“Are We Getting Warmer?”

Radford, Marie L.; Connaway, Lynn Silipigni; Confer, Patrick A.; Sabolcsi-Boros, Susanna; Kwon, Hannah

doi:10.5860/rusq.50n3.259

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…RUSA's advise on conducting referencing interviews is developed to deal with this, but we found no examples in our material of the librarians attempting to reveal unexpressed information needs. In this sense, our findings differ a great deal from Radford (2011) and colleagues' analyzes, where clarifying questions were found in 74% of the inquiries. This discrepancy may be related to the fact that digital and f2f services are, to a greater extent, being developed in different directions.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Most of the inquiries in our material were simple and seemingly straightforward questions. Radford (2011) and colleagues recommend asking clarifying questions in such inquiries, and Logan et al (2019) recommend identifying users' information needs to avoid dissatisfaction. However, we observed very few examples of such techniques in practice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To learn how librarians approach the users and analyze how they use reference interview techniques to understand their information needs, we analyzed the interactions using RUSA guidelines (RUSA, 2013). We also used Radford et al's (2011) query clarification coding schemes to categorize the types of query techniques used and specify who initiated the clarification (librarian or user). Specifically, we wanted to identify the use of open questions aimed at expanding the user's initial queries, follow-up, clarification of questions aimed at refining the user's needs and closing questions to verify that their needs had been satisfied.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chat logs provide a unique opportunity to track many aspects of the reference interview, including communication and accuracy. Radford et al (2011) studied 850 transcripts in the period 2004-2006. In 74% of the interactions, they found instances of the librarian's query clarification, which is far greater than the percentage reported in studies of f2f interactions.…”

Section: The Reference Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 74% of the interactions, they found instances of the librarian's query clarification, which is far greater than the percentage reported in studies of f2f interactions. Examples of query clarifications occur in many interactions, which Radford et al (2011) also recommend for questions that appear easy or straightforward. Users provided clarifying information of their own initiative in 23% of interactions, but librarians also requested clarifications on the information needs in 96%.…”

Section: The Reference Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is the reference desk used for reference interviews

Bøyum

Byström

Pharo

2021

RSR

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate why users turn to the university library’s reference desk and whether librarians make use of the opportunity to conduct reference interviews to disclose any unexpressed information needs. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results from a qualitative exploration study where interactions between librarians and users were observed in authentic situations at the reference desk and analyzed using a modified version of Radford and Connaway’s (2013) categorization of inquiries. Findings Most inquiries were seemingly easy to answer and pertained to collections and procedures in the library. Lending out desk supplies accounted for a high proportion of the activity. Only a small number of requests were subject-oriented and reference interview techniques were only used in 5% of the recorded inquiries. This means that the users’ information needs were not probed in the vast majority of the interactions. Research limitations/implications The study is exploratory and mirrors the activity that takes place in one specific library. The low number of reference interview techniques used may indicate a lack of interest in users’ information needs, which signifies a risk of the reference desk being reduced to an arena for instrumental and superficial interaction between librarians and users. Originality/value This study illustrates current developments in work at a physical library desk. Few recent studies address face-to-face interactions between librarians and users.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Reference Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Reference Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is the reference desk used for reference interviews

Bøyum

Byström

Pharo

2021

RSR

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On intermediaries' inquiring minds, elicitation styles, and user satisfaction

Liu

2011

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci.

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Building upon previous research on the concepts of inquiring minds and elicitation styles (Wu, 2005;Wu & Liu, 2003), this study aims to identify the relationships between the theoretical constructs of elicitation behavior and user satisfaction in terms of the relevance, utility, and satisfaction of search results, search interaction processes, and overall search activities. Descriptive statistical analysis is applied to compare the user satisfaction ratings with respect to the concepts of inquiring minds and elicitation styles. The results suggest that the stereotyped elicitation style received the lowest user satisfaction ratings compared with functionally and situationally oriented styles. It is suggested that the intermediaries take into account the characteristics of search questions and, accordingly, adapt their professional mindsets to search interview situations; that is, using an inquiring mind in the query formulation process as default mode with functional and situational styles of elicitations would be helpful for enhancing the user's satisfaction ratings. Future research is suggested to better understand and to improve professional talk in information services.

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Shared values, new vision: Collaboration and communities of practice in virtual reference and SQA

Radford

Connaway

Mikitish

et al. 2016

Asso for Info Science & Tech

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This investigation of new approaches to improving collaboration, user/librarian experiences, and sustainability for virtual reference services (VRS) reports findings from a grant project titled “Cyber Synergy: Seeking Sustainability between Virtual Reference and Social Q&A Sites” (Radford, Connaway, & Shah, –2014). In‐depth telephone interviews with 50 VRS librarians included questions on collaboration, referral practices, and attitudes toward Social Question and Answer (SQA) services using the Critical Incident Technique (Flanagan, ). The Community of Practice (CoP) (Wenger, ; Davies, ) framework was found to be a useful conceptualization for understanding VRS professionals' approaches to their work. Findings indicate that participants usually refer questions from outside of their area of expertise to other librarians, but occasionally refer them to nonlibrarian experts. These referrals are made possible because participants believe that other VRS librarians are qualified and willing collaborators. Barriers to collaboration include not knowing appropriate librarians/experts for referral, inability to verify credentials, and perceived unwillingness to collaborate. Facilitators to collaboration include knowledge of appropriate collaborators who are qualified and willingness to refer. Answers from SQA services were perceived as less objective and authoritative, but participants were open to collaborating with nonlibrarian experts with confirmation of professional expertise or extensive knowledge.

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“Are We Getting Warmer?”

Cited by 13 publications

References 22 publications

Is the reference desk used for reference interviews

Is the reference desk used for reference interviews

On intermediaries' inquiring minds, elicitation styles, and user satisfaction

Shared values, new vision: Collaboration and communities of practice in virtual reference and SQA

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