Application of Reference Guidelines for Assessing the Quality of the Internet Public Library's Virtual Reference Services

摘要

This study aims to assess and evaluate the overall quality and effectiveness of the Internet Public Library's (IPL) virtual reference services. Toward this end, IPL's guidelines for answering user questions are used to assess the quality of reference service; a total of 528 IPL transcripts are examined to determine how well they conform to the IPL guidelines. The results of the study evince high compliance with IPL guidelines regarding responses to user questions. All six mandatory elements were used more than 90% of the time. This indicates that the IPL guidelines are effectively employed to ensure that IPL librarians adhere to reference procedures for providing quality service to users. The study results also indicate that librarians can effectively increase the socio-emotional content of the message while maintaining a high level of professionalism, thereby improving the overall experience for the user.View full textDownload full textKEYWORDSvirtual reference service, Internet Public Library, transcript analysis, quality evaluation, guidelines, interpersonal communicationRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10875301.2010.526479