The difference between a digital library and a library with which a digital reference service is affiliated is discussed, and digital reference in these contexts is defined. There are several issues involved in integrating digital reference service into a digital library environment, but two that are unique to the intersection between digital libraries and digital reference: collection development of previously-answered questions, and presentation of specialized subsets of the materials in the digital library's collection. These two issues are explored.

Virtual reference, which allows users to connect easily with librarians online, is becoming popular. Librarians answer thousands of questions every day over the Internet. As the service matures, professional associations publish standards that provide professional guidelines to improve the quality of the services. This article focuses attention on the quality of these e-services in light of professional and ethical standards in the field. It examines the extent to which librarians adhere to professional and ethical guidelines and the role that virtual reference plays in providing services to diverse user groups. First, it discusses adherence to the professional standards and shows that the professional behaviors of librarians vary depending on user, institution, and request types. Then, it discusses the extent to which librarians provide equitable online reference services to diverse users groups and the inconsistent findings from empirical research.

While a growing number of the digital reference services in libraries have become part of collaborative reference networks, other entities that serve similar information-seeking needs such as special collections and museums have not joined these networks, even though they are answering an increasing number of questions from off-site patrons via the Internet. This article examines the differences between questions asked electronically of traditional reference services and those asked of special collections services; it further explores how a better understanding of digital reference in special collections will facilitate the development of the tools and models needed to create a bridge between digital human intermediation at general academic libraries, special collections, and museums.

This article describes a Delphi study conducted to determine factors that affect the process of routing and assigning reference questions received electronically by digital reference services, both to experts within the service and between services. Fifteen factors were determined, by expert consensus, to be important at the conclusion of this study. These fifteen factors are divided into three groups: 1) general factors, 2) factors in routing the question to an individual, and 3) factors when routing the question to another service. These factors were ranked in order of importance and grouped according to the recipient of the question. These fifteen factors need to be taken into account when automating the triage process. This article has laid out a methodology for investigating other digital reference processes so that those processes amenable to automation may be automated, and expertsâ talents and time may be best used.

Supplying users with literature by a seamless linking of media is the goal of (scientific) libraries. By the digitization of primary and secondary data and the convergence of products and providers, libraries have already come very close to achieving this ideal. A digital library is the realization of this goal. However, many librarians are in danger of running out of imagination. What will come after the digital library? Do we still need information professionals today? And, above all, what services are required? This paper identifies new fields of business for libraries with the example of bibliometric analysis. The discussion concerns the shape this service could take in practice, who needs it and what target groups exist in the scientific environment. Concrete examples of bibliometric analysis from the Central Library of Research Centre Jülich, the largest interdisciplinary research institution in Europe, round off the overview.

This article seeks to shift the literature on chat-based reference services beyond the current spate of case studies and discussions of emerging standards and best practices in providing chat-based reference, to a higher level of discussion on the creation and discussion of theoretical frameworks to unite these standards and practices. The article explores the various steps in the process of providing synchronous, chat-based reference, as well as issues involved in providing such service at each step. The purpose of this exploration is twofold: First, this article presents some open research questions at each step in the process of providing chat-based reference service. Second, the entire process of providing chat-based reference is viewed as a whole, and a model of the provision of chat-based reference service is developed at a high level of abstraction. It is hoped that this model may serve as a conceptual framework for future discussions of and development of applications for chat-based reference.

This study evaluates the level of adherence to professional guidelines by virtual (e-mail) reference services. These professional guidelines are set up as standards to assure service quality; however, studies of virtual reference effectiveness rarely utilize these standards to measure reference success. This study evaluates and compares the level of adherence to two sets of professional guidelines that have been published by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the American Library Association (ALA) Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Analysis of 324 transactions from 54 libraries showed: 1) low levels of adherence to both sets of guidelines; 2) varied levels of adherence based on request types and user names on both sets of guidelines; 3) variation in institutional rank when different sets of guidelines were utilized; 4) no correlation between user satisfaction and adherence to either set of guidelines. The implications of this study for future research and practice lie not only in its provision of a systematic way to analyze transactions in light of the ideal professional standards, but also in providing an empirical benchmark for virtual reference services evaluation.

Reference service is one of the library’s primary services besides acquisitions, classification, cataloguing and physical planning. This service provides personalized assistance to library users in accessing and using suitable information resources to meet their needs. This research progress paper attempts to identify the status of digital reference services (DRS) in four public university libraries in Malaysia. In this study, the researcher attempts to identify usage of both traditional and digital reference services, user awareness of DRS, user satisfaction, and need for DRS. Two different sets of questionnaires were distributed: (1) a librarians’ questionnaire to librarians in the four university libraries, namely, Tun Abdul Razak Library, UiTM; University of Malaya (UM) Library; Tun Seri Lanang Library, UKM; and Sultan Abdul Samad Library, UPM; (2) a users’ questionnaire to students of the Faculty of Information Management, UiTM, and the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, UiTM, UM and UPM. The findings show that DRS are effective forms of service delivery but their full potential has not yet been exploited. Email reference, Web forms and Ask-A Librarian are the main channels used in providing digital reference, although plans are under way to implement more sophisticated Internet technologies and collaborative digital reference.

This study evaluates the level of adherence to professional guidelines by virtual (e-mail) reference services. These professional guidelines are set up as standards to assure service quality; however, studies of virtual reference effectiveness rarely utilize these standards to measure reference success. This study evaluates and compares the level of adherence to two sets of professional guidelines that have been published by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the American Library Association (ALA) Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Analysis of 324 transactions from 54 libraries showed: 1) low levels of adherence to both sets of guidelines; 2) varied levels of adherence based on request types and user names on both sets of guidelines; 3) variation in institutional rank when different sets of guidelines were utilized; 4) no correlation between user satisfaction and adherence to either set of guidelines. The implications of this study for future research and practice lie not only in its provision of a systematic way to analyze transactions in light of the ideal professional standards, but also in providing an empirical benchmark for virtual reference services evaluation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Illinois. / Bibliography: l. 261-279.