New Research Article: “Web-Scale Search and Virtual Reference Service: How Summon Is Impacting Reference Question Complexity and Reference Service Delivery”

The following article appears in Vol. 18, No. 1 (2013) issue of Internet Reference Services Quarterly (IRSQ) published by Routledge and available electronically via Taylor and Francis.

IRSQ is a subscription-based publication.

However, the following article is available free, full text to all.

Title

Web-Scale Search and Virtual Reference Service: How Summon Is Impacting Reference Question Complexity and Reference Service Delivery

Author

William Meredith
Royal Roads University,
Victoria, British Columbia

Source

Internet Reference Services Quarterly
18.1 (2013)

Abstract

Web-scale discovery tools like Summon are becoming the norm at academic libraries across North America. How much do these tools simplify discovery? What changes do they bring to the provision of reference service? At Royal Roads University, where most students complete graduate degrees through distance study, I applied the READ scale to reference questions received by email in the year before and the two years after we adopted Summon. Comparing the questions over time, and analyzing reference statistics, I reflect on changes brought on by discovery layers and what they mean for the future.

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See Also: Royal Roads University Library Web Site