1. Do You Want to Chat? Reevaluating Organization of Virtual Reference Service at an Academic Library.
- Author
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Côté, Maryvon, Kochkina, Svetlana, and Mawhinney, Tara
- Subjects
- *
ELECTRONIC reference services (Libraries) , *ACADEMIC libraries , *ORGANIZATIONAL sociology , *ACADEMIC library automation , *ORGANIZATIONAL research - Abstract
Since their inception, virtual reference services have evolved considerably and are now a significant component of library services in many types of library environments. The current paper reports on a study undertaken at a research-intensive academic library that analyzed and evaluated a decade-old virtual reference service. The main goal of the study was to obtain a broad and comprehensive picture of the current service, grounded in the actual day-to-day provision, usage, and organization of the service. The group of librarians involved in the study developed a feasible, efficient, and adaptable methodology for assessing and evaluating a virtual reference service. The developed methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative methods can be used and applied for a similar evaluation of the service in any type of library environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016