Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000

The 2nd International Conference on Integrated Information

Comparative Study on the Questions Asked through Digital andFace-to-face Reference Services
Keita Tsujia, Shunsuke Araib, Reina Sugac, Atsushi Ikeuchia, Fuyuki Yoshikanea*aFaculty of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-2 Kasuga, Tsukuba-city, Ibaraki-ken 305-8550, Japan.
Graduate School of Library, Information and Media Studies, University of Tsukuba, 1-2 Kasuga, Tsukuba-city, Ibaraki-ken 305-8550, Japan.
cCollege of Knowledge and Library Sciences, School of Informatics, University of Tsukuba, 1-2 Kasuga, Tsukuba-city, Ibaraki-ken 305-8550,
Japan.

b

Abstract
In Japan, only a few public libraries provide e-mail reference services. To help public libraries start e-mail reference services,
we investigated reference questions received by libraries via e-mail and traditional face-to-face services. We found that
research questions are more frequently observed among e-mail questions and questions about the local area are slightly more
frequently observed. Librarians who are planning e-mail reference services should be aware of these tendencies.
© 2012 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of The 2nd International Conference on Integrated Information.
Keywords: Reference questions; E-mail reference services; Digital reference services; Question types; Public libraries

1. Introduction
In Japan, only a few public libraries provide e-mail reference services. Tsuji et al. (2011) found that only
15.6% (31 out of 199) of municipal libraries in the Kanto area are providing them. However, considering that
almost all the prefectural libraries are providing e-mail reference services and the Internet environment is
becoming increasingly prevalent, many municipal libraries will be asked to provide e-mail reference services in
the near future. They should thus begin to prepare for it. We investigated reference questions received by libraries
via e-mail and traditional face-to-face services. If there are differences between the two, such information can beused to start e-mail reference services efficiently and effectively.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +81-29-859-1428; fax: +81-29-859-1093.
E-mail address: keita@slis.tsukuba.ac.jp

Author name / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000

2. Related Studies
Katz classified reference questions into four categories: (1) Direction, (2) Ready reference, (3) Specific search,and (4) Research [2]. Based on this, Sears classified questions into the following categories (although the Sears
reference predates the Katz reference): (1) Reference questions (Ready reference, Specific search, and Research),(2) Policy and procedural questions (database instructions, passwords, etc., and library policy clarification;
availability of a specific library service), and (3) Directional questions (location within the physical libraryenvironment, location on the library’s Web site, and location of places within the city or state) [3]. These
categories can be seen, with some variations, in [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Pomerantz also proposed other aspects ofclassification, such as subjects (topics) of question [9].

3. Investigations
In this section, we will explain the reference questions investigated and our classification schema.
3.1. Reference records
We asked six prefectural and four municipal libraries to provide their reference records. Two prefectural andthree municipal libraries agreed to our request; however, one library provided only a small number of records andone provided only the face-to-face ones. Therefore, we adopted the reference records of one prefectural library(Saitama Prefectural Libraries) and two municipal libraries (Yokohama City Central Library and Narita Public
Library) for our sample. The number of reference questions and periods during which they were collected areshown in Table 1 (henceforth, “N” represents the number of samples). We can see, for instance, that Saitama
Prefectural Libraries provided 99 face-to-face reference questions and 62 e-mail reference questions.
The problems of our sample are as follows: (1) it is not clear what kind of questions were recorded in eachlibrary and which policies were different from each other, (2) the periods during which the questions werecollected were different from each other, and (3) Saitama Prefectural Libraries and Yokohama City Central
Library only provided questions that were submitted to the reference record database maintained by the National
Diet Library (i.e., Collaborative Reference Database); what kinds of questions were chosen from their records andsubmitted to the database is unclear. We leave all of these for future research.
Table 1. Number of questions and the period during which they were collected
N
Saitama Prefectural Libraries
Yokohama City Central Library
Narita Public LibraryE-mailFace-to-faceE-mailFace-to-faceE-mailFace-to-face

99
62
49
34
6
132

Period(April 2010 to March 2011)(April 2010)(July 2010 to November 2010)(July 2010 to October 2010)(April 2002 and from July 2010 to December 2010)(April 2002 to September 2004)

