Developing Meaningful Measures for Electronic Reference Services: New Technology, Old Questions

摘要

Throughout its history, the library profession has been bedeviled by the question of how to measure the value and usefulness of our services. In an encounter as complex as the reference interaction, how can we tell if we are serving our users as effectively as we possibly can? The effects of the Internet and information technology have only added to the chaos. As many libraries worry about losing their users to commercial information services, assessment has taken on a new urgency. In this presentation I will examine the current reference service environment and how this context affects the climate for assessment. I will also take a step back in time to review existing evaluative methods and criteria. While some of the issues are new, the basic questions of effectiveness and value remain the same. It should not be necessary to reinvent the assessment wheel with every technological advance. I will conclude with a few concrete examples of qualitative criteria that can be adapted to online reference services.