The majority of library clients still use person-to-person interaction when asking reference questions

A review of: De Groote, Sandra L. “Questions Asked at the Virtual and Physical Health Sciences Reference Desk: How Do They Compare and What Do They Tell Us?” Medical Reference Services Quarterly 24.2 (Summer 2005): 11-23. Objective – To identify similarities and differences in the questions asked at the virtual and physical reference desks of a health sciences library, in order to better understand user needs and highlight areas for service improvement. Also to retrospectively analyze reference statistics collected over the previous six years. Design – Use study; retrospective study of reference statistics for the period July 1997 to June 2003; literature review. Setting – Large academic health sciences library in the United States. Subjects – All questions asked at the reference and information desks, plus questions submitted to the University-wide virtual reference service and answered by a health sciences librarian, over a period of one month. The questions were asked by faculty, staff, students and members of the public. Methods – A literature review was carried out to examine the types of information/reference questions typically asked in health sciences libraries both before and after the mass introduction of remote end-user searching of online resources and the establishment of virtual reference services. Next, the reference statistics collected at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Library of the Health Sciences between July 1997 and June 2003 were examined. For most of this period a digital reference service was offered using a listserv address to which patrons would submit email queries. Beginning in March 2003, a formal virtual reference service (chat and email) was provided using commercial software. Finally, data was gathered on questions answered by a health sciences librarian, and clients who asked the questions, at either the physical or virtual reference desk, during the month of November 2003 at the UIC Library of the Health Sciences. Library staff completed an online survey form for each question, and if a client asked more than one question, each question was coded individually. Data included: status of client using the service (faculty/staff, undergraduate student, graduate student, non-UIC, unknown); mode of submission (email, chat, phone, in person); and type of question asked (directional, ready reference, in-depth/mediated, instructional, technical, accounts/status and other). In subsequent analysis, the original seven types of questions were further broken down into 19 categories. Main results – It was not possible to undertake a meta-analysis or systematic review of the studies identified in the literature review because of differences in time frames, settings and the categories used to code reference questions. However the following trends emerged: directional questions accounted for between 30 and 35% of questions asked at both physical and virtual reference desks; the remainder of questions were generally about known item searches, library policies and services, research, database use and quick reference. The statistics collected at UIC Library of the Health Sciences over the period July 1997 to June 2003 were analyzed. Coded reference questions fell into one of four categories: ready reference, in-depth reference, mediated searches and digital reference. There was a noticeable drop in the number of reference questions received in 1999/2000 which reflects trends reported in some of the studies identified in the literature review. The number of mediated searches decreased from 154 in 1997/98 to 4 in 2002/2003, but the number of digital reference questions increased from 0 to 508 in the same period. Statistics were collected over the month of November 2003 for 939 questions asked at the reference and information desks which included: 38 e-mail; 48 chat; 156 phone; and 697 in person. The major findings were as follows: • approximately 55% of questions were reference questions (33.5% ready reference, 9.7% in-depth/mediated, 9.7% instructional); 30% were directional; and 10% were technical; it is not stated what the remaining 5% of questions were; • library clients who asked the questions comprised graduate students (26%), faculty (24%), undergraduate students (24%) and non-UIC patrons (22%); • all groups of clients were most likely to ask their reference questions in person; • graduate students were the largest users of email reference (34%), undergraduates were the largest group to use chat (35%) and faculty/staff were the largest group to use the telephone (39%); • 28% of the questions were answered from library’s staff’s general knowledge of the library; 22% using the online catalogue or electronic journal list; 22% by referring the patron to, or using, an online database or resource; 13% by referring the patron to another department in the library (such as circulation); 7% by consulting another individual; and 5% by using print resources. Conclusion – The results of the three parts of this study – literature review, study of 1997-2003 statistics, and in-depth collection of statistics for November 2003 – are difficult to compare with each other. However, the general trend emerging from the results is that some kinds of questions asked by health sciences library clients have remained very much the same regardless of the rise of remote end-user searching and the mode of transmission of the questions. These include questions about library policies and services, journal and book holdings, database searching and instructional support. Questions about citation verification and consumer health appear to be decreasing while technical questions and questions about accessing remote databases and online journals are increasing. The majority of reference questions are still asked in person.

