The Role of Virtual Reference in Library Web Site Design: A Qualitative Source for Usage Data

Powers, Amanda Clay; Shedd, Julie; Hill, Clay

doi:10.1080/19322909.2011.573279

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In her study, referrals were defined as those transactions where "…the patron's initial question was not agencies that may or may not answer the question" (Kwon, 2007). Analysis by Powers et al (2011) found that referrals to the Reference Department were made "…27% of the time, including those to subject specialists and to the physical reference desk". The largest category for referrals was to the Interlibrary Loan department, at 38% (Powers et al, 2011).…”

Section: Referralsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Digging deeper into virtual reference transcripts

Cooke

Matheson

2015

Reference Services Review

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PurposeThe purpose of the study is to identify the information needs of patrons in a large Canadian academic library system by analyzing the types of questions asked through the Library's "Ask A Librarian" system. The results provide information on specific areas of competencies and training for staff providing virtual reference services. MethodologyThis article looks at virtual reference data collected between January and April 2012 from a large Canadian academic library and provides an analysis of the types of questions asked by library users. The researchers developed a detailed coding scheme for the analysis of question type and referrals made, and used the qualitative analysis software NVivo™ to code and analyze the data. FindingsThe results of this analysis found that patrons often tap into synchronous online library help when they encounter challenges with online library resources. Specific areas of patron training to be developed were also identified. Finally, areas for staff training were uncovered which will help the library provide a consistent level of service to patrons. OriginalityThis is the first study in the library community to conduct a detailed analysis of the virtual reference transcripts from a large Canadian university using the NVivo™ content analysis software. The study developed and employed more detailed coding categories then has been used in previous studies in order to provide more information about the questions that patrons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 IntroductionVirtual Reference (VR) also referred to as chat reference, is defined by the American Library Association as "…a reference service initiated electronically, often in real-time, where patrons employ computers or other Internet technology to communicate with reference staff, without being physically present. Communication channels used frequently in virtual reference include chat, videoconferencing, Voice over IP, co-browsing, e-mail, and instant messaging" (Guidelines for Implementing and Maintaining Virtual Reference Services, 2004). The text transcripts of these reference interactions provide Library and Information Science (LIS) researchers with a wealth of data which can be analyzed in numerous ways to provide insight into patrons' use of the library and its resources.Libraries continue to struggle to provide more and better service to patrons while in the midst of ongoing budget reductions. The improvement and expansion of virtual services will be seen as a logical and economical solution to this ongoing challenge. One of the challenges of any reference service is providing a consistent level of service. Differences in staff competencies, subject knowledge, and experience will impact the success of each reference transaction and patron satisfaction. This is particularly true of institutions that have more than on...

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Section: Referralsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Analysis by Powers et al (2011) found that referrals to the Reference Department were made "…27% of the time, including those to subject specialists and to the physical reference desk". The largest category for referrals was to the Interlibrary Loan department, at 38% (Powers et al, 2011). …”

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confidence: 99%

Digging deeper into virtual reference transcripts

Cooke

Matheson

2015

Reference Services Review

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“…These areas include acquisitions and discovery, e-resource management, website design and library FAQs. (Baskaran, 2019; Fan and Welch, 2016; Jones et al , 2009; Kimbrough, 2018; Powers et al , 2011). Within user experience librarianship, service design is an assessment methodology often utilized to holistically evaluate the variety of interactions, interfaces, departments and personnel users come into contact with that make up a discrete service (Marquez and Downey, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constructing citations: reviewing chat transcripts to improve citation assistance as a service

Wilkinson

Denneler

Nay

et al. 2021

RSR

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PurposeUsing chat transcripts from Indiana University Libraries, the authors examined a subset of transcripts involving citations. From this analysis, they propose improvements for citation assistance as a holistic service.Design/methodology/approachTwo years of chat transcripts were examined and questions containing citation-related keywords were segregated for further examination. The authors used a test data set to create a coding scheme for the questions and responses. This scheme was then applied to all the citation-related transcripts.Findings390 of 11,553 transcripts included interactions about citations. In 42% of the transcripts, no specific citation style was mentioned. American Psychological Association and Modern Language Association were the most frequently mentioned citation styles by chat users. Business reports (company data and market research), periodicals (journal, newspaper or magazine articles), websites and government documents were the most often asked about formats, but there was a wide variety of other unusual formats. Questions about EndNote were more common than other types of citation management software. Chat staff utilized a variety of responses including guiding the student by example, directing to an online resource for more information (85% of the responses) or referring to a citation management expert. An unexpected amount of hedging words in the responses indicates the presence of anxiety on the part of chat staff in responding to these types of questions.Originality/valueThis paper goes beyond most existing studies of chat transcripts by using chat transcripts as data to guide service improvements for a commonly asked but not typically discussed set of questions.

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Content Analysis of Virtual Reference Data: Reshaping Library Website Design

Fan

Welch

2016

Medical Reference Services Quarterly

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An academic health sciences library wanted to redesign its website to provide better access to health information in the community. Virtual reference data were used to provide information about user searching behavior. This study analyzed three years (2012-2014) of virtual reference data, including e-mail questions, text messaging, and live chat transcripts, to evaluate the library website for redesigning, especially in areas such as the home page, patrons' terminology, and issues prompting patrons to ask for help. A coding system based on information links in the current library website was created to analyze the data.

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The Role of Virtual Reference in Library Web Site Design: A Qualitative Source for Usage Data

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Digging deeper into virtual reference transcripts

Digging deeper into virtual reference transcripts

Constructing citations: reviewing chat transcripts to improve citation assistance as a service

Content Analysis of Virtual Reference Data: Reshaping Library Website Design

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