It just occurred to me that for almost all of the reference questions I've been answering for/with patrons I've located the answers in books in the check-our section. Almost nothing has actually come from Reference itself. It occurs to me that the patron wants to take something home, in hand, and they really want something more than just to look at it in the library. All the more reason to reduce the size of the Reference collection and place items so they are available for patrons to take home where they are more comfortable.
Another thought, then, is to redesign the library to more emulate a homey environment rather than a sterile steel and structured table location setting so patrons are happy to stay. I know a lot of libraries already do this or are attempting to do so, but perhaps a whole rethinking is necessary. Then there is simply the option of forwarding all information to a patron's home computer so they can access everything from home. That's what databases are all about but even more user casual items might be in order.
I think I will have more thoughts on this.
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