What are they asking? An analysis of questions asked at in-person and virtual service points.

Questions about Questioning What are the different categories of patron inquiry? Are there differences in the types of patron inquiry at different service points? In-person Telephone Chat E-mail

Defining categories of inquiry Current data collection models at the Information Desk and Reference Desks Create categories based on current questions – free from preconceived “librarian” categories. Not sources used to answer question Not subject of inquiry (another study?) What did patron want?

Data collection Date/time Mode of communication Essence of question Does UIUC own x journal? I need help finding articles on imagery in Led Zepplin songs How do I find book reviews? Can I renew my books? How do I log into Web of Science?

Creating the categories Initial week of data collection at the Reference Desk + chat and email Researcher and unit head separately examined questions Determined categories Compared notes Discussed and defined a single set of categories Several iterations as we collected more data

Categories – final take Catalog/Database functionality Database Access Gateway Navigation Interlibrary Loan (could be considered part of Known Item) Known Item Library Policies Miscellaneous Research Assistance Specific Information (ala ready reference)

Defining Service points Two Desks – Reference and Information For this study, looked at the two desks combined. Four modes of communication – Chat, E-mail, In-person, Telephone Undergraduate Library also answers chat; since patrons see chat as a single service, we did not divide out questions answered by different desks

Data Collection Week One Fall 2001 11/26-12/2 Questions collected by staff for in-person and via telephone Chat and email harvested from software Week Two Spring 2002 3/31-4/6 Questions collected by staff for all modes of interaction

Just the facts – mode of communication 1109 questions examined Week 1 – 548 Week 2 – 525 Chat 19.6% of total (19.3% of week 2) Email 7.2% (5%) In-person 51.3% (49.5%) Telephone 21.8% (26.1%)

Comparison – question type as percent of communication mode Chat Email In Person Telephone Catalog/Database Functionality 8.7 3.8 5.4 5.8 Database Access 5.5 5.0 .07 2.5 Interlibrary Loan 3.7 13.8 4.6 2.1 Known Item 20.2 23.8 37.3 26.9 Library Policies 12.8 8.8 6.2 13.2 Miscellaneous 4.1 7.5 7.2 10.3 Navigation of Gateway 8.3 33.7 Research Assistance 29.8 30.9 11.2 Specific Information 6.9 10.0 5.6 24.4

Comparison – question types by mode of communication (all weeks)

Conclusions and Questions High percent of Known Item questions across all modes of communication. Highest for in-person – why? Does the choice of mode of communication reflect a pattern of use? Hypothesis: Patrons research from their homes/offices and come into the library for known items. (How to test?)

Conclusions and Questions Virtual questions for online functions (database access, catalog functionality, gateway navigation). Research Assistance highest for chat, even though we do not consider this an effective use of chat. How do we respond to this demand? Overall low percent for Specific Information Implications for training/collections?

Thank you M. Kathleen Kern What Are They Asking? An analysis of questions asked at in-person and virtual service points. 9th Annual Reference Research Forum June 22, 2003