Author name / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000

3.2. Question types
Based on the classification schema in the related studies, we classified the reference questions into thefollowing categories (henceforth, we call these categories traditional schema). Some definitions and examples
were borrowed from [2] and [8].
(1) Ready reference
Questions of a factual nature that can be answered quickly by consulting only one or two reference tools.
(a) Bibliography of known item
Questions requesting certain bibliographic information.
e.g., Who is the author of the book “Silent Spring”?
(b) Holdings of known item
Questions asking whether the library holds certain books or not.
e.g., Do you have “Silent Spring”?
(c) Fact-finding
Factual questions that can be answered easily.
e.g., How long is the Amazon River?
(2) Specific search questions
Questions which need books or lists of citations to answer. They are more difficult than Ready reference
questions and easier than Research questions.
e.g., What is the difference between the conservative and the liberal views on inflation andunemployment?
(3) Research questions
Questions requesting a particular kind and number of books or articles, etc. on a specific topic or wanting
clarification of a certain topic or matter.
(a) Topic
Questions requesting material or information on a certain topic.
e.g., What books are being written of knur works and making of them?
(b) Research
Factual questions or questions dealing with certain items or topics requiring clarification andexplication and many resources to answer.
e.g., When a child draws a house, there usually is a tree beside the house. What does this tree
symbolize? A brown trunk and a green “hat”?
(c) Person
Questions requesting information about a certain person.
e.g., Do you have material concerning the explorer Francisco de Orellana?
(4) Policy and Procedural Questions(a) Library policy
Questions dealing with library policy and the availability of a specific library service.
e.g., How are books selected and acquired by the library?

Author name / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000(b) Access to e-resources
Questions dealing with the availability and use of e-resources.
e.g., How can I use the Web of Science?
(5) Directional Questions(a) Location of physical items
Questions regarding the location of some item or service within the physical library environment.
e.g., Where is the catalog?
(b) Location in library Home Page
Questions dealing with the location of some service within the library’s Web site.
e.g., Where can I order ILL in your HP?
(c) Location of library
Questions about the location of the library.
e.g., How can I get to your library by car?
(6) Others
Questions fitting not into the other categories and also notes of thanks and suggestions regarding improving
the service.
e.g., Warm thanks for your excellent answers.
In addition, we classified questions by (1) subject, based on the Nippon Decimal Classification (henceforth
NDC) and (2) whether the questions are about the local area or not.

4. Results and Discussions
4.1. Classification by traditional schema
Results of traditional schema classification of reference questions received by Saitama, Yokohama, and Narita
libraries are shown in Tables 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Concerning Saitama Prefectural Libraries, the ratio of
Research questions of “Person” among e-mail questions (7.1%) is higher than that among face-to-face questions(1.6%). The statistical difference is at the 0.05 level. Similarly, at Yokohama City Central Library, the ratio of
Research questions of “Topic” among e-mail questions (38.8%) is statistically higher (at the 0.01 level) than thatamong face-to-face questions (8.8%). Concerning Narita Public Library, the ratios of Research questions of“Topic” and “Research” among e-mail questions are both statistically higher (at 0.01 level) than those among
face-to-face questions (on the other hand, the ratios of Specific search questions among e-mail questions of thesethree libraries are lower than those among face-to-face questions). In this respect, we can say that Researchquestions are more frequently observed in e-mail questions than in face-to-face ones, and in that sense, the former
are more difficult to answer than the latter. The examples of Research questions via e-mail are shown in Table 5.

Author name / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000
Table 2. Number of questions classified by traditional schema: Saitama Prefectural Libraries

Reference Questions

Ready reference

Specific-search questions
Research questions

Policy & Procedural Questions
Directional Questions

Bibliography of known-item
Holdings of known-item
Fact-finding
Topic
Research
PersonLibrary policy
Access to e-resources
Location of physical items
Location in library HP
Location of library

OthersTotal

E-mailFace-to-face
N
(%)
N
(%)
12
12.1
2
3.2
26
26.3
14
22.6
9
9.1
3
4.8
28
28.3
30
48.4
5
5.1
5
8.1
7
7.1
1
1.6
9
9.1
1
1.6
3
3.0
5
8.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
1.6
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
99
100.0
62
100.0

Table 3. Number of questions classified by traditional schema: Yokohama City Central Library

Reference Questions

Ready reference

Specific-search questions
Research questions

Policy & Procedural Questions
Directional Questions

Bibliography of known-item
Holdings of known-item
Fact-finding
Topic
Research
PersonLibrary policy
Access to e-resources
Location of physical items
Location in library HP
Location of library

