For the duration: Creating a collection maintenance unit in technical services

Abstract

The University of Illinois-Chicago is an ARL member library with a collection of 2.3 million volumes. While we have access to many electronic resources, we still have a substantial collection of physical items to manage in several buildings. Many of those volumes are held at the Richard J. Daley Library on our east campus, where nonhealth-related academic programs are located. Late in 2015, the head of the Daley Circulation Department announced his retirement after more than 30 years in that position. The department was a typical academic library circulation unit, including circulation desk, shelving, reserves, and interlibrary loan. Most of the two dozen staff members had been with the department for many years.