roving technical services research proposal
TRANSCRIPT
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ROVING VOLUNTEERS AT MULTNOMAH COUNTY LIBRARY
Roving Technohosts: A study about the effects of a new volunteer program
on reference librarians at Multnomah County Librarys central branch
By Ellen Ast
Emporia State University
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Abstract
A pilot program at Multnomah County Librarys central branch called Roving
Technohosts will be studied for one year to determine if reference librarians have more time to
help more patrons when the volunteer technohost is on duty. The technohost will monitor the
second and third floors of the library and respond to calls from patrons and librarians for help at
any of the librarys 130 computer workstations. Literature suggests that better customer service
will keep libraries competitive as more information is found online. At the same time, libraries
must keep up with technology because patrons expect librarians to know how to help them with
modern information-seeking tools. The librarys goal with the technohosts program is to improve
service building-wide and help people whose only computer access is at the library to develop
computer literacy skills. If research results show that the librarians respond to fewer requests for
one-on-one help sessions with computer users while the technohost works, then the library will
consider adding more technohosts to the program.
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Table of Contents
Chapter I: Introduction.4
Introduction..4
Purpose.5
Significance..5
Summary..6
Chapter II: Literature review...7
Introduction.....7
Librarianship as customer service............7
Roving as a service model.........11
Summary12
Chapter III: Methodology..14
Introduction14
Research questions and hypothesis14
Role of researcher..15
Participants15
Design and procedure17
Limitations18
Instruments...19
Summary...20
References.21
Appendix...24
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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
After the Queens Library and New York Public Library in New York City, the
Multnomah County Library system has the third-highest circulation in the United States, with
more than 21 million items lent last year and a record five million visits to its 19 locations
(Sarasohn, 2010). The central branch in downtown Portland is one of MCLs busiest, with about
17 miles of bookshelf space and 130 computer workstations. Computers are in high demand
during peak hours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Patrons with a library card can sign up to use a
computer for an hour except in the computer lab, which provides unlimited computer access to
everyone, including people who do not have a physical address needed to get a library card.
Monitored by a volunteer, the lab is open for two to three hours every day during peak hours and
it is also used to hold job-seeking and technology education classes.
Volunteers are a valuable resource to a library. Among other daily tasks, they help check
out and shelve materials, monitor computer workstations and run special events. The volunteers
who monitor computer labs at central and at other MCL branches are called technohosts. They
are knowledgeable enough to help users with technology and give one-on-one attention to those
who lack computer literacy, meaning they do not have enough knowledge about computers and
the Internet to work and troubleshoot independently.
Building on the technohost model, the central branch launched a pilot project called
Roving Technohosts to send volunteers to help computer users throughout the library. The
technohost volunteer wears a green apron with a bold logo for visibility and carries a cell phone.
The phone number is posted at each reference desk so the librarian can call the technohost for
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help when needed. More difficult inquiries will be taken to a librarian or to a security guard if the
issue is behavioral.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to measure how well the central librarys Roving
Technohosts program works in its first year and to evaluate whether the library should expand
the program, eliminate it or leave it as is. Depending on how strongly the research results support
the hypothesis, the study may help MCL consider creating a paid roving staff position and it may
help serve as an example to other libraries looking into creating new service models. Data
collected will also contribute to ongoing studies of twenty-first century librarianship, as the
Internet is making library and information services more user-oriented and user-driven.
Significance
Patrons who approach the reference desk seeking help may not get it right away if the
librarian is at a computer workstation giving one-on-one help and no other librarian is around.
Not only can this cause a patron to wait or a line to form at the desk, other computer users who
need help may get frustrated if their wait time eats up their hour time limit. If the computer lab is
open and the patron needs a lot of one-on-one help, the librarian will send them there. If the lab
if full, the patron must wait until another user leaves.
