Enabling the roving reference librarian: wireless access with tablet PCs
Abstract
While many academic libraries are reporting fewer reference interactions, gate counts are not dropping at the same rate. To many students, asking questions is taking a risk that they will appear unknowledgeable. Librarians have branched out to find new ways to communicate with these students. This article describes the creation and testing of a roving reference strategy at the Texas A&M University Libraries that sought to re‐establish the face‐to‐face element by going directly to the student. Tablet PC technology was evaluated and utilized as a means to equip the librarians with the necessary electronic access as they roved in student study areas.
Keywords
Citation
Smith, M.M. and Pietraszewski, B.A. (2004), "Enabling the roving reference librarian: wireless access with tablet PCs", Reference Services Review, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 249-255. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907320410553650
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited