Discussion of digital reference services and the use of real-time versus asynchronous services such as email focuses on data from the AskERIC digital reference service to demonstrate that asynchronous services are not only useful but may have greater utility than real-time systems. (Author/LRW)

Describes a Delphi study conducted to determine factors that affect the process of routing and assigning reference questions received electronically by digital reference services, both to experts within the service and between services. Fifteen factors were determined, by expert consensus, to be important at the conclusion of this study.…

This document reports on the e-mail-based question and answer services (digital reference) that the Department of Education offers to customers. The report is presented in five sections. Section 1, "Introduction," outlines the research goals which were to: analyze current processes, procedures and problems; suggest solutions for…

Identifies a working set of standards by which to assess individual digital reference services (Internet-based human-mediated information services) and to define membership within a collaborative network of digital reference services. The standards are designed for the Virtual Reference Desk AskA Consortium. (Author/LRW)

Includes five articles that discuss digital reference in elementary and secondary education; the need to understand the technological environment of digital reference; question negotiation in digital reference; a pilot study that evaluated chat reference service quality; and collaborative digital museum and digital library reference services. (LRW)

Outlines a study to develop methods to assess the quality of digital reference services, test and refine measures and quality standards to describe digital reference services, and to produce a guidebook that describes how to collect and report data for these measures and standards. (Author/AEF)

Reports on work from two studies in progress related to assessing digital library reference services and developing standards that support such services. Suggests that two types of standards-utilization and technical-should be considered together in the costing, statistics, and measures for digital reference services. (Author/AEF)

This study addresses the problem of Internet information services having to meet the increasing information demands of users in the dynamic Internet environment. The purpose of this research was to use K-12 digital reference services as a starting point to better understand the process of building and maintaining Internet information services. The…

This paper presents the Virtual Reference Desk project, its current activities, and a proposed information system architecture to build a human intermediated network of expertise and experience for the K-12 community. The Virtual Reference Desk is a project headed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology and funded by the U.S.…

This manual is a first effort to begin to identify, describe, and develop procedures for assessing various aspects of digital reference service. Its overall purpose is to improve the quality of digital reference services and assist librarians to design and implement better digital reference services. More specifically, its aim is to: assist…

This Starter Kit is designed to help organizations and individuals who wish to offer human-mediated information services via the Internet to users in the K-12 community. A six-step process is proposed for organizations to follow in creating an "AskA" service. This process addresses all aspects involved in building and maintaining an AskA…

Discusses impacts of the Internet on reference services and changing roles for reference librarians. Describes a continuum of libraries (Sutton) from a paper-based (traditional) to a fully digital library. Examines K-12 uses and benefits of digital reference services (question-and-answer services sometimes referred to as AskA's). Describes K-12…

Presents the Virtual Reference Desk project, its activities, and a proposed information system architecture to build a human intermediated network of expertise and experience. The project seeks to study, support, and improve current K-12 digital reference services, as well as to build a foundation for a national cooperative digital reference…