Developing a Model for Reference Research Statistics

Abstract

The article explores the use of the Warner Model of reference question classification to aid in the analysis of services provided by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which was formed through the merger of a public and academic library in San Jose, California. The Warner Model is described as categorizing reference questions into four levels of increasing complexity. Reference services provided by the library, including live and virtual reference services, are examined. The benefits of training in tiered reference and question levels is also discussed.