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MEDIA KOMUNIKASI SEBAGAI AKSES LAYANAN REFERENSIVIRTUAL DI PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

Buletin Al-Turas ◽

10.15408/bat.v25i1.10816 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 17-36

Author(s):

Lailatur Rahmi

Keyword(s):

Information Needs ◽

Communication Media ◽

Educational Institutions ◽

Library Services ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Reference Services ◽

Technological Developments ◽

Reference Service ◽

Pros And Cons ◽

The University

AbstractThe Reference Service is one of the library services designed to assist the users of the library in meeting their information needs. The development of reference services is, especially, important in the tertiary educational institutions. The growth of incredible information and technological developments decline the number of users of the printed reference collections ; there are pros and cons when it comes to the technology that, supposedly, make things easier and practical. The study aims to describe the usefulness of communication media in virtual reference services at the University of Indonesia Library. The results of the study illustrate that the University of Indonesia library has provided communication media as access to virtual reference services through various communication media due to the influence of the development of technological sophistication

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The Growing Support Crisis in Federal STI

World Libraries on the Information Superhighway ◽

10.4018/978-1-878289-66-7.ch015 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 238-262

Author(s):

R. David Lankes

Keyword(s):

Federal Government ◽

Technical Information ◽

The United States ◽

Federal Agencies ◽

The Internet ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Reference Services ◽

Digital Reference ◽

Digital Reference Services ◽

United States Federal Government

Federal agencies in the United States federal government that provide Scientific and Technical Information (STI) face a growing support crisis brought on by the Internet. As these organizations use the Internet to provide increased access to databases and automated resources they are finding more users from the general public are asking more questions. These organizations need to be prepared to support an increasingly diverse user group via the Internet. Projects of the National Library of Education (AskERIC and Virtual Reference Desk) are reviewed and used to raise and discuss issues in supporting STI applications in a government setting. Finally a set of recommendations is presented to help plan digital reference services in this context.

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Virtual reference amid COVID-19 campus closure: a case study and assessment

Reference Services Review ◽

10.1108/rsr-01-2021-0005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Maureen Garvey

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Work Practices ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Content Type ◽

Reference Services ◽

Eventual Return ◽

Reference Service ◽

Service Data

PurposeThis case study was conducted to assess and make changes to the consortial virtual reference service for the remainder of the period of fully virtual reference (campus closure); a second objective was to consider implications for service design and delivery upon the eventual return to the physical campus.Design/methodology/approachThis paper begins by introducing the institution, reference practices prior to the pandemic and the changes to reference service necessitated by the campus closure. After a literature review of material related to reference and the pandemic, several years of virtual reference service data are analyzed.FindingsThe use of consortial virtual reference service has significantly increased in the pandemic, as demonstrated by questions asked by users and questions answered by librarians. Changes to work practices based on these data have been made.Originality/valueThis work is original in that it relates to the physical closure of the campus due to the pandemic, about which, to date, little has been published specifically concerning the design and delivery of reference services.

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Impact of digital reference on the delivery of reference in New Zealand public libraries

10.26686/wgtn.17005366 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Suzanne Alison Barnaby

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

School Children ◽

Response Rate ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Survey Design ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Reference Services ◽

Digital Reference ◽

Digital Reference Services ◽

Reference Service

<p>This study looks at digital reference services in New Zealand public libraries to find out what types of services are being provided and what impact they are having on traditional reference services. A survey was sent to twenty-seven selected public libraries with a further sixteen selected libraries added after a low response rate from the first group, to collect information on their digital reference services. The libraries included large, medium and small and were selected from all areas of New Zealand. A questionnaire was used to collect the information and the data was statistically analysed. All large and the majority of medium selected libraries are providing a digital reference service in the form of email or web form. Four of the large libraries are participating in AnyQuestions - a virtual reference service for New Zealand school children, and one large library has their own virtual service. The low response rate and deficiencies in the survey design have resulted in inconclusive results for this study. We know libraries are providing digital reference services and we know something about how the services are provided, but it is still unclear whether these services are having an impact on traditional reference services.</p>

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Email Reference Transactions Reveal Unique Patterns about End-User Information Seeking Behaviour and Librarians’ Responses in Academic and Public Libraries Outside the U.S. and Canada

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice ◽

10.18438/b8tk6b ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 110

Author(s):

Giovanna Badia

Keyword(s):

Graduate Students ◽

Response Time ◽

Academic Libraries ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Response Times ◽

