As technology continues to advance, libraries in Europe and America continue to improve upon their virtual reference services by employing new Web technologies and applying them to existing services. West African academic libraries have begun providing resources electronically to their users but still typically lag behind in the services they…

Despite the old-fashioned view of the academic library as a static institution, libraries can and do change in response to the needs of users and stakeholders. Perhaps the most dramatic shift in services has been the transition from a purely physical to a combination physical/virtual or even virtual-only environment. This article examines how…

Regular evaluation of archival reference services is essential to ensure that users have appropriate access to the information they need. Archives New Zealand has been measuring customer satisfaction for many years using self-completion questionnaires but recently trialed two new methods of evaluation, using external research companies. One…

Distance librarians working with graduate programs often discover many of their students have specialized information needs and require additional instruction. However, it can be impossible to discover these students without first becoming deeply involved with the program. Librarians at Benedictine University have developed a method for becoming…

This paper examines the evolution and findings of an on-going longitudinal study that is assessing the satisfaction of distance education students with library reference services through the use of a transaction-level survey. The survey's purpose is two-fold: first, it is used to garner valuable input from these students; and second, it also…

Student workers have always been a traditional and valuable component to the smooth running of many academic health sciences libraries. However, in recent years many libraries have redefined student workers' roles to extend beyond their traditional scope due to a range of factors, such as loss of staff and budget cutbacks. The Bio-Medical Library…

While a great deal of literature on embedded librarians in academic libraries is focused on the role of instructor, there are many other services that could be provided by librarians working closely with students. The Kresge Business Administration Library (Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan) has created a unique…

There's a lot of focus on the "Next Gen" librarians out there bringing a youth perspective that's supposed to shake things up and introducing new ideas and practices into a profession that sometimes moves forward at a glacial pace. But the ideas of the new generation do not invalidate the work done by those who came before. In fact, change in…

This article explores the geography of virtual questioning by using geographic information systems to study activity within the Florida Electronic Library "Ask a Librarian" collaborative chat service. Researchers mapped participating libraries throughout the state of Florida that served as virtual "entry portals" for users as…

We asked the same 60 questions using DRS (digital reference services) in Japanese public libraries, face-to-face reference services and Q & A (question and answer) sites. It was found that: (1) The correct answer ratio of DRS is higher than that of Q & A sites; (2) DRS takes longer to provide answers as compared to Q & A sites; and (3)…

The core duties of the reference librarian inherently mandate that the work environment is not unlike a kaleidoscope: Students and faculty revolve within and around the library, and reference and public services workers do the same; every move temporarily redesigning the library, its collections, and even its very role on campus into something…

The lyrics from the Ervin Drake song made famous by Frank Sinatra, "It Was a Very Good Year," kept coming to mind in 2010, despite the economy. While the quantity of works produced declined, and publishers suffered along with everyone else, there was no diminution in quality. With reduced budgets for collections, librarians were forced to make…

Proper planning and assessment surveys of projects for academic library Web sites will not always be predictive of real world use, no matter how many responses they might receive. In this case, multiple-phase development, librarian focus groups, and patron surveys performed before implementation of such a project inaccurately overrated utility and…

This study explores student use of the mobile Web in general and expectations for an academic library's mobile Web site in particular through focus groups with students at Kent State University. Participants expressed more interest in using their mobile Web device to interact with library resources and services than anticipated. Results showed an…

From popular movies to New York Times bestsellers, organic food is widely acknowledged to be of growing importance. Many community college students are asking: How is organic food different from everything else in the grocery store? What impact does farming have on the environment? How safe is our food? A survey of reference works introduces…