Virtual Reference Assessment Columbia

Virtual Reference Assessment @ Columbia By Amanda Bielskas Columbia University

Poster presented at the Columbia University Libraries Assessment Forum held on Thursday, June 20th, 2013.

Abstract: The Columbia University Library has been offering the Ask-A-Librarian virtual reference service for many years. This poster analyzed the Ask-A-Librarian instant messaging (and text) use stats over the history of the service at Columbia University. In addition, for more recent years statistics collected with the LibraryH3lp native interface and those manually collected with Desk Tracker were also compared. The poster also illustrates how some of these use stats have been put to use in past assessment projects, and how some of this data could be used for future planning. The Columbia University Libraries have been offering versions of a Ask A Librarian virtual reference service since 2002. Overtime, this service has been staffed with volunteer librarians from across the system, as well as unpaid interns for additional evening and weekend coverage. Through assessment and study of the service, several recommendations and changes have been implemented over the 12 year history of the service. These changes have brought many improvements to the service which in turn has led to greater use of the service over time.

Fast Facts:

 Over the history of the service, Columbia Librarians have answered over 17,000 questions!

 The Webchat widget on the Library’s Ask-A-Librarian page is by far the most popular way for patrons to reach the service.

 After the redesign of the Ask-A-Librarian Website in 2010 (which introduced the LibraryH3lp widget and removed the need for patrons to login) the service saw an increase in over 500% of the number of questions asked over the previous year. The service has remained consistently busy over the last 3 years.

 Remember to enter your data! Manually entered data has proven to be greatly underreported over the history of the service.

 The busiest months for the service are: October, April, February, and November.

 The service tends to slow down around lunch and dinner time but is consistently busy throughout the day and evening.

 The most popular subjects for questions asked are Business and Heath Science related.

 Most questions last under 10 minutes in duration (many questions last much longer than that.)  The most common types of questions asked are Holding/known item and Policy and Procedurally related Chats logged on LibraryH3lp & DeskTracker

Chats on LibraryH3lp (FY 2011-2012)

protoco l chats web 3780 aim 34 gtalk 33 voice 31 Total: 3878 Chats per month: LibraryH3lp (FY 2011-2012) Chats per month: LibraryH3lp (FY 2012-2013) Chats Per Hour: LibraryH3lp (FY 2011-2012)

Chats per hour: LibrarH3lp (FY 2012-2013)

Comparison of Data Collection: ARL, Access & Survey Monkey, LibraryH3lp, DeskTracker Timeline of Virtual Reference Assessment @ Columbia