There has been longstanding debate about whether the level of complexity of questions received at reference desks and via online chat services requires a librarian's expertise. Continued decreases in the number and complexity of reference questions have all but ended the debate; many academic libraries no longer staff service points with professional librarians. However, convenient, proactive online chat services could reverse the trends. This paper provides results of a study of reference question complexity following implementation of a proactive chat service. The study reveals changes in the complexity of chat questions that may have implications for staffing online reference services.oincident with the rise of information literacy efforts and the simplification in the online environment, there has been a dramatic decrease in reference questions. According to ACRL's Academic Library Statistics, the number of reference transactions in doctorate-granting institutions declined 49 percent between 2000 and 2012, and nearly all the questions that remain are directional, basic search questions and questions related to library operations.1 These point-of-need questions, regardless of the medium over which they are conducted, served multiple purposes. At the most basic level, they provided support for the mechanics of library research, helping users navigate multiple information silos and the physical organization of the library. Although, on the surface, support for these questions related to the mechanics of library research, they also provided an opportunity for broad research support. The librarian had sufficient knowledge of the curriculum, the publication patterns of disciplines and subjects, and thesis and topic development to provide broad research support. In the case of student researchers, the librarian had the opportunity to reach the student at a teachable moment, reinforcing course content, guiding the student in formulating a research topic that was practical and appropriate for the given assignment, and then providing guidance in evaluating sources. The components of the reference transaction-support for the mechanical aspects of library research and the broader research expertise-were so tightly interwoven that many librarians assumed that, if information literacy instruction were integrated into the curriculum, doi:10.5860/crl.76.7.959 crl15-725

No abstract

No abstract

The University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries implemented the Summon1™ Discovery Service in January 2010 to provide a convenient starting point for library research, particularly for undergraduate students who are less experienced in library research. Librarians thought Summon™ would help users find and use materials more effectively; therefore, implementation of the discovery tool was expected to positively influence collections use. At the end of the first year following Summon™ implementation, statistics on the use of collections showed significant increases in the use of electronic resources: link resolver use increased 84%, and full-text article downloads increased 23%. During the same period, use of the online catalog decreased 13.7%, and use of traditional indexing and abstracting database searches decreased by 5%. The author concludes that the increases in collections use are related to adoption of a Web-scale discovery service.