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Webinar: Is Reference Dead?: Practical Considerations for Evaluating and Improving your Reference Services

In this free one-hour webinar, Christina Holm and Sarah Kantor discuss how staffing models may predict of a decline in reference questions.

Webinar: Is Reference Dead?: Practical Considerations for Evaluating and Improving your Reference Services

Originally presented August 3, 2022

In this presentation, Christina Holm and Sarah Kantor discuss how reference staffing models may be a significant predictor of a decline in reference questions.

They review the results of their two-year case study which indicated that among five staffing models: (1) staffed and visible reference desks, (2) on-call and visible reference desks, (3) staffed, unseen reference desks, (4) on-call, unseen reference desks, and (5) chat reference, where librarians and users “talk” to each other in real-time using special software, users seem to prefer staffed and visible reference desks.

Drawing from these conclusions, Kantor and Holm present practical suggestions for improving or promoting reference services in academic environments as well as discussing how COVID-19 continues to impact reference services.

Click below to experience this webinar as a tutorial. When you continue past the introduction to the webinar, you'll be prompted to log in. We require login to view the whole tutorial so we can provide certificates of completion for your records and for professional development credit. No purchase is required and you can create a Niche Academy account if you don't already have one. The certificate will be available for download when you have completed all sections of the tutorial.  

 

Click the link below to download the presentation slides:
Is Reference Dead? Slides

Click the link below to download the chat transcript: 
Is Reference Dead? Chat

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