OthersTotal

E-mailFace-to-face
N
(%)
N
(%)
0
0.0
3
8.8
3
6.1
6
17.6
1
2.0
2
5.9
14
28.6
16
47.1
19
38.8
3
8.8
10
20.4
3
8.8
2
4.1
1
2.9
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
49
100.0
34
100.0

Table 4. Number of questions classified by traditional schema: Narita Public Library

Reference Questions

Ready reference

Specific-search questions
Research questions

Policy & Procedural Questions
Directional Questions

OthersTotal

Library policy
Access to e-resources
Location of physical items
Location in library HP
Location of library

Bibliography of known-item
Holdings of known-item
Fact-finding
Topic
Research
PersonE-mailFace-to-face
N
(%)
N
(%)
0
0.0
8
6.1
0
0.0
14
10.6
1
16.7
27
20.5
0
0.0
66
50.0
3
50.0
10
7.6
2
33.3
2
1.5
0
0.0
5
3.8
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
6
100.0
132
100.0

Author name / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000
Table 5. Examples of Research questions via e-mail(a) When and why was the brick tunnel in 3 Hongo-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama City built?
(b) I would like to know the self-govering organ of foreigners in the enclave in Yokohama.
(c) I would like to read newspaper articles on the fighter plane Shinshogo which was donatedto military by Naritasan Shinshoji Temple in 1938 or 1939.
(d) Why there are two different origins for Ouragobo?
(e) I would like to know the characteristics of memorial services for the war dead from
Kamakura Era to the present.
(f) I would like to know the population and age structure in Kanto area in late Jomon Era.

4.2. Classification by subjects based on Nippon Decimal Classification
Results of NDC-derived subject classification of reference questions to Saitama, Yokohama, and Narita
libraries are shown in Table 6. Concerning Saitama Prefectural Libraries, the most frequently observed category
among both e-mail and face-to-face questions was “7 (Art)” (32.3% and 22.6%, respectively). On the other hand,concerning Yokohama City Central Library and Narita Public Library, the most and second-most frequently
observed categories among e-mail and face-to-face questions were “2 (History)” and “3 (Social Science)” (forinstance, 42.9% for “3” and 24.5% for “2” concerning e-mail questions to Yokohama City Central Library). The
difference might be caused by the contrast in nature between prefectural libraries (Saitama) and municipal
libraries (Yokohama and Narita). However, it might be caused by the difference of histories of cities. Yokohama
is famous as a historic port town which was opened to U.S. in 1859. Narita is also famous for the Naritasan
Shinshoji Temple (since 940) and residents’ fierce campaign dating back to the 1960s against the building of
Narita International Airport. On the other hand, Saitama is not a historically famous city or prefecture.
The difference between e-mail questions and face-to-face questions was not observed concerning the ratio of
NDC categories. Therefore, librarians who plan to start e-mail reference services might not need to prepare foranswering questions whose NDC-based subjects are different from face-to-face questions.
Table 6. Number of questions classified by subjects based on the Nippon Decimal Classification

Saitama Prefectural Libraries

E-mailFace-to-face

Yokohama City Central Library E-mailFace-to-faceNarita Public LibraryE-mailFace-to-face

N
(%)
N
(%)
N
(%)
N
(%)
N
(%)
N
(%)

0
1
1.0
2
3.2
1
2.0
3
8.8
0
0.0
5
3.8

1
2
2.0
1
1.6
1
2.0
3
8.8
0
0.0
13
9.8

2
8
8.1
9
14.5
12
24.5
8
23.5
1
16.7
25
18.9

3
6
6.1
9
14.5
21
42.9
7
20.6
3
50.0
32
24.2

4
8
8.1
10
16.1
4
8.2
4
11.8
1
16.7
14
10.6

5
6
6.1
5
8.1
5
10.2
2
5.9
1
16.7
3
2.3

6
1
1.0
4
6.5
2
4.1
1
2.9
0
0.0
6
4.5

7
32
32.3
14
22.6
2
4.1
5
14.7
0
0.0
16
12.1

8
4
4.0
1
1.6
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
5
3.8

9
31
31.3
7
11.3
1
2.0
1
2.9
0
0.0
13
9.8

Total
99
100.0
62
100.0
49
100.0
34
100.0
6
100.0
132
100.0

In the previous section, Research questions were more frequently observed among e-mail questions thanamong face-to-face ones. The distribution of NDC categories among e-mail research questions is shown in Table
7. The distribution is similar to that in Table 6. The NDC category “7” is the most common among Saitama email research questions, and categories “2” and “3” are the most common among Yokohama and Narita e-mailresearch questions.

