Roving reference at Darien Library

I'm excited to be attending a free, one-day event on the future of libraries at the Darien Library in a few weeks (details and sign up for the event are on this wiki). In addition to the Microsoft Surface computer that has been set up in the children's room, I am eager to see how the library runs its reference service, which was described in a Library Journal article ("New Library Opens in Darien, CT; First LEED Gold Building in Region," 12 January 2009) this way:

On the third floor, reference desks give way to a hybrid service model. Roving staffers are equipped with mini-laptops but can land as needed at small reference "touchdown spaces" for collaborative, side-by-side searching with patrons.

Reading this reminds me of something John Blyberg, the Assistant Director for Innovation and User Experience at the Darien Library, said some time ago about how library staff in the new building would handle situations where a book being sought by a patron was not in the library's collection: the laptop-equipped library staffer would place an order for the book right then and there. I can only imagine how positively patrons might react to such a level of customer service.