Changing scholarly practices and economic constraints require that the library profession revisit many of the assumptions that have long been the basis for academic library programs and services. Much of the academic library world has been affected by a global economic crisis that has strained our capacity to sustain programs, services, and collections. Some argue that reference desks are no longer sustainable. However, we argue that, not in all, but in many environments, they are still essential and that, to sustain the business of reference services, librarians must balance the need to guide users in a library setting and the need to serve then wherever they are.