Assessing Client Needs

1
Assessing Client Needs

• Digital Reference Information Retrieval
• LIS 536Winter, 2009
• Heidi Julien

2
Determining clients information needs

• What do you need to know about the client?
• What do you need to know about the topic?
• What do you need to know about your own abilities
  to meet the clients needs?

3
Remember question negotiation!

• People dont know how to find the information
  they need
• People dont always know what information they
  need
• People dont know how to express their needs
• Do you have anything on housing? may mean What
  are rights of a tenant in a rental situation

4
Information-seeking principles

• peoples need for help (or information) arise in
  context of particular situations
• information-seeking behavior dependent on variety
  of factors, including physical psychosocial
  variables
• accessibility of information is an important
  determinant of information seeking behavior

5
Information-seeking principles

• people prefer to seek information from other
  people, particularly from those similar to
  themselves
• people seek emotional support from information
  providers
• people have preferred (habitual) methods of
  information seeking

6
Information seeking principles--implications for
libraries

• people don't necessarily classify information as
  libraries do - e.g. along strict disciplinary
  lines
• people don't necessarily want to ask for help
• clients don't distinguish between different
  library positions

7
Information seeking principles--implications for
libraries

• Just because information is 'given' to a person,
  doesn't mean they will 'use' it. People may
  accept or reject information depending on their
  mood, the trustworthiness of the source, their
  past experiences, the degree to which the
  information 'fits' with their existing mental
  models or knowledge structures, the degree to
  which information challenges existing beliefs or
  values, etc.
• The most used information sources are other
  people--friends, family, colleagues (invisible
  college)--'formal' information sources are often
  the last resort

8
How Does Digital Change Reference?

• The client must wait for a reply this time lag
  becomes very important when the reference
  transaction becomes a series of emails.
• Your privacy may be at stake both client and
  librarian have been recorded what will happen
  to this information?

9
How Does Digital Change Reference?

• There is a technological skill requirement even
  if basic may be a barrier
• Possibly limits question negotiation because it
  is a more effortful communication than talking
• Add communication barriers that have to do with
  written expression

10
How Does Digital Change Reference?

• Technological failure may be a big enough problem
  to prevent use of the service
• Lack of physical presence has led to abuse of
  these services for some people it is easier to
  become disrespectful when there is a good chance
  there will be no accounting for it

11
How Does Digital Change Reference?

• As a digital librarian it is your responsibility
  to compile your own, or help compile, a virtual
  reference library. This means librarians are
  more personally responsible for their own
  resources instead of the library buying the books
  and having them sit available for you when you do
  your reference shift.

12
How Does Digital Change Reference?

• Asynchronous
• The reference interview is an email or a web
  form. For example
• The Library of Congress Ask a Question
  http//www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/ask-digital.html
• The Internet Public Library Ask
  http//www.ipl.org/div/askus

13
How Does Digital Change Reference?

• Synchronous
• The reference interview is conducted live but
  without visual contact. This prevents
• Use of visual cues
• Trust that the system is working when waiting for
  a response while looking for information the
  librarian must also attend to sending short
  messages confirming presence

14
A Look at Assessing Individual Needs

• How can you assess a clients needs
• Interpretation of the question restatement
  helps
• Web forms that provide useful information such as
  age, purpose of information, geographic location

15
A Look at Assessing Individual Needs

• Synchronous DR you may have to assess what the
  clients technology or technological know-how
  will allow you to do.

16
A Look at Assessing Group Needs

• How and why would you to assess group needs?
• How a look at the literature, a survey,
  experience providing help to the group
• Why because even though as a librarian you may
  provide individual reference, the people you
  provide it to make up a group or groups of
  people who have things in common

17
A Look at Assessing Group Needs

• Before you even go online, part of your
  assessment may involve addressing how you will
  get your group to use DR what needs do they
  have that are well serviced by DR and how do you
  get them to realize that so that they can take
  advantage of DR service

18
A Look at Assessing Group Needs

• For example, when providing digital reference,
  clients can be grouped into categories such as
• Age
• Occupation
• Information need such as medical, hobby,
  educational, genealogy

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A Look at Assessing Group Needs

• Group commonalities may indicate requirement for
  information such as
• Kids Help Phone http//www.kidshelpphone.ca/en/
• Seniors information services http//www.seniors.go
  v.ab.ca/services_resources/Info_ServiceOffices/ind
  ex.asp