Digital Reference Evaluation: Assessing the Past to Plan for the Future

Authors

J. B. Hill, Southeastern Louisiana University
Cherie Madarash-Hill, Southeastern Louisiana University
Ngoc Pham Thi Bich, State Bank of Vietnam

Date of this Version

Fall 2003

Document Type

Article

Citation

Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (Fall 2003) 4(2-3). Also available at http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/content/v04n03/Hill_j01.htm.

Comments

Copyright 2003, the authors. Used by permission.

Abstract

Historically, libraries have routinely evaluated their reference services both quantitatively and qualitatively. With the increasing volume of digital reference transactions, there is a need to modify and apply to digital reference, the same evaluation techniques that have been used successfully in the evaluation of traditional reference service. At Southeastern Louisiana University, a recent evaluation of the library's Ask a Librarian digital reference service included an unobtrusive observation of current practice through a detailed examination of archived reference transactions, as well as an assessment of future needs through a survey of users. Through this evaluation, it was possible to assess the effectiveness of the library's e-mail reference service, as well as to plan for the implementation of a new real-time digital reference service.