Specialized Reference Services at Illinois: Reference Transactional Analysis and Its Implications for Service Providers and Administrators

Abstract

As reference service environments continue to evolve, service providers and administrators are encountering numerous challenges and opportunities. This article examines the specialized reference services at the University of Illinois. Using reference transactional data from two academic years (69,630 transactions), this study focuses on five specialized service points and two general service points. Moreover, this study analyzed READ Scale scores, duration of the transaction, question type, and subject area covered during these transactions.