access or awareness: identifying relationships between reference and other dimensions of public...
TRANSCRIPT
ACCESS OR AWARENESS?IDENTIFYING RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN REFERENCE AND OTHER DIMENSIONS OF PUBLIC SERVICES
#ACRLPUBSERV
Amanda L. FolkUniversity of [email protected]://pitt.libguides.com/amandafolk
THE BIG QUESTION
Do the number of instruction sessions, participants in instruction sessions, service points, and service hours predict the number of yearly reference transactions between 2006 and 2011 at ARL libraries?
Which is more important in terms of yearly reference transactions… access (service points, service hours)? awareness (instruction sessions, instruction session participants)?
COMPETING HYPOTHESES
C. Paul Vincent, “Bibliographic Instruction and the Reference Desk: A Symbiotic Relationship,” 1984.
Library instruction is not enough to create an independent, self-reliant library user in light of the increasingly complex information landscape.
MORE INSTRUCTION=MORE REFERENCE
E. Stewart Saunders, “The Effect of Bibliographic Instruction on the Demand for Reference Services,” 2003.
Library instruction should create an independent, self-reliant library user.
MORE INSTRUCTION=LESS REFERENCE
WHO’S RIGHT?
METHOD The sample includes data collected between 2006 and 2011 for 91 ARL Libraries… university-affiliated, in the United States, with complete data for all variables examined.
Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis for each year examinedDependent VariableReference transactions
Independent VariablesInstruction sessionsInstruction session participantsService pointsService hours
Control VariablesTotal library expendituresFull-time student enrollmentNumber of faculty
WHAT IS OLS?
OLS is used to… Understand the relationship between a dependent variable (e.g. reference transactions) and independent variables (e.g. instruction sessions, service points) and/or control variables (e.g. enrollment)
Make predictions about the dependent variable based on the best-fit line determined in the regression analysis
Limitations of OLS include… Only works well for linear relationships Sensitive to outliers and multicollinearity Cannot determine causality
HOW DO I UNDERSTAND THE RESULTS?
Sample size
FINDINGS
AWARENESS! In both the “regular” (Models 1a and b) and log-transformed (Models 2a and b) models, the numbers of instruction sessions and participants in those sessions were statistically significant in almost every year examined.
The numbers of service points and service hours were not statistically significant in any of the four models.
Based on 2011 data, Each additional library instruction session could result in just over 30 additional reference transactions.
Each additional library instruction participant could result in 1 to 2 additional reference transactions.
BUT IS ALL OF THIS MEANINGFUL? Yes and no.
THANK YOU!
#ACRLPUBSERV
Amanda L. FolkUniversity of [email protected]://pitt.libguides.com/amandafolk