The United States ◽

End User ◽

Reference Services ◽

E Mail

Abstract Objective – To investigate and compare the nature of e-mail reference services in academic and public libraries outside the United States. Design – Longitudinal comparative study. Setting – A total of 23 academic and public libraries in ten countries: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Subjects – The authors collected reference questions that were e-mailed to the 23 libraries for the weeks of April 3, 2006 and April 7, 2008. Questions were sent from the libraries’ websites to QuestionPoint, a collaborative, online reference service that was used to answer the questions received. Methods – The authors randomly selected 25 questions for each library for the weeks under investigation. If a library did not receive 25 email reference questions that week, then they collected transactions from subsequent weeks until the quota was met or until the end of the month. The authors examined transactions from a total of 919 questions – 515 questions in 2006 and 476 in 2008. All identifying information about the user was stripped from each transaction collected. Each transaction was labeled according to the following categories: • Type of institution, i.e., whether the question was sent to an academic or public library • Language of the question • Question type, i.e., whether the question was about library policy or access to electronic resources (labeled “access” questions), about library holdings (labeled “bibliographic” questions), or about finding specific information on a topic (labeled “subject” questions) • Answer type, i.e., whether the response consisted of: a confirmation, clarification, fact, instructions, referral to a pathfinder/bibliography, referral to another library/person/place, or no answer. • User status, i.e., whether the person asking the question was an undergrad, a graduate student, or a staff/faculty member • Subject classification of the questions using the Dewey Decimal Classification system • Response time Main Results – The e-mail transactions that were examined revealed a wide range of end-user and librarian behaviors. English, followed by Dutch, German, and French, were the languages most frequently used by library users. Countries also varied in terms of the types of questions received. For example, more than 75% of the email queries in Belgium (which only had academic libraries participate in this study) were “access” questions, while Mexico (which also consisted of all academic libraries) only received 6% “access” questions, France (all public libraries) had relatively few access questions, and Sweden (also all public libraries) had none. Public libraries received the most “subject” questions (75%) compared to academic libraries (28%). Public libraries answered “subject” questions with facts over a third of the time, while academic libraries responded with instructions close to half of the time. Among the academic libraries, graduate students asked slightly more “access” questions than undergraduates (62% versus 56%), and undergraduates asked more “subject” questions than graduate students (26% versus 13%). The “subject” questions submitted to academic libraries were divided almost equally among topics in the humanities (36%), the sciences (32%), and the social sciences (32%). This differed from public libraries; the latter received mostly questions about humanities topics (65%). The time taken to respond to users’ reference questions ranged from a few minutes to a few weeks between libraries. Some libraries set the response times on their websites. Those libraries that indicated longer response times on their sites met the users’ expectations more often, up to a maximum of 100 percent of the time. Most of the characteristics of email reference services that are listed above remained consistent from 2006 to 2008. The two areas that changed over two years were the libraries’ response time and the types of questions asked by university students. “Access questions increased (by 14 percent among graduates and by 4 percent among undergraduates), and bibliographic and subject questions decreased in both groups” (p. 364). Response time improved overall from 2006 to 2008. Conclusion – The authors’ analysis of the 919 transactions of e-mail reference questions revealed unique patterns about end-user information seeking behavior and librarians’ responses in academic and public libraries outside the United States and Canada. One of these patterns is that the public libraries participating in the study received the highest percentage of “subject” questions. The authors state that “the pattern of a much higher percentage of subject-related questions in public libraries contrasts with the general virtual reference trend in academic libraries, which shows a much higher percentage of access questions. Since many of the access questions concerned connection problems or logging on to databases, the relatively fewer number may indicate that the arts and humanities disciplines require less database searching and that the users need specific answers instead” (p. 367). The data also revealed significant differences between the types of questions asked by undergraduates versus graduate students. Undergraduates asked two thirds of the subject questions submitted to academic libraries and graduate students asked just over a fourth. The authors assume that this finding indicates that graduate students do more of their own research than undergraduates. The authors were concerned by the increase in the number of access questions posed by undergrads and graduate students from 2006 to 2008. They suggested that websites, databases, and other resources might have become more difficult to use over the years. They also noted that questions in technology almost doubled from 2006 to 2008. One of the patterns that were revealed contradicted the authors’ assumption that libraries with slow response times in 2006 would improve in 2008 as they became more proficient in providing virtual reference services. The majority of libraries in the study improved their turnaround time from 2006 to 2008, but the two slowest libraries took even longer to respond to their users.

