Politeness in Proactive Library Chat Reference

Abstract

Libraries have increasingly turned to a “proactive” model of chat reference as opposed to a traditional “reactive” static model. It is well documented that proactive chat leads to an increase in usage, and prior research suggests question complexity increases with proactive chat as well. At this time, no study has investigated politeness in proactive library chat reference. By better understanding how politeness functions in chat reference, librarians will be able to adapt to a changing reference environment.