Effective Management of High-Use/High-Demand Space Using Restaurant-Style Pagers.

The library landscape is changing at a fast pace, with an increase in the demand for study space including quiet, individualized study space; open group study space; and as enclosed group study space. In large academic libraries, managing limited high-demand resources is crucial and is partially being driven by the greater emphasis on group learning and collaboration seen in the teaching curricula. Through the use of existing technology such as restaurant-style pagers, libraries have the capability of managing space in a fair and controlled manner. In turn, use of pagers in libraries increases customer satisfaction as patrons feel they are being served fairly. This article discusses how the use of pagers helps with space management by explaining some of the different tried models as well as the benefits and challenges of using pagers, and offers recommendations for future development and use of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]