[Web4lib] ...Tracking... reference desk enquiries/transactions

[Craighton Hippenhammer]

Normally, tracking reference queries and circulation and reserve transactions are librarian functions, not library patron activities.  Integrated Library Systems usually take care of the last two and reference queries can be tracked in commonly available databases like Microsoft Access.  I'm not aware of software that would track library visits and reference desk transactions as such -- I'd recommend MS Access for that.  Reference IM communications could be saved, I suppose, but would have to saved into some organizing software or card system.  Home book cataloging/library management software like collectorz.com, Readerware (http://www.sorice.com/rwbooks.html), Book Librarian Plus (http://turbosystems.com/blw31.htm), and librarything.com could take care of part of what is being asked but would have problems with tracking reference interviews and what wasn't found. 

Social Web 2.0 book sharing web sites like www.shelfari.com, http://reader2.com/, and http://www.gurulib.com/ are not probably what is wanted either as they are likely to be too public and too limited.  Bibliographic software like http://www.biblioscape.com/ and http://www.endnote.com/ can help with tracking research citations, whether the actual materials have been found or not, but are not likely to help much in situations where no response has been returned and/or citations have not been found.  Perhaps PIM or PDA software that has tickler functionality would be more helpful for those purposes.

Craighton Hippenhammer
Information Technology Librarian
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, IL 60914



>>> "don warner saklad" <don.saklad at gmail.com> 8/18/2008 12:20 PM >>>
Around the web what is there that can be of use for the library users
interested in tracking their own reference desk enquiries/transactions
on long term research projects?...

What websites might offer library users a way or a variety of ways to
track?... their own library usage, their own transactions, their own
reference enquiries, their own book reserves/holds .

Some city library users want to track each of their several reference
enquiries/transactions . So that after some time goes by without
responses or responses that miss the mark they can followup asking for
review of the enquiries, or for example, enquiries redirected to other
divisions of the city library. From time to time librarians around the
web have mentioned websites that facilitate library users tracking
their own reference desk transactions, book reserves/holds  and other
related library transactions for researchers with multiple enquiries
or researchers using multiple libraries.