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Ref Type: Journal Article

Authors: Jacoby,JoAnn, O’Brien,Nancy P.,

Title: Assessing the impact of reference services provided to undergraduate students

Publication Full: College & Research Libraries

Year: 2005 Volume: 66 Issue: 4

Start Page: 324 Other Pages: 340

Descriptors: College and university libraries/Reference services, Surveys/Reference services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign/Library/Reference services, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Education, Library & Information Science,

Abstract:

This article describes a study assessing the impact of reference services on undergraduate students. The study targeted undergraduates receiving nondirectional reference assistance, yielding sixty-nine survey responses and five follow-up interviews. Three outcomes were examined: (1) Do undergraduate students perceive the reference staff as being friendly and approachable? (2) Do they learn something during the course of the reference interaction? and (3) Do they feel more confident about their ability to find information after the reference interaction than they did before? Our findings suggest that reference services can play a significant role in helping students become confident, independent information seekers. Correlations between variables and a multiple regression model further indicate that friendliness of the reference staff was one of the best predictors of students' confidence in their ability to find information on their own. These outcomes are particularly salient in a college and university environment where building skills for independent information exploration is a primary goal. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Notes:

id: 165; PD: Bibliographic footnotes; Graph; Table

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Retrieved Date:January 1, 1970

Editors: NULL

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Place Of Publication: NULL

Issn Isbn: 0010-0870