1st Edition

Evaluation of Reference Services

By Linda S Katz Copyright 1985

    Library authorities address the increasing significance of reference services and the increasing need for evaluation of those services to further ensure professionalism and efficiency.

    Contents I. Introduction
    • Why We Need to Evaluate Reference Services: Several Answers
    • In Pursuit of the Possible: Evaluating Reference Services
    • II. Overview of Evaluation
    • The Whole Shebang--Comprehensive Evaluation of Reference Operations
    • The Hidden Agenda in the Measurement and Evaluation of Reference Service, Or, How to Make a Case for Yourself
    • Tailoring Measures to Fit Your Service: A Guide for the Manager of Reference Services
    • Definitions for Planning and Evaluating Reference Services
    • III. Question, Answer, and Librarian
    • Referred Reference Questions: How Well Are They Answered?
    • Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Question-Answering Services in Libraries
    • Who’s Giving All Those Wrong Answers? Direct Service and Reference Personnel Evaluation
    • Evaluating the Reference Librarian
    • Evaluating Reference Librarians: Using Goal Analysis as a First Step
    • The Accreditation of Reference Services
    • IV. Those Who Are Served
    • A Community Based Approach to Evaluation of Public Library Reference Service
    • Evaluating Reference Service From the Patron Point of View: Some Interim National Survey Results
    • Analyzing Success in Meeting Reference Department Management Objectives Using a Computerized Statistical Package
    • V. Other Approaches
    • Performance Standards for Accuracy in Reference and Information Services: The Impact of Unobtrusive Measurement Methodology
    • Output Measures, Unobtrusive Testing, and Assessing the Quality of Reference Services
    • Qualitative Evaluation of Reference Service
    • VI. Evaluating Reference Sources
    • Developing Criteria for Database Evaluation: The Example of Women’s Studies
    • Evaluation of Legal Database Systems by Law Librarians in Private Law Firms
    • Quality Assurance in Computer Searching
    • One in a Hundred: Choosing the Year’s Outstanding Reference Sources
    • Apparatus: A Mnemonic for the Evaluation of Reference Resources
    • The Detailed Reference Collection Development Policy: Is It Worth the Effort?
    • Evaluation of Library Workbooks in a Community College Setting

    Biography

    Linda S Katz