Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2024
Abstract
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic drove most users online, chat was establishing itself as a core service for asking library-related questions of many types, from basic directional and reference to research queries of a more sophisticated nature. This investigation seeks to provide insight into how academic libraries are seen not only as a source of library assistance, but also as a means of filling an information gap on a wider subject: the university campus at large. The study’s methods involved analyzing chat transcripts from five large four-year public universities during a two-year period (2019- 2021), noting the frequency of campus-related chat questions and coding the specific topics of those inquiries. The findings show that library reference services, particularly live virtual chat, are consistently valuable to the campus community and may be especially important to supporting less privileged student populations.
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Reference Librarian on 22 April 2024, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2024.2334216