1. Kristin Henrich, Reference Coordinator
University of Idaho Library
208.885.6584
libref@uidaho.edu
Reference Department

2. How Patrons Reach Us
 In person
 Phone
 Email
 Chat
 Text
 LibGuides

3. Who Uses Our Services?
 84% students
 6% faculty/staff
 5% community
 6%
unknown/other
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ue

4. What Kinds of Questions Do We Answer?
 80% Reference Questions
 Research-based; questions such as “How can I
find articles about…” or “Where can I find
information about…”. Some examples follow!
 20% Directional Questions
 Location-based; questions such as “Where’s the
bathroom?” or “Where can I find these call
numbers?”.

5.  I need information about zebra chips!
 Academic Search Premier
 Science Direct
 Plant Management Network
 CAB Direct
 WCL: Insect Pests of Potato
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6.  My favorite author stopped writing. Ideas for similar
books?
 Novelist Public Library Edition

7.  Help! I need primary sources on Teddy Roosevelt
and the Antiquities Act.
 The American West
 American Memory
 NYPL Digital Gallery
 PacNW Historical Newspapers
 WCL and Summit
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8.  I found these books on my topic, but how do I
know if they’re any good?
•Relevance to your topic:
table of contents, index
•Credibility: author
credentials, publisher
reputation
•Accessibility: intended
audience, assumed prior
knowledge
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9.  My paper is on declining fertility rates in America,
how this is changing our demographic structure,
and how this change in demography has
affected/caused our recent economic and
financial hardships.
 Search terms: [econometrics and fertility]
 ABI/Inform
 Business Source Premier
 Journal of Population Economics

10. Among Many Others…
 I’m supposed to find a phrase in a poem that “moves
me”?
 Info on Chinese gender stereotypes in American lit?
 Books on Lincoln conspiracy theories?
 Any good books on kitties?
 Building damage due to tsunamis produced by
earthquakes?
 ACT prep books?

11. How Do We Keep Track of
Everything?
 LibAnswers
 Serves as a “knowledge base”
 Runs a public interface and a librarian interface
 Patrons can use it to send questions to us via chat
or text
 Librarians can answer chat and text questions, and
also keep track of questions asked through other
formats

12. Patron Side Chat Feature

13. Patron Side Text Feature
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(208) 449-0841

14. Librarian Dashboard
Pendin
g Texts
Click here to
add reference
interactions

15. Librarian IM View
Queues
being
monitore
d
Patrons interacting with
chat
Active chat
window
Option to export directly
to statistics

16. Reference Statistics

17. Future Uses
 Other departments can use LibAnswers
 Other departments can use chat
 Ability to transfer questions between departments
 LibAnswers contains space to create a
“knowledge base” of commonly asked questions
that students can search independently

18. Image from http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7016/6632470867_c939222cd4_m.jpg