tracking reference with reftracker
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Tracking Reference with RefTracker
Heather CloseReference and Research Services CoordinatorAlberta Legislature Library
Reference Service
• 8 Librarians, 8 technicians scheduled for regular reference desk shifts
• Each shift is a half-day• 1-3 shifts per week• At the desk:
Shared email accountthrough Outlook Web App Shared phone line
The way we were….
Altarama’s RefTracker
• A web-based reference request management and tracking software system Integrated workflow KnowledgeBase DeskStats - An electronic tally sheet
RefTracker
DeskStats Module
Details recorded for each question
• Staff member who answered the question• Client category• Location at which the service was provided• How the question arrived – email, in-person, phone• Date and time question was received• Length of time spent in responding to the question• Type of question answered• Subject matter• Resources used to answer the question• Comments
March 2010 June 2014Subjects not defined Taxonomy
24 Client categories 13 Client categories
7 Request Groups 10 Request Types
1 Request Groups 4 Request Types
19 Resource categories 4 Resource categories
Taxonomy
Not Applica
ble
Legisla
tive Pro
cess a
nd Affairs
Govern
ment a
nd Politics
Current a
nd Historic
al Ev
ents
Health
Law, Ju
stice
and Righ
ts
Socie
ty an
d Culture
Economics
and Fi
nance
Genera
l Refe
rence
and Reso
urces
Educati
on and Tr
aining
Envir
onment
Municipal
Affairs
Energ
y
Business
, Industr
y and Tr
ade
Employm
ent a
nd Labour
Transp
ortation
Informati
on and Communica
tions
Aboriginal
Affairs
Intergo
vern
mental
Affairs
Infrastr
ucture
Touris
m, Park
s and Recr
eation
Agricu
lture
Scien
ce an
d Tech
nology0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
% of Time Spent on Requests by SubjectJanuary-August 2014
Client Categories (% of total questions in 2013)Reporting RefTracker
Members & LAO (50.5%)
• 18 different client categories
• Request from caucus staff accounts for more questions than all others combined
Caucus (26.3%)Constituency Office (2.5%)Lieutenant Governor and Staff (0.3%)Members and Staff (6.5%)Office of the Speaker (3.1%)Independent Legislative Offices – AB (0.6%)LAO – Committee Research (1.6%)LAO – Communication Services (1.4%)LAO – FMAS (0.4%)LAO – Hansard (0.7%)LAO – House Services (0.9%)LAO – HRS (0.1%)LAO – ITS (0.3%)LAO – Legislature Library (0.7%)LAO – Parliamentary Counsel (3.1%)LAO – Sergeant-at-Arms (0.3%)LAO – VCSS (2.2%)Office of the Clerk (0.6%)
Alberta Government (12.1%) Gov – AB (12.1%)Media (1.7%) Media (1.7%)Public (32.9%)
APLIC (4.0%)Govts and Legislatures – Other (0.6%)Libraries – Other (2.6%)Public (25.7%)
Types of Requests
Categorize requests at two levels:
• Request Groups determine the broad categories of requests
Request types allow these categories to be broken down into more specific areas
Request Groups & Types 2010• Reference
– Research– Directional– Material– Referral
• Circulation Transactions– Circulation
• Equipment– Photocopier– PAC Computer / Printer– Microform Reader/Printers– Other Equipment
• Document Delivery
– ILL Request – SPAL Request– NBIL Request– AV Reproduction– Other Document Delivery
• Library Policy & Services– Policy & Services
• Orientation / Tour– Orientation / Tour– PSO Tour– SATL Tour
• Feedback – Services– Collections
2014 Review
• Debra G. Warner, “A New Classification for Reference Statistics,” Reference & User Services Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 1 (Fall 2001): pp. 51-55.
• Deborah B. Henry and Tina M. Neville, “Testing Classification Systems for Reference Questions,” Reference & User Services Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 4, (Summer 2008): pp. 364-373.
Request Groups & Types 2014
Non-resource Based
• Directional / Administrative• Do not require a resource to answer• May be about policy or services • Circulation [to reflect the interaction with client]• Document delivery, acquisition, or audio-visual
requests that are referred / forwarded to staff/unit responsible
• Booking equipment
Skill-based
• Ready Reference / Technical• Answer is always the same• May be answered by well-developed set of
directions or reference file• Trouble-shooting equipment or resources• Planned tours including prep time
Strategy-based
• Require the formulation of a strategy to locate an answer
• May require selection of resources
• May require individualized subject approach
• May require provision of instruction and guidance
Consultation• Requires selection of materials, research
recommendations or formatted reports• Specialized orientation sessions or tours (other
than planned tours which have a standard outline and as such are Skill-based)
• May require consultation with subject experts or other jurisdictions
• This level of service is generally provided to primary clients only
Training and Implementation
• April-May 2014 – Training– Shared proposed categories and background
readings– Reviewed and discussed at reference meetings– Staff completed a brief exercise:
• Assign a request type with reasoning and/or comments to 14 sample questions
• June 2014 – Implementation• Ongoing:– Applying categories to raw data retroactively
Going Forward
• Statistics that are:Aligned with management’s strategic prioritiesAvailable in real-time; readily available in usable formTransparentMeaningful
• Statistics gathering is:Routine Consistent Efficient
Thank You!
Heather CloseReference and Research Services CoordinatorAlberta Legislature Library
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