Seeing a large uptick in the use of our chat reference service during the pandemic, Anne Arundel Community College librarians wanted to find ways to investigate how we might best teach information literacy skills and concepts in a chat reference context. After five years of gathering, analyzing, and acting on data, this project has proven so beneficial in so many ways that we plan to continue annual assessments indefinitely. The impact of this project ripples through all our instructional efforts, from our chat service to all kinds of reference interactions, from our information literacy classes to our embedded librarian program.
Participants will: 1. Discuss a mixed methods approach for assessing a chat reference service for evidence of information literacy instruction. 2. Explore ways to use chat reference assessment for data-driven decision-making. 3. Identify approaches that are critical for developing a community of practice around chat reference assessment activities.
