Information Service Types
- Kat King
- Kat King
We collect data about most types of information services we offer to inform decision making and for external reporting. This page has descriptions of what each type of service is, to help you decide how to record your data.
Information about the specific data fields we are collecting is in this spreadsheet.
Link to the Information Services Data Airtable Interface
SSO sign in required - reach out to Lib-aux@princeton.edu for access
Consultations
Consultations are sessions with one or a just few patrons in which you offer tailored assistance based on the patron's needs. Consultations are usually by appointment and may take some preparation. These sessions can take place in person, or by video call or email.
Record all consultations on the Info Services Data form.
Note:
We aren’t currently pulling data from LibCal about consultations scheduled there, so please continue to record sessions manually.
Course Instruction
Course Instruction is a group session given to students of a registrar listed course, and typically takes place during that class's usual meeting time.
Record all non-Special Collections course instruction on the Info Services Data form.
Workshops
Workshops are group events planned and lead by a library employee that are not a part of a registrar course. Workshops may include instruction on how to use the library, sharing objects from our collections, teaching specialized skills, or opportunities for patrons to do specific work with library support. Workshops can be for a specific group (e.g. juniors in a specific department), open to the Princeton community, or open to the public.
Record all workshops on the Info Services Data form.
Tours
Tours may be for an individual or a group, and involve showing attendees around one of our buildings to share information about our history, collections, or services.
If you plan and lead a tour, record it on the Info Services Data form.
If someone organizes a set of tours which will be lead by others (e.g. for reunion weekend), the organizer should record the tours. If you would like a record of the individual tour you lead, you can also record it on the form, but please add the organizer in the “other presenter” field to help us with de-duplication.
Note:
sometimes a tour may be a part of a consultation, workshop, or course instruction, in that case use your judgement to select the best category. There is no need to record it twice.
Liaison Outreach
Liaison Outreach is for events or sessions planned by someone outside the library, which you attend to interact with patrons in your capacity as a liaison.
You do not have to record every activity you do in your capacity as a liaison. Record outreach activities you’d like a record of on the Info Services Data form.
Virtual Reference
Virtual Reference are reference inquiries you answer through email, chat, or phone calls. A reference inquiry is about the content of some information resource, about a research or teaching practice or approach, or other information that supports a patron's teaching, learning, or research.
Questions about library policies or procedures do not count as reference interactions.
Virtual Reference in individual emails
Record virtual reference interactions you have in your own email on the Virtual Reference Form. We need the total number of interactions each week, divided into the major patron groups when possible.
Virtual Reference in LibAnswers
Virtual Reference which happens in a LibAnswers chat or queue doesn’t need to be recorded elsewhere, but please answer any post interaction questions in the LibAnswers interface.
How to count virtual reference interactions
You will have to use your judgement when deciding what counts as a single virtual reference interaction. Patron inquiries sometimes have more than one question, involve several emails back and forth, or are forwarded to others who can offer better assistance.
Generally, a single inquiry is one interaction, even if it has more than one question, or takes a few responses to answer.
If you feel the complexity of the exchange is more like a consultation, you can record the interaction as a consultation instead of virtual reference, but be sure to select 'asynchronous online' for the mode.
If more than one library employee is involved in answering the email, anyone who gave the patron reference information during the exchange can record it in their VR stats. If you just forward the email to the appropriate person, you don't need to record it.
Service Point Interactions (desk stats)
Some of the interactions which happen at our service points count as information services for our external reporting (for example reference queries and referrals). It can also be useful to record data about desk interactions to support assessment, staffing and training. Because our service desks have different services and staffing models, we don’t have a single method of collecting data about these information services. See the Desk Stats page for more information.