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Health Sciences Graduate Students’ Perceptions of the Quality of their Supervision: A Measurement Scale

Canadian Journal of Higher Education ◽

10.47678/cjhe.v37i2.541 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 69-88

Author(s):

Gina Bravo ◽

Julie Saint-Mleux ◽

Marie-France Dubois

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Graduate Students ◽

Literature Review ◽

Discriminant Validity ◽

Health Sciences ◽

Measurement Scale ◽

Supervisor Relationships ◽

Factor Α ◽

The University

We developed and evaluated the G3S-SP, a scale measuring health sciences graduate students’ perceptions of the quality of their supervision. The scale was developed from a literature review and existing questionnaires. Feedback from health sciences graduate students and supervisors led to a revised version of the scale that was mailed to 215 students enrolled in eight programs of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke. Analyses show that mean satisfaction scores differ signifi cantly across programs (p=0.036), which supports the scale’s discriminant validity. Factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure accounting for 84% of the variance. The first factor (α=0.88) assesses the supervisors’ involvement in the design and conduct of the student’s research project, while the second (α=0.76) refers to student-supervisor relationships. We conclude that the G3S-SP is a valuable tool to monitor health sciences graduate students’ perception of the quality of their supervision and to identify areas that need improvement. Nous avons développé puis évalué l’échelle G3S-SP, laquelle mesure la qualité de l’encadrement aux études supérieures telle qu’elle est perçue par les étudiantes et étudiants en sciences de la santé. L’échelle a été construite à partir de la littérature et de questionnaires existants, puis révisée suite aux commentaires d’étudiants et de directeurs de recherche en sciences de la santé. La version fi nale a été postée à 215 personnes étudiant à l’un des huit programmes de la Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé de l’Université de Sherbrooke. L’analyse démontre que les scores moyens de satisfaction diffèrent signifi cativement selon les programmes (p=0,036), un résultat qui témoigne de la validité discriminante de l’échelle. L’analyse factorielle révèle une structure à deux facteurs expliquant 84 % de la variance. Le premier facteur (α=0,88) évalue l’implication du directeur dans la conception et la réalisation du projet de recherche étudiant, tandis que le second (α=0,76) réfère aux relations étudiant-directeur. Nous concluons que l’échelle G3S-SP est utile pour décrire la perception qu’ont les étudiantes et étudiants en sciences de la santé de la qualité de leur encadrement et identifi er les améliorations qui s’imposent.

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Impact of digital reference on the delivery of reference in New Zealand public libraries

10.26686/wgtn.17005366.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Suzanne Alison Barnaby

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

School Children ◽

Response Rate ◽

Public Libraries ◽

Survey Design ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Reference Services ◽

Digital Reference ◽

Digital Reference Services ◽

Reference Service

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Developing and assessing a graduate student reference service

Reference Services Review ◽

10.1108/rsr-06-2019-0041 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 47 (4) ◽

pp. 527-543

Author(s):

Robin Canuel ◽

Sandy Hervieux ◽

Veronica Bergsten ◽

Amélie Brault ◽

Rachelle Burke

Keyword(s):

Graduate Students ◽

Graduate Student ◽

Work Experience ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Content Type ◽

Reference Services ◽

Information Studies ◽

Reference Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to formally assess the training program received by information studies graduate students and the reference services they provided at a research-intensive university. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative content analysis was used to evaluate if graduate students incorporated the training they received in their provision of reference services. The students’ virtual reference transcripts were coded to identify the level of questions asked, if a reference interview occurred and if different teaching methods were used by the students in their interactions. The in-person reference transactions recorded by the students were coded for the level of questions asked. Findings The main findings demonstrate a low frequency of reference interviews in chat interactions with a presence in only 23 per cent of instances while showing that instructional methods are highly used by graduate student reference assistants and are present in 66 per cent of chat conversations. Originality/value This study is of interest to academic libraries who wish to partner with information studies programs and schools to offer graduate students valuable work experience. It aims to show the value that graduate students can bring to reference services. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of continuously developing training programs and assessing the performance of graduate students working in these roles.

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Ask Live! UK public libraries and virtual collaboration

Library and Information Research ◽

10.29173/lirg146 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 27 (86) ◽

pp. 43-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Linda Berube

Keyword(s):

Public Libraries ◽

Public Library ◽

Virtual Collaboration ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Digital Reference ◽

Reference Service ◽

The Uk

Ask A Librarian, the UK public library digital reference service, has been piloting LSSI's Virtual Reference Toolkit. The pilot, managed by Ask administrator Co-East, went live to public users in May 2003 and will continue through September 2003. The pilot objectives include not only an evaluation of the software and support offered by LSSI, but also the eventual integration of the chat component with the main web-form service, and the implications for uptake and sustainability. This article combines a report of the largely positive initial findings of the pilot with an overview of digital reference service and UK public libraries.

