Analysis of remote reference correspondence at a large academic manuscripts collection

Abstract

This paper analyzes 595 letter, phone, facsimile, and e-mail correspondence units sent to the Southern Historical Collection and General and Literary Manuscripts (SHC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995 and 1999, to observe the effects of providing online holdings information and the increased use of e-mail in reference correspondence. From 1995 to 1999, e-mail became the preferred method of inquiry, more questions came from casual users researching for personal reasons, more users took advantage of online holdings information to shape their reference questions, and the proportion of remote users visiting in person decreased. The paper concludes by suggesting ways for archivists to prepare for new influxes of remote researchers and methods to improve remote reference services.