The Roving Technohosts program meets a need libraries face more as demand for
technology services rise and funding for public libraries shrinks. According to a 2010 study by
the American Library Association, public library hours in Oregon between 2009 and 2010
dropped by 10 percent. Internet work station use rose to 61 percent, but with an average of 12
computers per library, there are only enough computers about 20 percent of the time. Ninety-four
percent of Oregons libraries provide access to jobs databases and other job opportunity
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resources, which is higher than the nation average, at 88 percent. The study adds that 92 percent
of libraries in the state offer IT training to patrons. However, only 39 percent help patrons
complete online job applications. The divide between technology users and the personnel
libraries have to help them is felt.
As more information is found online, more people will need help finding it and expect
fast results. According to Courtois and Liriano (1999), it is becoming more common for library
users to find dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodical indexes, and other reference sources in
computerized form, rather than in the print reference collection. There is a shift away from the
reference desk and toward the public workstation as the gateway to information.
Summary
By launching the Roving Technohosts pilot project, MCL joins other libraries in helping
reference staff meet more needs of patrons faster by allocating technology assistance to someone
else. Users who lack computer literacy but who require it and can only get it at the library may
be able to get more one-on-one help with a roving technohost available. This service model is
more likely to keep the librarian from having to leave the reference desk for too long while
others line wait there and line up for help.
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CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Multnomah Countys central branch hopes to cast a wider net of service building-wide by
introducing roving technohosts to its core of services. Although centrals model is primitive
compared to paid roving reference librarians that other public and academic libraries have,
literature demonstrates similar values behind these services. This chapter will explore some of
them: Librarianship as customer service, how technology plays a role in modern reference work,
and finally, roving as a service model.
Librarianship as customer service
The Golden Rule is expressed in some form in many world religions and instructs people
to treat others how they would like to be treated. Chad Buckly (2006) in his article Golden Rule
Reference: Face-to-Face and Virtual, printed in the bookNew Directions in Referece, says an
honest attempt to apply the Golden Rule in reference work can enhance the quality of service
provided to patrons and can benefit any type of library. He explains how providing exceptional
service in a library goes a long way and why going the extra mile for a patron is worth the effort.
If the evaluation of this study shows that roving technohosts at central can allow librarians to go
the extra mile, then the literature about customer service in a library setting holds true in
explaining the indirect effect technohosts have on patron satisfaction.
A trip to the library can be a tedious for someone who lacks computer literacy. The
disempowered information seeker moves randomly through a mysterious, incomprehensible
information space, following links without being sure where they lead, hoping to stumble across
what or she needs (Hope, Kajiwara & Liu, p. 21). This quote from a chapter in a book called
Evolution in Reference and Information Services: The Impact of the Internetis an attempt by
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three reference librarians at San Jose State University to elaborate on the way the Internet has
increased the reference librarians role as teacher. Although their writing is geared toward an
academic setting, public librarians understand what the authors describe as the crunch from
patrons who expect that finding information online will be easy and fast. When it is not, patrons
will expect the librarian to step in. If a library lacks modern information-seeking tools and
quality service from librarians, patrons may go elsewhere. Delivery of services requires a solid
business model.
InDelivering Satisfaction and Service Quality: A Customer-Based Approach for
Libraries, authors Peter Hernon and John Whitman (2
001) describe technology as the
competition to libraries and why customer service is critical to keeping libraries attractive. They
say the twenty-first century will bring new competitors, technologies, and expectations. Those
who think that the web offers all the information and knowledge they need, that search engines
replace the librarians, and that society doesnt need warehouses of books if everything can be
digitized are the patrons libraries must strive to keep. In a chapter devoted to the hiring and
retaining to top-notch staff, the authors say The attitude and role of staff members are key to
any service organization that values its customers (p. 39).
Suzanne Walters (1994) at the beginning of her customer service manual for librarians
quotes a study conducted for the White House Office of Consumer Affairs: Ninety percent of
customers who are dissatisfied with the service they receive will not come back. Each one of
those unhappy customers will tell his or her story to at least nine other people (p. 2). She goes
on to say that most businesses find that 20 percent of their customers account for 80 percent of
their business and that goes for libraries, too. These 20 percent are strong advocates for
libraries. A loss of one of these customers makes an impact (p. 2). These words are as wise now
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as they were then because public libraries across the country are dealing with less-than-ideal
budgets. Walters adds, It costs six times as much to get a new customer as it does to retain an
old one. It costs six times as much to get a new donor than it does to keep an old one. This costs
represents advertising, special programs, and library card sign-up events (p. 2).
