Questions asked at the virtual and physical health sciences reference desk: How do they compare and what do they tell us?

Abstract

The questions asked at the traditional reference desk are decreasing while questions asked at the virtual reference desk are on the rise. Over a one-month period, the types of reference questions asked at an academic health sciences library were coded. This paper examines and compares the types of questions asked at the current day reference desk versus the virtual reference desk. This paper also reviews past literature examining the types of questions asked via virtual reference and the traditional reference. © 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.