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Question types in public libraries' digital reference service in Finland: Comparing 1999 and 2006

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  • Piritta Numminen
  • Pertti Vakkari

Abstract

This study analyzes to which degree the question types addressed to a digital reference service run by a consortium of public libraries have changed between the Years 1999 and 2006. The data consist of representative samples of reference questions to a Finnish “Ask a Librarian” digital reference service in the years studied. Questions were classified based on a taxonomy refining earlier major taxonomies. The proportion of ready reference questions had increased from 33 to 45% whereas the proportion of subject‐based research questions had decreased from 57 to 47%. Among the former, fact‐finding questions had especially increased, and among the latter, topical search questions had decreased. These changes in the popularity of question types are likely related to the way people are searching on the Internet. It is concluded that the Internet has somewhat reduced the traditional role of public libraries in mediated topical searching.

Suggested Citation

  • Piritta Numminen & Pertti Vakkari, 2009. "Question types in public libraries' digital reference service in Finland: Comparing 1999 and 2006," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(6), pages 1249-1257, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:60:y:2009:i:6:p:1249-1257
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.21047
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    Cited by:

    1. Erik Choi & Chirag Shah, 2016. "User motivations for asking questions in online Q&A services," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(5), pages 1182-1197, May.
    2. David Bodoff & Daphne Raban, 2012. "User models as revealed in web-based research services," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(3), pages 584-599, March.
    3. Rubia Khan & Arif Khan & Sidra Malik & Haroon Idrees, 2017. "Virtual Reference Services through Web Search Engines: Study of Academic Libraries in Pakistan," Publications, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-13, March.

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