Book-a-Librarian in San Francisco

While a lot of librarians pursue tech-focused reference, the San Francisco Public Library's (SFPL) Marc Webb thinks one-on-one service is the new frontier, helping patrons grapple with new technology and research techniques. Launched in April, SFPL's Book-a-Librarian service allows patrons to schedule a 30-minute session with either Webb or one of three colleagues, each of whom sets aside one hour weekly for the program. Among the 50 people who have had appointments thus far, most have been elderly, new Americans, or job seekers.

Webb, a periodicals librarian at SFPL's main library, conceived of the idea a decade ago in graduate school, inspired by the model of individualized service in social work. SFPL may be the first large library system to offer the Book-a-Librarian service, but strategies using the same name are available at academic and public libraries in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and Sweden; in the United States, small libraries such as the Indian Prairie Public Library, IL, and Curtis Public Library, Brunswick, ME, have their own version of the plan. "You have a deeper exchange about why they're coming into the library," Webb said. "It's my favorite hour of the week."