Email Reference

 

I produced an applications and implementation plan concerning email reference service and the Howard Whittemore Memorial Library in Naugatuck, Connecticut for ILS 538, Computer Mediated Communication. For the project, I analyzed the Whittemore’s current email reference service, critiqued it, and formulated a plan recommending changes and processes of improvement.

 

Currently, the Whittemore only receives one to two email reference queries a month. These emails are barely tracked, as they are entered into the reference log as telephone calls. There is no mention of email reference service on the library’s homepage, even though the listed email is intended to be used as the reference email source.

 

My plan recommended that all reference staff members, especially the head of the reference department, attend training on email reference practices. I suggested that the library should make a more formal presentation of the service on their web site, and should advertise the program internally. Finally, I proposed that the reference department start tracking not only the volume of their email reference queries, but also the type, response time, and outcome for each individual question.

 

References

Armstrong, A. (2002). The quiet revolution: reference services in public libraries. APLIS, 15(3), 104-109.

 

Ashton Services. (2001). Borough of Naugatuck. Retrieved February 22, 2005, from http://www.naugatuckonline.com/user-cgi/pages.cgi

 

Bao, X.M. (2003). A study of web-based interactive reference services via academic library home pages. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 42(3), 250-256.

 

Bobal, A.M., Schmidt, C.M., & Cox, R. (2005). One library’s experience with live, virtual reference. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 93(1), 123-125.

 

Bopp, R.E. (2001). The reference interview. In R.E. Bopp, & L.C.Smith (Eds.), Reference and Information Services: An Introduction.Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

 

Bunge, C.A, & Bopp, R.E. (2001). History and varieties of reference services. In R.E. Bopp, & L.C.Smith      (Eds.), Reference and Information Services: An Introduction. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

 

Carolan, A.L. (2000). A history of Naugatuck. Retrieved February 22, 2005, from http://www.naugy.net/BOE/history/

 

Columbia University Press. (2004). The Columbia Encyclopedia: 6^th Edition:, 2001. Retrieved February 23, 2005, from http://www.bartleby.com/65/el/electmail.html

 

Fritch, J.W., & Mandernack, S.B. (2001). The emerging reference paradigm: a vision of reference services in a complex information environment. Library Trends, 50(2), 286-305.

 

Goetsch, L., Sowers, L., & Todd, C. (1999). SPEC kit 251: Electronic reference service executive summary. Retrieved February 24, 2005, from http://www.arl.org/spec/251sum.html

 

 Howard Whittemore Memorial Library. (2004). Retrieved February 22, 2005, from            http://www.biblio.org/whittemore/

 

Kilgour, F.G. (2000). Development of the municipal library. In G.M. Eberhart (Comp.), The Whole Library Handbook 3. Chicago: American Library Association.

 

Mudrock, T. (2002). Revising ready reference sites. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 42(2), 155-163.

 

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2003). Public libraries in the United States: Fiscal year 2001. Retrieved February 17, 2005 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003399.pdf

 

Olivares, O. (2004). Virtual reference systems. Computers in Libraries, 24(5), 25-29.

 

Rainie, L. (2005). Internet librarians own the future. Information Today, 22(1), 42-43.

 

Sloan, B. (1998). Service perspectives for the digital library remote reference services. Library Trends, 47(1), 117-143.

 

Tenopir, C. (2001). Virtual reference services in a real world. Library Journal, 126(12), 38, 40.

 

U.S. Census Bureau. (2004). Connecticut QuickFacts. Retrieved February 22, 2005, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/09/09009.html

 

Williams, B.K., & Sawyer, S.C. (2005). Using Information Technology: A Practical Introduction to Computers & Communications. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

 

Wilson, M. (2000). Understanding the needs of tomorrow’s library user: rethinking library services for the new age. APLIS, 13(2), 81-86.