The study analyzes how chat reference providers refer patrons to subject specialists in 467 interactions from two years at a university library. Qualitative analysis showed variation in how referrals are presented: as an option versus a recommendation, putting follow-up in the hands of patrons versus librarians, and apologizing versus promoting…

As distance education programs grow at college and universities across the country, libraries must ensure virtual reference services are prepared to meet the needs of patrons in these programs. This article describes the process and results of a 2018 chat analysis conducted at a midsize research university with a large distance education program.…

This study investigates how reference staff at two libraries balance teaching with resource delivery in live chat reference. Analysis of 410 transcripts from one week shows that one library tends to deliver more resources from a wider range of database suggestions, to take more time in chat interactions, and to incorporate more teaching behavior…

This study documents the number and types of referrals to librarians by a paraprofessional staff member at an academic reference desk. Results indicate that over two semesters, only 7.4% of the reference desk transactions required referral to a librarian. From the results of this and other studies, the authors explore the expanded use of trained…

This study explored the relationship between expanded information and referral (I&R) services and traditional reference services in public libraries in North Carolina. Results show librarians feel I&R services should be limited to those closely related to traditional reference services. Other I&R services typically provided by social…

This unobtrusive study conducted at the Brigham Young University Library was designed to determine whether reference questions are appropriately referred by student and paraprofessional assistants. Issues addressed included: (1) the percentage of questions assistants cannot answer themselves that are referred to professionals; (2) the percentage…

Reports on an evaluation of the higher levels of California's statewide reference referral network that involved an unobtrusive method utilizing existing records of actual reference transactions evaluated by panel of judges. Reference evaluation methods, findings of other studies, and other uses of the method are discussed. (Nineteen references…

This paper reports on a study that analyses the questions asked and services offered at the information desk in the reference department at the Kent State University main library. A total of 460 questions asked during 52 hours of scheduled time at the information desk in Spring 1997 were categorized. The main types of questions were directional;…

This study was the first phase of a multiple phase project to generate knowledge about the creation and rapid growth of information and referral (I&R) services in public libraries in the United States in the late 1960s and the 1970s. I&R service is defined as facilitating the link between a person with a need and the resources outside a library to…

This 2-volume report measures and records the use of 16 public library children's services in Connecticut to provide management information and a model to improve the quality of services from collection development to the provision of reference and referral services. The first volume discusses the purposes of the project; examines documentation…

The purpose of this project was to provide an information and referral service for the residents of a three county rural area via the public libraries. The need for this service has been documented by studies done by public libraries and state agencies in Maryland. Project staff have been trained to develop community information file directories…

Introduction: This study investigated unmonitored referrals in a nationwide, collaborative chat reference service. Specifically, it examined the extent to which questions are referred, the types of questions that are more likely to be referred than others, and the level of user satisfaction with the referrals in the collaborative chat reference…

Describes process by which two operational components of National Epilepsy Library and Resource Center (reference library, information and referral unit) combined existing retrieval package with specially designed software to make optimum use of a Wang VS-80 minicomputer. Designing and programing the system, testing and evaluation, and final…

Highlights data from unobtrusive exploratory study related to referral process of reference questions posed at academic depository libraries. Related literature is reviewed, followed by discussions of assumptions related to referral process, implications of study findings, recommendations to improve quality of referral services, and research…

The purpose of this unobtrusive study of reference services at Orem (Utah) Public Library was to determine the extent to which reference questions were negotiated, the appropriateness of the verbal and nonverbal communication skills used, and the extent of influence those skills and levels of negotiation had on the accuracy of the answer given.…