In much the same way, the librarian's traditional job has changed also. Now, they have the world at their fingertips and they must convey this knowledge to eager students, faculty, and the surrounding community. The support staff has stepped in to fill the gaps left when, as with most libraries, there are too few librarians to fulfill the needs of an information society. Many hours at the reference desk are staffed by one or two paraprofessionals with no librarian in attendance. Circulation duties are supervised and performed by support staff.
Paraprofessional leaders supervise interlibrary loan, microfilm, and periodicals departments.
Since 1997, our library has come under the capable management of a new Library Dean who has the expertise to take us to new horizons. Dr. Mary Moore has implemented team organization for our library. We have several teams whose members are both librarians and support staff. Members elect a team leader, called the facilitator, for a one-year term. The facilitator can be either a librarian or a member of the support staff.