Referring academic library chat reference patrons: how subject librarians decide

• Published in: Reference services review Vol. 49; no. 1; pp. 94 - 110
• Main Author: Dempsey, Paula R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 06.05.2021; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Academic libraries; Best practice; Colleges & universities; Curricula; Decisions; Discipline; Health sciences; Humanities; Information literacy; Liaison work; Librarians; Libraries; Library and information science; Online reference work; Policies; Reference services; Research methodology; Social sciences; Students; Subject specialists; Success; United States > US; Chicago Illinois; Reference services; Empirical study; Chat; Research results; Virtual reference; Subject librarians; University libraries; Online reference; Academic libraries

Purpose The purpose of this study is to learn what factors liaison librarians in academic research libraries consider in determining whether to refer chat reference patrons to subject specialists. Design/methodology/approach Subject specialists were asked what policies guided their decisions to refe...