Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Online Chat Reference: Question Type And The Implication For Staffing In A Large Academic Library, Debbie Meert-Williston, Rachel Sandieson
Online Chat Reference: Question Type And The Implication For Staffing In A Large Academic Library, Debbie Meert-Williston, Rachel Sandieson
Western Libraries Publications
This study investigated the types of questions asked in an academic online reference chat service to ascertain the level of library staff expertise needed to answer the questions. The transcripts from a large academic library were analyzed to determine both the type of questions asked, and the complexity of the reference questions asked. The data showed that 75% of the questions asked were non-reference, 17% of the questions asked were ready-reference, and 8.6% of the questions asked were in-depth or complex reference questions. Library staff with the capacity to answer both circulation and general reference questions would have the optimum …