Spatiotemporal Distribution Change of Online Reference During the Time of COVID-19

IF 1.5 4区管理学 Q3 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Information Technology and Libraries Pub Date : 2022-12-19 DOI:10.6017/ital.v41i4.15097

Thomas Gerrish, N. Kong

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The goal of this project was to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the spatiotemporal distribution of the library’s online patrons, so that we could assess if the scheduled library reference hours are meeting the needs of the academic community. We collected each online reference patron’s location information via their IP address, as well as the timestamp of each online reference instance. The spatiotemporal distribution patterns were analyzed and compared before and after in-person instruction was suspended due to COVID-19 distance protocols and a closing of the campus in the 2020 spring semester. The results show that the geographic origins of reference questions redistributed after COVID-19 protocols were initially implemented and the university community underwent a temporary geographical redistribution. Reference question origins tended to move away from campus to other areas of the state, other states, and internationally. This population redistribution suggested that the library could adjust the online reference schedule to provide better access and service to patrons.

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新冠肺炎期间网络参考文献时空分布变化

该项目的目标是确定新冠肺炎大流行对图书馆在线读者时空分布的影响，以便我们能够评估预定的图书馆参考时间是否满足学术界的需求。我们通过每个在线参考客户的IP地址以及每个在线参考实例的时间戳收集了他们的位置信息。在2020年春季学期因新冠肺炎远程协议和校园关闭而暂停住院教学前后，对时空分布模式进行了分析和比较。结果表明，在新冠肺炎协议最初实施后，参考问题的地理来源重新分配，大学社区经历了临时的地理重新分配。参考问题的起源往往从校园转移到该州的其他地区、其他州和国际上。这种人口再分配表明，图书馆可以调整在线参考时间表，为读者提供更好的访问和服务。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Information Technology and Libraries 管理科学-计算机：信息系统

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

5.60%

发文量

审稿时长

1 months

期刊介绍： Information Technology and Libraries publishes original material related to all aspects of information technology in all types of libraries. Topic areas include, but are not limited to, library automation, digital libraries, metadata, identity management, distributed systems and networks, computer security, intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, information discovery tools, web-scale library services, cloud computing, digital preservation, data curation, virtualization, search-engine optimization, emerging technologies, social networking, open data, the semantic web, mobile services and applications, usability, universal access to technology, library consortia, vendor relations, and digital humanities.