Author name / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000
Table 7. Number of Research questions classified by subjects based on the Nippon Decimal Classification

Saitama Prefectural Libraries

N(%)
Yokohama City Central Library N(%)
Narita Public Library
N
(%)

0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0

1
1
4.8
1
3.2
0
0.0

2
2
9.5
8
25.8
1
20.0

3
4
19.0
13
41.9
2
40.0

4
1
4.8
3
9.7
1
20.0

5
1
4.8
5
16.1
1
20.0

6
0
0.0
1
3.2
0
0.0

7
9
42.9
0
0.0
0
0.0

8
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0

9
3
14.3
0
0.0
0
0.0

Total
21
100.0
31
100.0
5
100.0

4.3. Classification of the questions about the local area
The numbers and ratios of questions about the local area are shown in Table 8. We can see that questions about
the local area are slightly more frequently observed among e-mail questions than among face-to-face ones. For
instance, ratios of questions about the local area concerning Yokohama City Central Library are 28.6% and23.5%, respectively (i.e., 28.6 = 14/49*100 and 23.5 = 8/34*100, respectively). These three libraries do not allow
residents outside their prefecture and city to ask questions via e-mail. The only exceptions are questions about
their local area. It might explain the above-mentioned results.
Table 8. Numbers and ratios of questions about the local area
Questions about
the local area
Saitama Prefectural Libraries

E-mailFace-to-face
Yokohama City Central Library E-mailFace-to-faceNarita Public LibraryE-mailFace-to-face

11 (
6 (
14 (
8 (
4 (
37 (

11.1
9.7
28.6
23.5
66.7
28.0

)
)
)
)
)
)

We classified the questions about the local area based on the traditional schema of reference questions. The
results are shown in Table 9. In addition, we classified the questions about the local area by NDC-derived subject.
The results are shown in Table 10. We can see in Table 9 and 10 that, concerning Yokohama and Narita, researchquestions and questions about history (“2” in the NDC) and social science (“3” in the NDC) are frequently
observed among questions about the local area. It might be explained by their histories, as mentioned in theprevious section.
Table 9. Number of questions about local area via e-mail classified by traditional schema

Reference Questions

Ready reference

Specific-search questions
Research questions

Policy & Procedural Questions
Total

Library policy
Access to e-resources

Saitama
Yokohama
Narita
N
(%)
N
(%)
N
(%)
Bibliography of known-item
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
Holdings of known-item
4
36.4
0
0.0
0
0.0
Fact-finding
1
9.1
1
7.1
0
0.0
3
27.3
3
21.4
0
0.0
Topic
0
0.0
3
21.4
2
50.0
Research
0
0.0
5
35.7
2
50.0
Person
2
18.2
2
14.3
0
0.0
1
9.1
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
11 100.0
14 100.0
4 100.0

Author name / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2012) 000–000
Table 10. Number of questions about the local area via e-mail classified by NDC subject.

Saitama Prefectural Libraries

N(%)
Yokohama City Central Library N(%)
Narita Public Library
N
(%)

0
1
9.1
0
0.0
0
0.0

1
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0

2
2
18.2
8
57.1
1
25.0

3
2
18.2
3
21.4
2
50.0

4
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0

5
1
9.1
2
14.3
1
25.0

6
0
0.0
1
7.1
0
0.0

7
3
27.3
0
0.0
0
0.0

8
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0

9
2
18.2
0
0.0
0
0.0

Total
11
100.0
14
100.0
4
100.0

5. Conclusions
We investigated e-mail and face-to-face reference questions and found that research questions are more
frequently observed among e-mail questions. In addition, questions about the local area are slightly more
frequently observed among e-mail questions. Librarians who are planning to start e-mail reference services
should be aware of these tendencies in order to provide efficient and effective service. Future tasks are (1)collecting more sample questions from more libraries, (2) investigating e-mail questions from libraries that allow
non-residents to ask any types of questions (unlike the present paper’s three libraries), and (3) interviewing
librarians who are in charge of e-mail reference services and collecting information to provide the service
efficiently and effectively.

Acknowledgements
We deeply appreciate the kind help and cooperation by Narita Public Library, Saitama Prefectural Libraries,
and Yokohama City Central Library (in alphabetical order).

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