Presentation
Chat Reference: Using Existing Data to Gather Information About Usage Patterns
Empirical Librarians Conference
(2019)
Abstract
When viewing virtual reference statistics, the focus has traditionally been on the number of patrons using the service or on the complexity of the questions asked in relation to staffing needs. However, this only scratches the surface of what reference statistics and chat transcripts can tell us about library users and their needs. In order to identify how libraries and librarians can better understand users’ needs in the rapidly evolving online environment, an analysis was designed to take advantage of existing reference statistics and transcripts to identify patterns, including where users are most likely to interact with virtual reference widgets, and how this relates to the types of questions that were asked. This presentation will explore how the information was collected, organized, and analyzed, as well as the challenges that arose, and the next steps in this research process.
Keywords
- Virtual Reference,
- Information Literacy,
- Chat Reference
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring March 8, 2019
Location
Richmond, VA
Citation Information
Megan Wilson. "Chat Reference: Using Existing Data to Gather Information About Usage Patterns" Empirical Librarians Conference (2019) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/megan-wilson/3/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY-NC-SA International License.