Document (#27215)

Author

Saxton, M.L.
Richardson, J.V. Jr.

Title

Understanding reference transactions : transforming an art into a science

Imprint

San Diego, CA : Academic Press

Year

2002

Pages

208 S

Isbn

0-12-587780-3

Footnote

Rez in: JASIST 55(2004) no.4, S.365-366 (D.A. Agosto): "In this entry in the Library and Information Science Series, Saxton and Richardson present a meticulously explained quantitative study of reference service effectiveness, drawn from public library data collected for this project. The study is based largely an Saxton's dissertation work, for which Richardson served as chair. Based an original data, the researchers examine three desired outcomes of the reference process: utility, user satisfaction, and accuracy. The authors collected a large body of data (N = 3520) comprised of in-person and telephone reference transactions, as recorded by responding librarians. Although the research was conducted in public library settings, the results should be transferable to most academic and school libraries, and to many special libraries as well. The relatively brief text (roughly half of the book consists of appendixes and bibliographies) is organized into seven chapters, with an extensive bibliography for each chapter. Chapter 1 lays out the research goals that underlie the study. These include an attempt to discover the factors that contribute to high levels of research performance, an attempt to identify the best indicators of successful reference performance, and an attempt to determine how well the data collected support the proposed model. The next two chapters, which combined constitute more than a quarter of the text, present and critique related research. Chapter 2 provides an in-depth literature review of past reference service evaluation research. Above all, this chapter brings to light the lack of theory driving this body of past work, a gap that Saxton and Richardson endeavor to fill. Chapter 3 evaluates the major methodologies that have previously been used to study reference service evaluation. In this chapter, Saxton and Richardson critique the existing body of reference-related research an methodological grounds. They cite as the most significant problems insufficient sample sizes, the widespread lack of the use of random sampling, and the minimal use of theory to underpin study design. Chapter 4, which lays out the methodology of Saxton and Richardson's study, is the strongest of the seven chapters. It emphasizes issues surrounding sampling, the proposed variables, data gathering methods, and data analysis. The authors do a good job of explaining the statistical theories and methods that they employ, turning the book into a sort of mini-review course in multivariate statistics.
The authors also do a good job of explaining the process of complex model building, making the text a useful resource for dissertation writers. The next two chapters focus an the results of the study. Chapter 5 presents the study findings and introduces four different models of the reference process, derived from the study results. Chapter 6 adds analysis to the discussion of the results. Unfortunately, the "Implications for Practice," "Implications for Research," and "Implications for Education" sections are disappointingly brief-only a few paragraphs each-limiting the utility of the volume to practitioners. Finally, Chapter 7 considers the applicability of systems analysis in modeling the reference process. It also includes a series of data flow diagrams that depict the reference process as an alternative to flowchart depiction. Throughout the book, the authors claim that their study is more complete than any to come before it since previous studies tended to focus an ready reference questions, rather than full-blown reference queries and directional queries, and since previous studies generally excluded telephone reference. They also challenge the long-standing "55% Rule," asserting that "Library users indicate high satisfaction even when they do not find what they want or are not given accurate information" (Saxton & Richardson, 2002, p. 95). Overall, Saxton and Richardson found the major variables that had a statistically significant effect an the outcome measures to be: (1) the extent to which the librarian followed the RUSA Behavioral Guidelines; (2) the difficulty of the query; (3) the user's education level, (4) the user's familiarity with the library; and (5) the level of reference service provided. None of the other variables that were considered, most notably the librarian's experience, the librarian's education level, and the size of the collection, had a statistically significant effect an the outcome measures.
In their introduction, the authors state that the book is intended for use by researchers, administrators, practitioners, and graduate students. Although too narrow in scope to serve as a primary text for a graduate level reference course, it could serve as a more theoretical complement to a standard text, such as Katz's Introduction to Reference Work Vols. 1 and 2 (2002), or Bopp and Smith's Reference and Infortnation Services: An Introduction (2001). These more traditional texts are heavily pragmatic in nature; Saxton and Richardson's work could help to bring theory and methodological assiduousness into the reference and information services classroom. The major contribution of this work is that it brings a badly needed statistical rigor to the study of reference services. It also serves as statistical support for the use of the RUSA Guidelines since it indicates that following the RUSA Guidelines is the strongest predictor of user satisfaction with a reference transaction. Indeed, the most important practical lesson to be learned from this study is that educators who teach reference and other information service courses should familiarize their students with the RUSA Guidelines and that practitioners should adhere to them as much as possible. Regrettably, the RUSA Guidelines are never summarized within the text, a problem for readers unfamiliar with them. In brief, the Guidelines were developed by an ad hoc RUSA committee charged with "identify[ing] and recommend[ing] observable behavioral attributes that could be correlated with positive patron perceptions of reference librarian performance" (RASD Guidelines, 1996, [RUSA was previously called RASD]). The resulting behavioral attributes include: approachability, interest, listening/inquiring, searching, and follow-up. Thus, the Guidelines couch the reference process largely in terms of human communication and librarian-user interaction. It would have been particularly useful if a discussion as to why the RUSA Guidelines lead to improved reference service were included in the book, but this topic is not addressed. Perhaps the authors' future work will head down this path. Nonetheless, Understanding Reference Transactions is a useful addition to the field of reference service research, and it is a worthwhile addition for most large academic library collections."

Theme

Informationsdienstleistungen

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