The geography of virtual questioning: mapping florida's Ask-a-Librarian service

Abstract

This study examined virtual questioning in geographic context by using GIS mapping to explore digital reference question-asking in the 67 counties and school districts served by Florida's statewide consortial "Ask a Librarian" service. Two levels of geographic analysis were used. Locations of online library portals through which users asked their questions were mapped, as well as the locations where users were situated according to their IP addresses while they asked their questions. The geographic data was analyzed in conjunction with users' demographic data (youth/adult and student/non-student status of questioners), and data on the types of questions that users asked. Results found that users' IP address locations did not always match the geographic locations of library portals which they used in accessing the service, and that some library entry portals attracted more widely geographically dispersed users with different questioning patterns than other portals. Issues in methodology and implications for further geographic studies in digital reference information-seeking research are discussed.