impact once we get it done," she said.
Poor said the new furniture will be ordered over the next few months. There will be an indoor book drop and the digital card catalog will be moved to a more visible space.
Books formerly behind the checkout counter are kept in the circulation workroom, Poor said.
Library clerks will continue to file and circulate books.
"Clerks are the staples, they're the ones who do the back of the house, they do the shelving, the transit work," Poor said. "They're making sure patrons' books are waiting for them and sending our books to other libraries."
Poor said that, under the change, library assistants are being trained in every area of the library, including circulation, reference or the maker space.
"Previous to the service model change, we had some library assistants who only worked reference or assistants who only worked reference or only worked various departments," Poor said.
Now, she said, "if someone called in sick or has the day off, we're not scrambling to find someone to work that particular department, everybody does. It gives us a better aspect of service."
Eventually there will be kiosks in the reference area upstairs, she said.
"We wanted to acclimate patrons and staff to the changes" she said. "We've moved them here and there to see where's the best placement."
