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Why do you ask?
Developing reference statistics for library planning
Proposed paper for IFLA Statistics section, Glasgow,
2002
We need better tools for planning and managing reference services. Reference
statistics represent a poorly developed area of library statistics.
Usually, only the number of queries have been counted. Our knowledge
about the core of reference work - the actual content of questions and
answers - is very limited. Today, however, the web is transforming reference
work. Web technology is reducing the number of questions addressed to
libraries. Users are becoming more self-reliant. But e-mail and databases
are also used to establish virtual reference services that store, index
and reuse transactions. This creates new possibilities for studying
and improving reference work.
User queries emerge from the world of the user - but are processed
in the world of the librarian. In order to manage the flow of queries
we need good categories and sorting procedures inside the libraries.
But in order to service the users, we need much more information on
the questions, on the users, and on their use of the answers. The
main purpose of this study is to differentiate between users and user
contexts. By compiling empirical data on transactions we may assess
the actual focus of our reference services. How are reference resources
actually distributed between user groups and purposes? How does this
correspond to the policies of the library? And what should now be
done?
We start with a broad division - into work, formal study, and informal,
daily life. The questions that arise at work are highly structured
by the demands of production. The questions that arise in learning
situations are a bit more open (essay topics, explain why?), but still
shaped by the demands of learning. Usually, learners must present
their results. Often they will be judged by them.
Some of the questions from daily life are more or less forced upon
us. We must give a speech, care for a sick child or complete our tax
returns. Such situations create problem solving questions.
But daily life also means leisure and freedom to choose. When we are
engaged with hobbies and personal interests, we will still have questions,
but they are chosen rather than imposed. Let me call them interest
based questions. Each of the four main situations: work, learning,
problem and interest, may be further divided. But this further
classification should take the empirical data into account. We must
look at the questions people actually ask in order to create meaningful
subgroups.
The paper will propose categories based on the context of the user,
outline methods of data collection from virtual and physical reference
desks, and present new empirical results collected in the spring 2002.
The paper forms part of a larger project studying Norwegian reference
transactions. The main source of data is the six thousand questions
stored in the archive of Ask the library (Spør biblioteket),
which is a national VRD service run by Oslo Public Library. But we
have also sampled questions at the physical reference desk. The statistical
results will be compared with information available from physical
and virtual reference desks in other countries.
The paper has been accepted by the convenors of the Statistics session
at the IFLA Conference in Glasgow in August. It will be presented on
Thursday August 24 (plenary session 4 of the Northumbria Lite meeting).
Tord Høivik, b. 1942. is associate professor in library and
information science at Oslo University College. He is trained as a
statistician and sociologist. Previous publications from this project
are listed at URL: http://home.hio.no/~tord/perm/refpro.htm
Tord Høivik -
Avdeling JBI - Oslo
University College - 020502
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