Cost, Statistics, Measures, and Standards for Digital Reference Services: A Preliminary View

Abstract

This paper reports on work from two studies in progress related to assessing digital library reference services and developing standards that support such services. The paper suggests that two types of standards – utilization and technical – should be considered together in the costing, statistics, and measures for digital reference services. The digital reference community has the opportunity to embed quality standards and assessment data into software and infrastructure by linking technical and utilization standards early in the evolution of digital reference markets. Such an approach would greatly enhance the collection and analysis of a range of cost data related to digital reference service.