Ask a Librarian Delaware
STAFF SUPPORT
Reference Tracker Forms
- Reference Weekly Tally form & instructions FY25
Editable/Customizable Word Doc – Reference Weekly Tally form & instructions FY25
- Online Reference Tracker Form – FY25 and beyond
-
- Each library has their own login credentials to enter reference statistics directly into the Counting Opinions/LibPas platform. These have been distributed in August 2024. Please email the help desk for assistance, if needed.
- Enter and submit reference transaction totals for the month compiled from the Reference Weekly Tally form (any transactions outside of the Ask a Librarian Delaware/LibAnswers platform) by the 5th of each month
- Please make sure the current month is populated in the date field
- Click Submit/Lock upon completion of data entry
- Online Reference Tracker Form – FY24
- Enter and submit reference transaction totals for the month compiled from the Reference Weekly Tally form (any transactions outside of the Ask a Librarian Delaware/LibAnswers platform) by the 5th of each month.
- Please make sure you choose the correct month for reporting in the Date drop-down menu [scroll to the correct fiscal year/month – e.g., July 2023 (FY2024) or June 2024 (FY2024)]
- Please enter totals for each column once the data is entered for in person/telephone questions and questions received directly to your library’s non-Ask a Librarian Delaware email.
- Delaware Libraries Story Journal online tracker form – Patron Compliments & Feedback
FROM RUSA, a division of the American Library Association
1.0 Definition of Reference Transactions
Reference Transactions are information consultations in which library staff recommend, interpret, evaluate, and/or use information resources to help others to meet particular information needs. Reference transactions do not include formal instruction or exchanges that provide assistance with locations, schedules, equipment, supplies, or policy statements.
Updated 2021 Simplified Definition of Reference:
Reference is providing assistance by using expertise in response to an information need. Please see this RUSA page for more details.
For LibPas Reporting Purposes
REFERENCE Data Element Definition (The definition was updated for FY2024 to include “scheduled and” in Note 1.):
Reference Transactions are information consultations in which library staff recommend, interpret, evaluate, and/or use information resources to help others to meet particular information needs.
Reference transactions do not include formal instruction or exchanges that provide assistance with locations, schedules, equipment, supplies, or policy statements.
NOTES:
(1) A reference transaction includes information and referral service, scheduled and unscheduled individual instruction and assistance in using information sources (including websites and computer-assisted instruction).
(2) Count Readers Advisory questions as reference transactions.
(3) Information sources include (a) printed and nonprinted material; (b) machine-readable databases (including computer-assisted instruction); (c) the library’s own catalogs and other holdings records; (d) other libraries and institutions through communication or referral; and (e) persons both inside and outside the library.
(4) When a staff member uses information gained from previous use of information sources to answer a question, the transaction is reported as a reference transaction even if the source is not consulted again.
(5) If a contact includes both reference and directional services, it should be reported as one reference transaction.
(6) Duration should not be an element in determining whether a transaction is a reference transaction.
(7) Do not include transactions that include only a directional service, such as instruction for locating staff, library users, or physical features within the library. Examples of directional transactions include, “Where is the reference librarian? Where is Susan Smith? Where is the rest room? Where are the 600s? Can you help me make a photocopy?”
Annual Count vs. Annual Estimate
If an annual count of reference transactions is unavailable, count reference transactions during a typical week or weeks, and multiply the count to represent an annual estimate.
A “typical week” is a time that is neither unusually busy nor unusually slow. Avoid holiday times, vacation periods for key staff, or days when unusual events are taking place in the community or in the library. Choose a week in which the library is open its regular hours.
Example: If there are four weeks sampled, multiply the totals for those four weeks by 13 to get an estimate for the full year. If the sample is done twice a year (one week at each time, two weeks total) multiply the count by 26 to get the estimated annual count.
Please contact the Statewide Coordinator if you have any questions.
