Reference Services Review: Volume 38 Issue 1

Services in a (post)Google world

Theresa S. Arndt

This paper aims to serve as an introduction to the articles in the special theme issue on “reference in the (post)Google age”, outlining some of the challenges and opportunities…

What net generation students really want: Determining library help‐seeking preferences of undergraduates

Lizah Ismail

Many academic libraries are trying a variety of innovative services to meet net generation users “on their own turf” and “on their own terms”. This paper aims to address the need…

Why and how to mystery shop your reference desk

Elizabeth Kocevar‐Weidinger, Candice Benjes‐Small, Eric Ackermann, Virginia R. Kinman

The aim of this paper is to document how two university libraries determined whether mystery shopping is an effective and statistically feasible instrument for evaluating customer…

Reference models in the electronic library: The Miller Learning Center at the University of Georgia

Caroline Cason Barratt, Phoebe Acheson, Emily Luken

This study aims to describe reference service activity within a learning commons at a large research university. The researchers tested several reference models in order to…

The Research Center: creating an environment for interactive research consultations

Erin Meyer, Carrie Forbes, Jennifer Bowers

This paper aims to report on the University of Denver Penrose Library's Research Center, a new reference service model created to respond to the changing needs of students and to…

Reference service without the desk

Theresa S. Arndt

This article aims to describe how a college library critically examined its maintenance of a traditional reference desk for in‐person services and changed its service model to…

Reference at the commons: a case study

Marta Lee, Jon Ritterbush, Robert Sivigny

This paper aims to examine whether relocating the reference desk closer to the main entrance has factored into increased reference activity at Regent University Library.

Peer reference redefined: new uses for undergraduate students

Allison I. Faix, Margaret H. Bates, Lisa A. Hartman, Jennifer H. Hughes, Casey N. Schacher, Brooke J. Elliot, Alexander D. Woods

This paper aims to redefine the peer reference model – using student assistants to staff the reference desk – by expanding it to include upper‐level undergraduate students from…

The @One service environment: information services for and by the millennial generation

Steven D. Zink, Ann Medaille, Madeline Mundt, Patrick T. Colegrove, Duncan Aldrich

The purpose of this paper is to discuss an academic library's need to engage all available resources to provide the services required by the changing uses, formats, and production…

Becoming a renaissance reference librarian in academe: Attitudes toward generalist and subject specific reference and related profession development

Debbi A. Smith, Victor T. Oliva

This article aims to explore the attitudes of academic reference librarians toward generalist and subject specialist reference service, and to present an examination of the ways…

Web 2.0 for reference services staff training and communication

Jane P. Currie

This paper aims to focus on applications of Web 2.0 that improve training and communication within the reference services department.

Pecha Kucha: using “lightning talk” in university instruction

Jacqueline Courtney Klentzin, Emily Bounds Paladino, Bruce Johnston, Christopher Devine

This paper aims to provide an examination of the scholarly literature regarding both the pedagogical and practical aspects of PowerPoint.

Assessing the assessment: how institutions administered, interpreted, and used SAILS

Brian Lym, Hal Grossman, Lauren Yannotta, Makram Talih

This paper seeks to address the administration of Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS), the use of SAILS report data, and respondent perceptions of the…

Services in a (post) Google world

Eleanor Mitchell, Sarah Barbara Watstein

Measuring the impact of research

Rebecca Marsh