Yes Virginia, It Will Scale: Using Data to Personalize High-volume Reference Interactions

Reiter, Lauren; Huffman, Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2015.09.011

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Prior to the implementation of the scheduling tool, research consultants had to rely on previous data and predictive patterns to determine staffing needs for the Business Building consultation point (Reiter & Huffman, 2016).…”

Section: Outcomes and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Online Appointment-Scheduling for Optimizing a High Volume of Research Consultations

Cole

Reiter

2017

palrap

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Librarians at Penn State University piloted the online appointment-scheduling tool YouCanBook.me to determine its effectiveness in facilitating a high number of research consultations and improving an embedded service model. Librarians sought to leverage the tool to work with as many students as possible while balancing other duties. This article details using YouCanBook.me for this specific application, provides data and evaluation of the pilot, and explores possibilities for scaling usage of this scheduling tool in other library settings, both large and small.

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Section: Outcomes and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research regarding the Schreyer Business Library and Management 301 course partnership suggested that a scheduling tool could improve our embedded service model for students and research consultants as well as accommodate high-volume scheduling needs (Reiter & Huffman, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online Appointment-Scheduling for Optimizing a High Volume of Research Consultations

Cole

Reiter

2017

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“…Lederer and Feldmann (2012) described and analyzed data from a new reference statistics tracking program to help determine the primary users of office reference transactions and to begin to quantify librarians' workloads. In a study reported by Reiter and Huffman (2016), librarians developed a "business information partnership" to offer students in a management class personal research consultations as enrollment in the class increased. Large-scale student data collection and analysis allowed librarians to develop a means to address this need.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative investigation of patrons’ experiences with academic library research consultations

Rogers

Carrier

2017

RSR

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Purpose This paper aims to report the findings of a qualitative investigation of student patrons’ experiences with research consultations provided by reference librarians at a comprehensive university located in the southern USA during 2014. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through recorded interviews with patrons who had recently experienced a reference consultation with one of eight professional reference librarians during a semester. The recorded data were transcribed verbatim and the transcripts subjected to content analysis. The qualitative data analysis model selected was that of a conventional, inductive content analysis. Findings One principal finding demonstrates the need for marketing of the reference consultation service; participants were surprised at the service’s availability. Other findings illustrate the value participants placed on individual attention from a librarian, perceived librarian expertise, the consultation environment and student/librarian engagement. Research limitations/implications Limitations to this study include a small participant pool of undergraduate student patrons, mainly majoring in humanities disciplines. The findings therefore are limited in the confidence with which they can be generalized to larger populations. Practical implications The reference consultation remains an integral part of the services offered by an academic library’s reference department; libraries should market consultations accordingly. Academic libraries that do not operate on a subject specialist model should consider strategies for maximizing benefit when matching available staff to consultation requests. Social implications This study provides evidence for the value of one-to-one reference service through research consultations provided to library patrons in academic libraries serving institutions of the type described in the research. Originality/value A qualitative methodology, using content analysis of lengthy interviews with participants, provides considerable insight into academic library patrons’ attitudes toward the reference consultation service.

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“…Over 1800 students take MGMT 301 over the course of an academic year, with a majority taking the course during the spring semester of their first year at the university. An iterative process undertaken by library staff and the faculty member has shaped the development of the format and logistics of the research consultations over several years (Reiter & Huffman, 2016;Reiter & Cole, 2019).…”

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confidence: 99%

Zooming to Video: Rapidly Converting a Large-Scale Research Consultation Program from Face-to-Face to Online

Hess¹

2021

Ticker: The Academic Business Librarianship Review

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A cornerstone of the Penn State University (PSU) Schreyer Business Library's relationship with the Smeal College of Business is the library's robust collaboration with a faculty member to introduce students to core business information literacy skills. Management 301 (MGMT 301), Basic Management Concepts, is one of the foundational classes required for students seeking acceptance to Smeal. In this course, each student is individually assigned a Fortune 500 company and completes an assignment in which they are asked to research the company and the industry in which it operates. Students are required to meet in small groups with one of the library's "research consultants," a group that consists of business librarians, staff, and part-time student peer educators (Reiter & Cole, 2019).

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Yes Virginia, It Will Scale: Using Data to Personalize High-volume Reference Interactions

Cited by 9 publications

References 15 publications

Online Appointment-Scheduling for Optimizing a High Volume of Research Consultations

Online Appointment-Scheduling for Optimizing a High Volume of Research Consultations

A qualitative investigation of patrons’ experiences with academic library research consultations

Zooming to Video: Rapidly Converting a Large-Scale Research Consultation Program from Face-to-Face to Online

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