Please answer the following question: • Do you use a paper...

On Your Card Catalog Cards:

• Please answer the following question:

• Do you use a paper tally sheet method of tracking statistics or an electronic method? Why?

• Don’t worry – it’s anonymous ☺• The cards will be collected in a few minutes

To Infinity, And Beyond (the Hashmark)! Moving To an

Electronic Reference Recording System: A Debate

Laura Bonella, Reference GeneralistJason Coleman, Service Coordinator

Erin Fritch, Reference GeneralistDanielle Theiss-White, General Reference Coordinator

Kansas State University

Overview

• The debate will consist of three parts:

• Part I– The moderator will ask a series of questions. Each of the debaters will have an

equal amount of time to reply. After they have both replied, they will have a chance to respond.

• Part II– Our reporter will solicit questions from the audience. These questions can be

directed at one of the debater or both. Each debater will have time to respond to each question in this part of the debate (unless questions are specifically addressed to one of the debaters).

• Part III – Each debater will give closing remarks to conclude the debate.

Asking Questions

• The Audience is (highly) encouraged to ask questions at any point in the debate

• It is not necessary to wait until part II of the debate. There are two ways to ask a question: – (1) raise your hand and have the reporter

come to you, or – (2) send a text to 265010 and begin your

question with “mpla134:”

The Debaters• K-State Libraries (Jason)

• K-State Libraries, located in Manhattan, Kansas, serves a full-time equivalent enrollment of 23,332 undergraduate and graduate students in addition to faculty, staff, and community members.

• K-State Libraries has a large main library and four small branches. During 2008, the Hale Library Help Desk (the general reference desk for the main library) had 18,362 patron transactions.

• Currently the HLHD is staffed by 19 employees holding MLS degrees (Master of Library Science), three employees currently pursuing MLS degrees, six non-MLS employees, and eight undergraduate student workers.

• The Help Desk is staffed 83 hours most weeks of the Fall and Spring semesters.

• K-State Libraries provides reference service in a variety of ways: face-to-face in the library, face-to-face at 3 satellite stations, via IM, via text-messaging, by phone, and by e-mail.

The Debaters• GraphiteU Libraries (Danielle)• Graphite University is located in a mid-sized town in a mid-sized state in

the midwest. GraphiteU Libraries is surprisingly similar to K-State Libraries.

• The system has a large main library and four small branches. It serves a full-time equivalent enrollment of 21,012 undergraduate and graduate students in addition to faculty, staff, and community members.

• During 2008, the main library's only reference desk received 17,000 reference questions. Currently that desk is staffed by 12 employees who have an MLS degree, one employee currently pursuing an MLS degree, and three non-MLS employees.

• The desk is staffed 75 hours during most weeks of the Fall and Spring semesters.

• Graphite U provides reference service face-to-face in the library, by phone, by e-mail, and by the U.S. Postal Service.

Libstats

Entry Fields

Add Question Page

Questions

Reporting Features

General Reference Tally Sheet:

Tally Sheets are popular!

• Novotny’s (2002) survey of ARL libraries found that 99% of the libraries that record data on reference transactions use a tally sheet!– Data from ACRL SPEC Kit 268: Reference Service Statistics

& Assessment

• 2008 survey sent to several lists and blogs. Nearly 70% of respondents reported currently using a paper tally sheet.

More Data from K-State Libraries’ Survey

• 168 of 459 (37%): Simple/easy/fast

– “It's simple and easy -- we keep a sheet on the reference desk and just tick transactions off as they happen.”

– “We used an online system for several semesters but the librarians prefer the paper version. It is easier to record stats when the paper talley sheet is next to you then having to login to yet another program on the desktop.”


• 25 responded: helps see patterns of activity

e.g., “It helps us look for trends when we have to look at changing the reference desk hours..”


• 9 responded: no computer involved:

– “Low tech is great! Nothing to lose to unexpected power outages or from someone accidentally hitting the DELETE key. :)”


• 9 responded: clipboard serves as reminder to record stats

e.g., “The sheet is a good visual reminder, both because of the sometimes hectic nature of our lives, and also as a function of age.”

See the big picture

Improve Answers

• Staff can search the entire set of transactions.

Improve Answers

• Staff read recent questions to stay up-to-date

Improve Answers“Use in case of recurring class project questions”

• Q: Marketing class assignment MKTG 542 - looking for industry info using list of sources from instructor

• A: student was looking for U.S. Market Trends and Forecasts - it is in Stacks due to old age. We looked at the Marketing & Int'l Business subject guide page. Used Business and Company Resource Center, Industry: Child Care - had some more recent info that looked helpful. She also used ABI/Inform for articles.

Improve Answers

• Q: What does it mean when the Cash to Chip machine says "Card is Mute"?

• A: Not sure--anyone know this? [Yes -from staff member X - it means that their chip is bad. Sometimes you can fix it by rubbing it with a piece of cloth, such as your shirt. Cotton seems to work best. But if that doesn't work, they need to go to the ID card center and get a new one]

Improve Services

• Libstats helped to document problem

Management Decisions

–When to have two staff at desk versus one.

–When to staff IM off the desk

Fall 2007 Average Hourly Transactions

Fall 2007 Average Hourly Transactions

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

8:00-9

:009:0

0-10:0

010

:00-11

:0011

:00-12

:0012

:00-1:

001:0

0-2:00

2:00-3

:003:0

0-4:00

4:00-5

:005:0

0-6:00

6:00-7

:007:0

0-8:00

8:00-9

:009:0

0-10:0

0

Time

Ave

rage

Num

ber o

f Tra

nsac

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday

Average Minutes Answering Questions at the Help Desk

Staff IM off the Desk?

