Leveraging Student Research Consultants to Support Reference Services: A Case Study Comparison of Services Before and During the Pandemic

Abstract

The pandemic affected all aspects of daily life, including how library reference services are provided. This case study reviews and analyzes the sudden changes in the training and responsibilities of student research consultants (SRCs) who had to switch from in-person to online reference services. The university library at Cal State LA uses a peer-research model with SRCs providing the first tier of reference interactions. In this study, we examined the number and the duration of reference transactions, the READ Scale distribution, usage of reference services, and the ratings of the reference service during the pre-COVID and COVID periods. In fall 2020, study results showed an overall decline of reference interactions with changes in duration, READ Scale distribution, and researcher type. We hope other libraries can learn from our experiences.

Keywords:

• Library reference services
• student research consultants
• COVID-19 pandemic
• READ Scale
• virtual reference