Evaluating Online Real-Time Reference in an Academic Library

Summary Online real-time or “chat” reference, while still in its infancy when compared to traditional reference services is beginning to come of age. The time has come to move beyond the earlier challenges and issues debated at length in the library profession and begin to consider how to evaluate real-time reference. This article will consider obstacles to evaluating chat reference and present practical recommendations. These obstacles are presented in four basic areas including; organizational structure, scarcity of resources, newness of the service, and difficulty developing techniques of assessment or applying existing methodology.

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