Total IM for 2007 Fall Semester by Hour

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

8:00-9

:009:0

0-10:0

010

:00-11

:0011

:00-12

:0012

:00-1:

001:0

0-2:00

2:00-3

:003:0

0-4:00

4:00-5

:005:0

0-6:00

6:00-7

:007:0

0-8:00

8:00-9

:009:0

0-10:0

0

Time

Cou

nt

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday

Fall 2008 Technology Questions

Compare other Service Points

Question Type by Service Desk

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2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

Buildin

g Dire

ction

al

Misc

Reference

Referral

Tech R

eferra

l

Techn

ical

Question Type

# Tr

ansa

ctio

ns Help DeskDowMRCGovPubsReception

Reference Batting Practice

• Group Discussion and Reflection–Grand Slam, Home Run,

Strike Out, Bunt, Ball

Subject Librarian Sessions

“To see what types of questions are being asked, whether any are from my departments, and how questions are being answered”

Staff Survey Response

– Subject librarians read and evaluate questions answered by other library staff• Discuss questions/answers as a group or individually

to provide training in subject area of need

Staff Training and Libstats

•Determine training needs and strengths of reference staff

•Learn how to handle certain types of questions

•See how others answer similar questions

Daily summary

Monthly summary

Yearly summary

How to Use The Tally Sheet• Face to Face Patron Library Help: A mark is made in the “Lib”

row, under “Reference Questions (+phone) / ITAC Questions.”ALSO, mark the number of minutes with that patron in the “Number of Minutes per Patron” column (“Lib” row).

• Face to Face Patron ITAC Help: These are questions that you answer (not making a referral) regarding the printer, or other hardware/software, not directly related to the library. These may include simple items, such as help saving documents, help using Word or EXCEL, etc. In-depth questions, or questions you cannot easily answer, should be referred to room 313. A mark is made in the “ITAC” row, under “Reference Questions (+phone) / ITAC Questions.” ALSO, mark the number of minutes with that patron in the “Number of Minutes per Patron” column (“ITAC” row).

• Phone Calls: These are the equivalent of a face to face interaction, so they are recorded just like a “Face to Face Patron Library Help.”

How to Use The Tally Sheet• Directional and Informational Questions: Just make a mark

in the “Directional / Info. Questions” column.• Number of Staff Working in an Hour: Mark down the number

of staff at the desk, with the number of backup staff in parenthesis. So, one person working the desk with a backup would be recorded as “1 (1).” One person working the whole time, with someone else coming out at the half-hour would be “1 1/2.”

• ITAC Referrals: Make a mark next to the appropriate type of referral, in the “ITAC Referrals” column. “PW” is password or eID help. “H/S” is for any questions regarding computer hardware or software. “Pr” refers to printer problems or questions.

• Library Referrals: Any time a patron is referred to anyone else, whether in Hale or not, write the person to whom the referral ismade in the “Referrals” column. So, if you refer someone to Manhattan Public Library, write “MPL.” If a reference is made to a specialist, write that person’s name. If you send someone to the registrar, write that down.

How to Use The Tally Sheet• Checking the Voicemail and Email: Check both these things at

the top of every hour, and place a “√” in the “√ vm/em” column. Do not write “√” or “0” in the “GR email Q’s” or “Number of minutes per GR email” columns.

• Answering GR Email Questions: Whenever you answer a GR email question, a mark is made in the “GR email Q’s” column. ALSO, mark the number of minutes spent answering that question in the “Number of Minutes per GR email” column. Do not write “√” or “0” in the “GR email Q’s” or “Number of minutes per GR email” columns.

• AT THE END OF THE NIGHT: Be a friend, and go back and make sure things match up. Make the numbers of hashmarks, and the number of “minute boxes” that are filled in match (so you don’t have 3 hashmarks but 6 boxes filled).

Training Staff to Use Libstats

Recording Reference Transactions Guide

Libstats

2007 and 2008 Staff Survey

The Process of Entering Transactions in Libstats is ...

5

11

89

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2

Fairly Easy Extremely Easy

# Pa

rtic

ipan

ts

20072008

Struggle to Enter Transactions?

How Often Do you Struggle to Record Your Transactions?

4

0

7

2

0

1

7

9

2

1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Never VeryInfrequently

FairlyInfrequently

Fairly Often Very Often

# Pa

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20072008

Read other Staff Member’s Transactions?

On Average, How Often Do You Read Other Staff Member's Transactions?

12

1

54

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2

4

12

2

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2

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6

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12

14

Never VeryInfrequently

FairlyInfrequently

Fairly Often Very Often

# Pa

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20072008

Overall Impression

Overall My Impression of Libstats is ...

32

7

3

5

12

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Neutral Somewhat Positive Very Positive

# Pa

rtic

ipan

ts

20072008

Cost1%

Data40%

Don't Know1%

Don't Like It1%

Easy47%

Knowledge Base

2%

Quick7%

Technology1%

Summary of responses to the question “what do you like best about your method of recording transactions.” These responses are from individuals whose library uses an electronic method (n = 137)

Poor5%

OK11% Needs Revision

3%

Basic but Useful6%

Good19%

Great39%

Very Helpful17%

Summary of responses to the question “what is your overall impression of the system you use for recording transactions.” These responses are from individuals whose library uses an electronic method (n = 105)

Want More Information?

Kansas Libstats

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