Making Decisions: Using Electronic Data Collection to Re-Envision Reference Services at the USF Tampa Libraries

Lily Todorinova, University of South Florida
Andy Huse, University of South Florida
Barbara Lewis, University of South Florida
Matt Torrence, University of South Florida

Article comments

This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of copyright holder for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Public Services Quarterly, Volume 7 Issue 1, January 2011. doi:10.1080/15228959.2011.572780 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2011.572780)

Abstract

Declining reference statistics, diminishing human resources, and the desire to be more proactive and embedded in academic departments, prompted the University of South Florida Library to create a taskforce for re-envisioning reference services. The taskforce was charged with examining the staffing patterns at the desk and developing recommendations to give librarians greater flexibility and to better respond to the information-seeking needs of users. These recommendations were based on statistics of desk usage, collected with the newly adapted online tool Desk Tracker, and structured interviews with library administrators. The taskforce was interested in how these stakeholders use quantitative data in decision-making.