Technology and modern reference work
Talking about technology, it is important to note the way it has changed the work
environment of librarians. In intoEvolution in Reference and Information Services: The Impact
of the Internet, Assistant Professor Joseph Straw at University of Akron (2001) says The
prevalence of electronic reference sources is clearly a product of historic developments This
democratization of information challenges reference librarians with the task of educating patrons
in the skills they will need in navigating through a new information world (Su, p. 10).
Librarians find their roles as teachers growing as more patrons who lack computer
literacy visit the library to access information online. Teaching a user how to use a mouse, access
a job application and attach a resume to it are examples of time-consuming responsibilities
modern reference librarians face. In a busy library like central, the librarian sometimes only has
time to briefly show the patron how to do these things, rather than teach them so they can later
do these things on their own. Literature about the digital divide stresses the role librarians have
in diffusing it. Tom Cooper (2007) in Are we helping the information have-nots? says When
people approach the reference desk these days they are usually asking to use the Internet. We
sign them in and direct them to a terminal the digital equivalent of pointing at the reference
room and saying "over there." We have not helped the patron, and we have done nothing to
guard against the incorrect, outdated, and incomplete information that teems throughout the
Web (p. 2).
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This is a transaction which librarians at the central branch say is common: A computer
user with basic computer literacy skills approaches the reference desk for help filling out a job
application online. The librarian guides the user to a computer, helps the user get logged in (if
there is no wait) and shows the user how to get started. Among other issues, the user doesnt hold
the mouse properly and needs help repeatedly and the librarian returns each time. Finally, the
user needs help attaching a resume to the application. But the user doesnt have their resume
stored electronically. The librarian shows the user how to open a word processing document,
pick a template or create a custom resume, and what to include in the document. In these cases,
the librarian may refer the user to the computer lab if its open or a class if there is one coming
up and space is available. These options wont work though if the user has to finish their job
application before they leave the library that day. Although its a time-consuming process for the
librarian, it is up to the librarian to make sure the user leaves with a positive experience.
Otherwise, the consequences could be costly, if one applies the rules of customer service in
business to libraries.
John Burke (2009) in his bookNeal-Schuman Library Technology Companion: A Basic
Guide for Library Staff, describes the digital divide in society involving the haves those
who have technology available and have to use it whether they like it or not and the have
nots those who cannot use technology even if they would like to (p. 170). Some people who
visit the library to use a computer have rarely used one. Twenty-three percent of American
adults do not own a computer or go online at all, and 20 percent of American adults have never
used the Internet or email (p. 171). Yet the most common reasons patrons use computers,
according to the American Library Association (2010), is for job searching, finding government
information and using education resources and databases. Libraries must keep up with
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technology to provide the latest electronic information-seeking tools. Staff must learn how to use
these tools so they can help patrons who come to the library to use computers but arent familiar
with the technology. The library is filling a need in assisting users who need additional Internet
access or who do not have another opportunity to get online (Burke, p. 171). According to the
American Library Association (2010), 62 percent of libraries in Oregon say they are the only
provider of free public computer access and free public Internet access in their area. Libraries
dont add as many Internet workstations as needed because they lack funding and staff to help
users with the technology (APA, 2010).
Roving as a service model
While roving services draw praise from institutions which employ them and other library
and science industry leaders, roving has its drawbacks and Marianne Reynolds (2005) talks about
some in her article Operation Rover. She said the most two most objectionable defects are lack
of staff at the reference desk and a decreasing sense of patron privacy. Central librarys roving
technohosts don not apply to the first objection because the volunteer-based model is meant to
contribute to librarians being behind the desk more. But the issue is still significant. When
librarians take chunks of time to help a computer user one-on-one, it can strain the collaborative
nature of reference librarianship. As one librarian is roving, another librarian at the reference
desk who has a line of patrons to get through may wish the other would return and help.
