ERIC Number: EJ974681
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1041-7915
EISSN: N/A
The Reference Statistic Shuffle: Finding a Tool That Not Only Adds Stuff up but Improves Results
Northam, Sarah H.
Computers in Libraries, v32 n6 p24-26 Jul-Aug 2012
Reference librarians are constantly balancing their reference duties against other duties, for example, collection development and departmental liaison. The author works as a reference librarian at Texas A&M University-Commerce Libraries in Commerce, Texas. The university has approximately 11,000 students, a large number of whom are online-only students living around and outside of the U.S. The library has 14 academic librarians on staff, four of whom are reference librarians. Having a small staff makes it challenging to provide quality reference desk service, as well as remote services (chat, email, and phone), in addition to their other job duties. All the professional librarians share the responsibility of answering questions at the reference desk. In the summer of 2011, the author took over as interim head of reference. One of her first goals was to do an in-depth study on the types of questions that were being asked at the reference desk. She wanted to keep track of every question received during one full semester. She was given permission to begin investigating library statistical products. This article describes how the author set out to find a reference statistical tool that not only adds stuff up but also improve results.
Descriptors: Reference Services, Library Services, Librarians, Library Administration, Library Automation, Library Research, Statistical Data, Database Management Systems, Management Information Systems, Performance Technology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A