Assessing Chat Transcripts

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2025.vol10.4.562

Abstract

Ask Us is the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Libraries chat reference service. Since Ask Us is most people’s introduction to SMU Libraries, it’s essential the experience is positive. SMU Libraries model includes an Ask Us team overseeing the virtual reference program. Members of the three-person team consist of two instruction librarians and one access services librarian from across SMU Libraries. We assess chat transcripts regularly to ensure high-quality service. Using a form developed internally, the Ask Us Team evaluates reference interactions for relationship building, the reference interview, and instruction.

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Author Biographies

  • Rebecca Graff, Southern Methodist University

    Rebecca Graff (regraff@smu.edu) currently works as the Coordinator of SMU Libraries Reference & Instruction Intern Program and Humanities Research Librarian, at Southern Methodist University, where she has been employed for over twenty years. Rebecca earned her BA at Earlham College and her MILS at the University of Michigan. She is deeply involved with the Reference and User Services Association and is currently Vice-President/President-Elect of RUSA. Her professional interests include virtual reference, service assessment, and research consultation practices.

  • Melissa Johnson, Southern Methodist University

    Melissa Johnson (majohnson@smu.edu) is an Instructional Design & Educational Technologies Librarian at the Duda Family Business Library located in the David B. Miller Business Quadrangle, home of the Cox School of Business, and part of SMU Libraries at Southern Methodist University. She holds a MS in Library Science and a MS in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas. Her professional interests are instructional design, emerging technologies, and information literacy.

  • Shannon Adams, Southern Methodist University

    Shannon Adams (sdadams@smu.edu) serves as the Director of Access and Resource Sharing Services at Southern Methodist University (SMU) Libraries, where she oversees initiatives that enhance user access, streamline resource sharing, and support an inclusive academic environment. She is also the author of a professional development book for youth librarians and educators, published by Bloomsbury Publishing. Before joining SMU, Shannon worked in public libraries as an Adult Engagement Administrator, where she coordinated adult learning programs, community partnerships, and service improvements informed by patron and staff engagement. Shannon earned her Bachelor of Social Work from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, and later completed her Master of Science - Library Science at the University of North Texas. Throughout her career, Shannon has been guided by a commitment to equitable access, lifelong learning, and community connection—values that continue to shape her leadership within academic libraries today.

References

Reference and User Services Association (2023). Guidelines for behavioral performance of reference and information service providers. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidelinesbehavioral

Sheldrick Ross, C., Nilsen, K., & Radford, M. L. (2019). Finding out what they really want to know. In Conducting the reference interview (3rd ed., pp. 63–100). American Library Association.

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Published

2025-12-16

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 4 (2025): Assessment in Libraries

Section

Reports From the Field

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How to Cite

Assessing Chat Transcripts. (2025). International Journal of Librarianship, 10(4), 90-101. https://doi.org/10.23974/ijol.2025.vol10.4.562