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Virtual Racism Rears its Head: Uncovering Librarian Bias in E-mail Reference Services

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice ◽

10.18438/b8kg64 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 97

Author(s):

Wendy Furlan

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Sample Size ◽

Response Times ◽

The United States ◽

The Other ◽

Level Of Service ◽

Virtual Reference ◽

Reference Services ◽

User Groups ◽

E Mail

A review of: Shachaf, Pnina, and Sarah Horowitz. "Are Virtual Reference Services Color Blind?" Library & Information Science Research 28.4 (Sept. 2006): 501-20. Abstract Objective – To examine whether librarians provide equitable virtual reference services to diverse user groups. Design – Unobtrusive method of defined scenarios submitted via e-mail. Setting – Twenty-three Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries from across the United States. All ARL member libraries were invited to participate, with the 23 acceptances providing 19% participation. Subjects – Anonymous librarians from the 23 participating libraries’ virtual e-mail reference services. Up to 6 librarians from each library may have been involved. Six fictitious personas were developed to represent particular ethnic or religious groups, whereby the ethnic or religious affiliation was only indicated by the name chosen for each user and the corresponding e-mail address. Names were selected from lists of names or baby names available online: Latoya Johnson (African-American), Rosa Manuz (Hispanic), Chang Su (Asian - Chinese), Mary Anderson (Caucasian/Christian), Ahmed Ibrahim (Muslim), and Moshe Cohen (Caucasian/Jewish). These personas were used to submit reference queries via e-mail to the virtual reference services taking part in the study. Methods – Five different types of reference queries were developed for use in this study. Three were based on prior published research as they were deemed to be answerable by the majority of libraries. They included a dissertation query, a sports team query, and a population query all designed to be tailored to the target institution. The other 2 queries were developed with participating institutions’ virtual reference guidelines in mind, and were thought to not be answered by the target institutions when submitted by unaffiliated users. They consisted of a subject query on a special collection topic that asked for copies of relevant articles to be sent out, and an article query requesting that a copy of a specific article be e-mailed to the patron. The study was conducted over a 6 week period beginning the second week of September, 2005. Each week, 1 fictitious persona was used to e-mail a reference query to the virtual reference service of each of the 23 participating institutions. Five of each type of query were sent by each persona. During September and October 2005, a total of 138 queries were sent. Each institution received a different query for each of the first 5 weeks, and in the sixth week they received a repeat of a previous request with details of title or years altered. All other text in every request sent was kept consistent. Each institution only received 1 request from each persona during the study. In order to eliminate any study bias caused by an informed decision regarding the order in which personas were used, they were randomly arranged (alphabetically by surname). Furthermore, to avoid suspicions from responding librarians, queries were e-mailed on different days of the week at different times. This created some limitations in interpretating response times as some queries were submitted on weekends. All queries were analysed by Nvivo software in order to identify attributes and patterns to aid qualitative analysis. Each transaction (a single query and any related responses) was classified according to 12 attributes and 59 categories based on various associations’ digital reference guidelines. Transactions were coded and then 10% re-coded by a different coder. This led to the clarification and refinement of the coding scheme, resulting in the number of categories used being reduced to 23. Coding was then performed in 3 iterations until 90% agreement between the 2 coders was reached. The final inter-coder reliability was 92%. The study did not support cross tabulation among user groups on most content categories due to the small sample size. Main results – Response times varied greatly between users. Moshe (Caucasian/Jewish) received an average turn-around of less than a day. At the other end of the spectrum, Ahmed’s (Muslim) responses took an average of 3.5 days. Both Ahmed and Latoya (African-American) sent queries which took over 18 days to receive a response. The length (number of words) of replies also indicated a differing level of service with Mary (Caucasian/Christian) and Moshe receiving far lengthier responses than the other 4 personas. Number of replies (including automatic replies) was examined in comparison with the number of replies which answered the question, and again indicated Mary and Moshe were receiving a better level of service. The way in which the user was addressed by the librarian was examined as another measure of service, i.e. first name, full name, honorific. This again mirrored the low level of service received by Ahmed. The professional endings used by librarians in their replies also reinforced the high quality of service received by Moshe across other categories. Results for Rosa (Latino) and Chang (Asian - Chinese) were average for most categories presented. Conclusion – In this study, a discriminatory pattern was clearly evident, with the African-American and Muslim users receiving poor levels of service from virtual reference librarians across all dimensions of quality evaluated. The Caucasian (Christian and Jewish) users also noticeably received the best level of service. It is noted, however, that the sample size of the study is not large enough for generalisations to be drawn and that future, more statistically significant studies are warranted. Many other questions are raised by the study for possible future research into racism exhibited by library staff and services.

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