Reference Statistics
Taking a short break from the bibliometric work on research impact, I was tasked to analyze the reference transaction data collected at an integrated circulation and reference desk. The purpose was to identify any trends and variations between the Spring, Fall and Winter semesters in terms of the overall reference activities as well as the distribution of different types of question asked by the library users. According to the data, most of the reference transactions occurred in the afternoons. A line graph also revealed that while the number of reference transactions in the morning rose steadily to reach the peak afternoon hours, the evening reference activity maintained a relatively stable demand. These results might carry implications on staffing and resource allocation for the library’s future strategic planning.
Subject Guide Updates
With the recent launch of the new library website, some library jargons, such as “Primo” (the library catalogue) and “ILL” (interlibrary loan), had been changed to plain language on the main webpages to help users understand the content as quickly and completely as possible. However, individual subject librarians are responsible for updating their own subject guides within the library website to reflect those changes. In preparation for an upcoming instruction session on library resources for health informatics and public health, I worked with the Health Liaison Librarian to update the relevant subject guide. Besides replacing a set of predetermined library jargons, updating any broken hyperlinks and removing any obsolete video tutorials, I was also tasked to streamline some of the off-campus access, interlibrary loan and RefWorks citation management procedures from the users’ perspectives. As one of the first subject guides being updated for the new library website, I provided feedback to the website team and kept detailed documentation on the updating process for future reference.
The Incubator. 
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