Overwhelmed and displeased librarians may not be able to please all their patrons and that is not
the customer service libraries described above that libraries need. Her privacy concern is more
relevant to centrals roving technohosts because patron confidentiality is more at risk when a
librarian or volunteer intervene, even in a helpful manner.
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One often-cited article about roving in a public library is the case study of roving
reference in the King County Library System called Going Mobile: KCLS Roving Reference
Model by Barbara Pitney and Nancy Slote (2007). Their conclusions summarize the hypothesis
of this study, with main points including We learned we needed to free staff from many of their
daily routines so they could provide patrons with prompt, customer-friendly service at the point
of need, and We learned that the end result of roving is being able to provide patrons with
assistance when it is needed in a prompt, customer-friendly way at the patrons point of
puzzlement (Pitney, B. & Slote, N., p. 4).
Martin Courtois and Maira Liriano (2
000) have written about roving reference and patron
privacy and in one article, Tips for Roving Reference: How to Best Serve Library Users, they
give 14 pieces of advice for roving techniques and how to implement the service. Although this
piece aims at the paid roving reference staff model, it addresses etiquette all library rovers should
practice for optimum service to patrons. One item particular relates directly to the method of this
study: Keep statistics. Many reference departments report declining numbers of reference
questions. This decrease may be because fewer transactions take place solely at the desk, but
more users are helped at public workstations. This may be difficult to do, but look for ways for
rovers to keep accurate count of the number of questions they answer. Your statistics should
jump dramatically! (p. 2).
Summary
The literature on roving cites the practice as being beneficial because it allows librarians
to deliver more service to more patrons while computer users without much technology literacy
get the help they need. As the subjects of customer service, technology and modern librarianship,
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and roving as a service model were explored, the literature will support why this study is useful
in evaluating the effects of the roving technohosts at the central library.
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CHAPTER III: Methodology
Introduction
This chapter will explore how the study will suggest that a librarian at central has more
time to help more patrons when a technohost roves the building. It will discuss how a mixed
quantitative and qualitative testing model will track the work environment of six reference
librarians over a 12-month period and show whether changes arise because of the technohost.
This chapter will also cover the studys limitations, the role of the researcher, the participants,
and the procedure.
Research questions and statement of the hypothesis
Literature shows that librarians influence patron experiences and opinions about the
library. Customers seek and value service organizations that provide better benefits (products,
service and relationships), review and expand the critical expectations that they are willing to
meet, outperform their competitors, and offer service at an acceptable cost. Cost need not be
defined in monetary terms; it may relate to ones time (Hernon & Whitman, p. 9).
By helping patrons use computers, technohosts give librarians more time to remain
behind the reference desk and thoroughly help more patrons with their inquiries. Does that mean
the librarian will still leave the desk for other reasons, such as to help a patron find a book? Will
the librarian be able to leave the desk more frequently for shorter periods of time, as compared to
long stretches of time it takes to sometimes help a computer user? Will the librarian use their
extra availability to give better quality service from behind the desk, or will the librarian deliver
the same level of service as prior to the technohosts program? Will the motivation to improve
service quality rise if the librarian has more time to do so as a result of the technohosts?
In this study, the effect of the independent variable the technohosts program and the
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dependent variables staff performance when the technohost is on and off duty will be tested
and analyzed over a 12-month period. I hypothesize that the effectiveness of the program will
ultimately lead to more patron satisfaction because librarians will be able to help more patrons
and with greater depth while the technohost helps patrons at the computers.
Role of the researcher
I have a bachelors degree in journalism from Indiana University and for nearly six years
I worked as a professional newspaper reporter before enrolling in library school. I sharpened my
qualitative data gathering through observation and interviews and it became part of my
professional skill set because I turned that data into narrative content for feature writing. These
skills came easy to me because I have always had a knack for writing and getting others to tell
me their life story. According to industry veterans, the mark of a good journalist is the ability to
blend in and capture the truth, so I feel my background will play a role in minimizing observer
effect as I gather qualitative data for this study.
