Gathering the Data
The data gathered for this study was primarily qualitative in nature. Each time a library user came to the desk with a question, the staff member answering it was asked to record the time, date, what the library user asked for, and how the staff member responded. Staff members were encouraged to write the questions down using words as close as possible to what the patrons had used. Figure 2 shows the layout of the quarter-page form used for each question. As some loss prevention specialists had questioned whether they were being tested by what they write down, they were told not to sign or initial the questions. To encourage participation, it was explained that the data would be used to better identify where training was needed, not as an evaluation of any one individual’s knowledge. Also, the data were entirely anonymous with respect to the identities of the actual library users.
The questions were transcribed into a Microsoft Access database by student workers. Given the hurried nature in which questions were sometimes written down, interpreting and reading handwriting was sometimes a challenge and worked best with a minimal number of different transcribers. Access queries were used to identify time and date patterns of user needs and when the most questions were being asked. The author originally intended to use Atlas.ti to perform qualitative analysis on the results, but found that by capturing each question discreetly, most of the questions were sufficiently straightforward that basic grouping and sorting techniques were more effective. In cases where a library user had asked multiple questions in the same transaction, the questions were split out and each treated as a unique query during the grouping and sorting process. To determine the accuracy or correctness of the answer, the author relied upon her own eight years of experience in various public service and middle manager roles within the library, with the assistance of senior reference services colleagues for more ambiguous responses.
Assessing the Questions
During the first four weeks of the fall 2003 semester, 1,890 discrete questions were recorded in 1,781 library user transactions. In approximately one hundred cases, the library user followed up with a second or third question as part of a single transaction. For discussion and reporting purposes, one percentage point equates to nineteen separate questions by library users.
The first aspect of the data that was examined was the accuracy and correctness of the answers and an assessment of what the majority of users were seeking at this service point. The level of correctness of the LPS staff responses to the questions was extremely high, with 74.3 percent of the questions answered correctly. Only 3.8 percent were answered wrong, with the user sent to the wrong place or told a service was not available when, in fact, it was. However, a significant area of concern from a library administrative perspective is the remaining 21.9 percent. Of these, 10.7 percent were computer-related questions that frequently required a more complete answer than the one the user received at the front desk. Another 11.2 percent fell into a gray area where it was impossible to tell from what the LPS staff member had written whether the user was actually sent to the correct service point or not. In these cases, the staff member had given a response to what was actually a broad or vague question without asking sufficient follow-up questions to verify the actual need and may have directed the user based on incorrect assumptions. Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a broad breakdown of the types of questions that were asked.
Giving Correct Directions
Undoubtedly, the high accuracy rate is in part due to the simple nature of many of these questions. The majority of these questions were repetitive and could be answered in a routine directive manner based on general library and campus knowledge or using a map or handout. Directions to the copy center represented 12.4 percent of the transactions. Library users were evenly split between those that asked for the copy center by name and those that asked for a course packet, blue book, color photocopy, or other service offered by this center. On a related topic, 4.1 percent of the requests for directional assistance were from students seeking information on the location and use of self-serve photocopiers. While most simply asked where to find a photocopier, some did seek information on how the prepaid copy card system worked, and a few users reported copier malfunctions. One set of frequently asked questions, especially during the first two weeks of class, were directional needs for buildings and services outside of the library, representing 8.4 percent of the overall question total. The bulk of these requests were answered by providing users with a campus map with the named building spotted for them. In addition to asking for buildings by name or course schedule abbreviation, 2 percent also asked for service location assistance, such as where the nearest automated teller machine (ATM) was, where they could receive a fax, and where to find something to eat. Two other named library tenant services represented sixty-one questions, with 2.7 percent seeking the writing center, and 0.5 percent needing directions to the thesis and dissertation office. Another 5.6 percent of the questions involved users asking about future library hours or when the library would be closing, and 1.1 percent represented students looking for an on-campus job. Finally, 3.1 percent of the questions were from users with facility directional questions, such as public phones, restrooms, and elevators. Combined, these groups of questions represented a total of 37.9 percent, or slightly more than one-third of the total questions asked. This confirms that many library users think of a library as more than just a repository of reading and scholarly research materials, but actually as a resource for many different information needs and personal services.
The two other large areas of the correctly answered directional questions were specifically targeted toward more typical library services and resources. For 16.2 percent, or 307 questions, the library user asked for directions to a named library service point, staff member, or collection. As an example, 2.9 percent asked for the instructional classrooms or class media viewing rooms based on a room number they had been given, presumably by their course instructor. The course reserves department and map room also were popular requests. Only ten library users, or 0.5 percent, asked for a reference desk with a subject-based qualifier to indicate whether they needed science and engineering or humanities and social sciences assistance. A considerably larger number of users, 23.65 percent, asked for assistance without any indication of knowing what unit in the library would be most appropriate. This also was a characteristic of many of the questions that the LPS staff failed to answer correctly or completely, and is discussed in detail further on. Many library users asked material-related questions, using descriptive terms to explain what they needed. Instead of “reserves,” they used terms such as “old exams,” “class notes,” or “stuff my professor put in the library.” For the media services unit, library users asked, “Where are the videotapes to check out?” “Where do I see my geography movie?” and “Where can I find the teleconferencing videos?” Instead of asking for circulation, 3.3 percent asked “Where/how can I check out a book?” “Where do I pay a fine?” “Do I use my student ID to check out a book?” or “Where do I return books?” One library jargon term that did come up in the natural language questions relating to circulation operations, was “recall,” both in terms of placing a request and picking up a recalled book. Supporting the concept of library as place, questions on how to reserve group study rooms and where to find quiet study areas also were common requests, making up 2.5 percent of the questions, especially into the third and fourth week of the academic term. One consistent aspect of all of these questions was that they were still fairly straightforward to answer and generally directional in nature. They could be answered by a staff member with basic knowledge and understanding of the type of services offered around the library, as gained and retained from general tours or orientations. Similarly, the user asking the question was expecting a referral type of answer. For a user making an inquiry on the location of a particular call number, which represented 3.2 percent of the questions, the expectation was satisfied by the users being told a place to go and handed a stack guide or map that reminded them en route of where they were going. The situation is more challenging when the patron indicates a need for assistance with actual research or a computer related problem.
The Challenge of Research Related Requests
Though it is always gratifying for an institution to learn what staff members are doing right, and having a 74 percent accuracy rate definitely indicates positive things about the current training models, which incorporate tours and handouts, there always is room for improvement. With this in mind, it is actually more helpful to closely examine the questions that were not answered correctly or effectively. In actuality, there were only twelve questions where the library user was sent away from the library with totally wrong information. However, the remaining 25.5 percent pointed to some fundamental unresolved issues in defining the expectations of the front door service point and those who staff it. Many of these questions were fairly complex in nature.