The University of Texas at Arlington's Library began using an online chat reference in 2002. The service, called Collaborative Digital Reference Service, later became "Ask a Librarian." Slightly over one year later, the library joined the University of Texas System's "Ask a Librarian" service. Both services are powered by…

This study grew out of a need to assess reference desk data and determine two items: the number of questions handled for the last three years and the times when the desk should be double staffed. Analysis of the data by chi-square standardized residuals identified the days of the week, and the times during the day of heavy and light use. Data sort…

At Valparaiso University's main library, the Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources (formerly the Moellering Library), student employees are an integral part of day-to-day operations. Students work at the reference desk and must be able to handle reference questions. Since the fall 2000 semester, the Reference Services Librarian…

The University of South Alabama's Baugh Biomedical Library recently initiated a chat reference service targeted at distance education students in the biomedical sciences. After one year of service, the library conducted an evaluation of the chat reference to assess the success of this mode of reference service. Both traditional reference and…

During the 2001-2002 academic year, Augustana College Library (Rock Island, IL) and St. Ambrose University Library (Davenport, IA) began a unique joint venture of peer observation between the reference staff members of the two libraries. Librarians from each college took turns visiting the other library and conducting peer observations of…

This article presents interesting articles that explore several different areas of reference assessment, including practical case studies and theoretical articles that address a range of issues such as librarian behavior, patron satisfaction, virtual reference, or evaluation design. They include: (1) "Evaluating the Quality of a Chat Service"…

There are occasions at a busy reference desk when contact time with patrons is limited. A solution to this is to create a mediated reference search service where librarians can have the luxury of conducting extended reference interviews. One-on-one searching services can be very beneficial for library patrons, including students, staff,…

Reference e-mail continues to be a vital reference service. This article studies the trends in reference e-mail use over an eight year period. Usage statistics are analyzed particularly in light of the marketing of the service via changes in the location of the service on the official university libraries' Web pages. Included are recommendations…

After undertaking the time and energy consuming task of reference assessment, the library might discover that it needs to tweak delivery of service, weed and update the collection, upgrade workstations, or advance marketing strategies to get patrons to use reference materials and services. Like any other product or service, reference departments…

A new library in San Jose opened on August 1, 2003. This library is the result of a unique collaboration between San Jose State University Library and the San Jose Public Library. The planning for this new library highlighted merging several key areas of operation, including Government Publications. Several years before the two libraries merged,…

The tremendous expansion of online information sources has prompted academic librarians to increase their outreach to undergraduates of the "Net Generation" in an effort to more effectively promote their libraries' resources to these students. Such outreach programs involve identifying library resources that support the…

Library instruction about reference materials, databases, and quality web sites never goes out of fashion for students, faculty, or staff. An annual professional development program on the Colorado State University campus offers an opportunity to provide specialized library instruction to targeted faculty and staff members. For two consecutive…

This study uses virtual reference transcripts for which patrons completed exit surveys to seek any correlations between user and librarian satisfaction within virtual reference transactions. By analyzing transcripts with a focus on three elements-technology performance, preferred reference practices, and the demonstrated communication levels of…

The Reference Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder provides a research consultation service to undergraduates enrolled in the mandatory introductory writing course. The Research Center is staffed by graduate students trained in providing reference assistance. Librarians in the Reference Department administered a patron satisfaction…

The incorporation of technology into library processes has tremendously impacted staff and users alike. The University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries is no exception. Sixteen years of reference statistics are analyzed to examine the relationships between the implementation of CD-ROMs and web-based resources and the number of reference questions.…