Participants
Two male and four female reference librarians between ages 35 and 65 will participate in
this study. When the central library gave me permission to do this study, it notified staff I would
be selecting participants. I randomly picked participants by writing down on pieces of paper the
names of all librarians who work Mondays at reference desks on the second and third floors. I
placed the names into two jars, one for those who work on the second floor and one for those
who work on the third floor so the areas the technohost roves would be equally represented.
From each jar, I picked three names at random. I chose six participants specifically because three
to four librarians typically work on each floor every day, so the number six adequately represents
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staffing levels in those areas. All agreed to participate in the study and I explained how I planned
to collect data.
Each participant has a graduate degree in library and information science and at least five
years of experience working as public reference librarians at other libraries and at central. All six
are equipped to deal with the high patron volume of a major urban public library and they are
recognized by both staff and patrons at the central branch. Because they all work Mondays when
the technohost works, they will feel the direct impact of the program on staff the most. Although
I am aware of their identities, they will be kept confidential in all quantitative research. They will
only be revealed on a first name basis as interview subjects in qualitative research.
Centrally located in downtown Portland, the central branch serves a wide demographic.
Each day hundreds of patrons seek information in close proximity to other patrons who work,
live, attend school or patronize the downtown business district. A notable number of those
patrons are those who live below the poverty line (based on 2009 federal poverty guidelines) and
who are homeless. Since the 97-year-old building sits on a MAX light rain line, it also attracts
tourists.
Not everyone visits the central library for the same reason. Because of the street activity
and loitering that takes place each day outside the library, and sometimes inside the library, at
least two security guards stand at the entrance and at least one more roams the entire building.
Everyone who enters and exits the building passes through metal detectors. A direct phone
number to a person in charge is posted at each reference desk for when a patrons behavior or
electronic viewing material becomes inappropriate, unsafe or uncomfortable for others. Library
staff is as prepared to monitor a patron suspected of being intoxicated or napping in the
bathroom.
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Along with this diversity comes a wide range of individual computer literacy levels,
which is why the services of roving volunteers are essential. The stacks and public computers are
contained in the four wings of the second and third floors and one active reference desk sits near
the entrance to each wing. One or two librarians staff each desk. Two librarians staff a larger
reference desk in the second floor lobby.
Design and Procedure
Since this study will investigate the technohosts program in its first-year pilot project
phase and evaluate data gathered during that time, a mixed research approach of qualitative and
quantitative methods to be used. The purpose of using the mixed method is to use qualitative
analysis and interpretation to help explain or elaborate on the dominant quantitative results by
enlivening them with case vignettes pertaining to user satisfaction.
Quantitative and qualitative data will be gathered simultaneously. I will accompany a
technohost on their shift once a month for 12 months and observe interactions between the
technohost and patrons and staff to gather qualitative data. Notes will be recorded in a notebook I
will carry along for this study. After each shift, I will interview the technohost and a randomly
selected reference librarian one who covered one of the desks while the technohost was on duty
separately about the days activities. First names only will be recorded and processed in the
results, so this data will be partially autonomous when its reported. Each interview will last five
minutes. The interview questions will be spontaneous, starting out pertaining to a specific
incident and then eventually going to thoughts, feelings or comments about the program. I will
ask open-ended questions both parties can answer.
Survey research will be used to collect quantitative data. All surveys will be completed
anonymously. Two surveys total will be administered once a week. It will be the same survey
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each time but I will break them into two groups, by function. The first survey group will be
called Survey One and it is designed to track reference librarian activity while the technohost is
on duty. The second survey group will be called Survey Two and its meant to track reference
librarian activity while the technohost is off duty. I will email Survey One every Sunday to a
randomly selected librarian and ask that it be filled out the next day while the technohost is on
duty, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I will email Survey Two every week the day before a randomly
selected day the volunteer is not there, to another randomly selected librarian and schedule it to
be completed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to match the time window of the technohost. At the end of
my 12
-month research period, I will have administered 384 surveys. Changes in the survey data
over the course of the 12-month research period will determine the effectiveness of the
technohosts program.
Limitations
Although I and the six reference librarians participating in the study are committed to the
one-year research period, this type of longitudinal survey has its limitations. With 52 weeks a in
a year, I predict the technohost will work 45 of those weeks because of library closures and days
the volunteer does not come in. Time will also pose as a limitation during this study. If the
librarian is too busy to thoroughly keep track of their activity during the scheduled time, then he
or she may fill out the survey later or in a hurry and not provide the most accurate information
possible. Sometimes a librarian may not return a survey at all, for whatever reason. Or, the
librarian may not get the survey because they are out sick on the day they were chosen to
participate or the email gets lost. I will not change the random nature of my research when these
contingencies happen. I will evaluate contingencies after the testing phase. Overall, I expect at
least a 90 percent survey response rate, which means I will get about 345 surveys back. To
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account for these biases as I analyze data, the survey will ask the librarians what time it was
completed and how much of it was completed between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Instruments
I will use a pair of six-sided dice to randomly select who gets Survey One on Mondays
and who gets Survey Two on the other six days. One die will have the names of the six librarians
on its sides. The other will have the days of the week, excluding Monday, on its sides. Each
Sunday, I will give the people die a fair toss to the select the librarian who will get Survey One
for that Monday. Then I will give both dice a fair toss to select who will get Survey Two, and
when. All rolls are final unless I roll a librarian on a day they do not work or if I roll a day the
library is closed. Each librarian every week has a one in three chance of getting chosen to fill out
a survey. It is predicted that each librarian will fill out about 17 surveys per year. About half of
those will be Survey One, and about half will be Survey Two.
The survey asks the librarians to count the number of times they perform eight different
actions between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. On Sundays, the weekly numbers for each action from
Survey One and Survey Two will be added up and averaged. There will be eight separate
averages. On the last day of each month, those weekly totals will be added up and averaged. As
months pass, I predict the gap between monthly averages from Survey One and Survey Two for
most actions will grow.
After the testing period, I will run t-tests between my two groups to assess whether the
means of two groups are statisticallydifferent from each other. I will convert the monthly
averages into eight bar graphs, one for each action, to visually represent any month-by-month
changes in the activities of the six librarians when the technohost was there. Red bars on the
graph will represent Mondays while blue bars will represent the other days as a whole. If there is
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a change in the average levels between the days the technohost is there and the days the
technohost is not there, then the tests prove the hypothesis.
Any gaps of significant size and any non-existent gaps will be explained as the study is
evaluated. At that point, weekly totals will be mentioned because other factors affecting
patronage at a particular point in time might have been at play, such as a weather change, the
start or end of the school year, an economic or social change or changes in library operations.
This is where qualitative data collected simultaneously as the testing will help. If the library, for
example, was slow on a particular day a librarian was surveyed, material from an interview or
comment left on the questionnaire will account for any data fluctuations.
Summary
Using a mixed-model approach in a 12-month period to gather qualitative and
quantitative data, this study will track reference staff activity and used observations and
interviews of the technohosts, patrons and reference staff to measure the effectiveness of the
roving technohosts program.
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References
Anderson, A. (2010, March 9). Roving reference [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://getonthebuswyoming.wordpress.com/roving-reference
Anderson, B., & Webb, P. T. (2006).New directions in reference. New York: Haworth
Information Press.
Burke, J. (2009).Neal-Schuman library technology companion: A basic guide for library staff.
New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
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Appendix
Reference desk activity from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., on _______________________________
(name of weekday) (month)
Time completed: _______________
Please tally up the and report the following, as best as possible:
1. How many patrons did you help in the three-hour period?
2. How many patrons did you help from behind your desk?
3. How many patrons had to return to the reference desk for additional help?
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4. How many times was there more than one person waiting for help at the reference desk?
5. How many times did another staff person help out at the desk with you?
6. How many times did you leave desk to help people use computers?
7. How many times did you leave the desk to help people find print materials?
8. How many times did you leave the reference desk for other reasons (excluding personal
breaks)?
Thank you! Please feel free to provide additional comments here.
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