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Question 28. Number of weekly public service hours. Report an unduplicated count of the total public service
hours per typical full-service week (i.e., no holidays or other special accommodations) across both main library and
branches using the following method (corresponds to IPEDS): If a library is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday, it should report 40 hours per week. If several of its branches are also open during these
hours, the figure remains 40 hours per week. Should Branch A also be open one evening from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m., the total hours during which users can find service somewhere within the system becomes 42 hours per week.
If Branch B is open the same hours on the same evening, the count is still 42, but if Branch B is open two hours on
another evening, or remains open two hours later, the total is then 44 hours per week. Exclude 24-hour unstaffed
reserve or similar reading rooms. The maximum total is 168 (i.e., a staffed reading room open 7 days per week,
24 hours per day).
Questions 29-30. Instruction. Sampling based on a typical week may be used to extrapolate TO A FULL YEAR
for Questions 29 and 30. Please indicate if responses are based on sampling.
Question 29. Presentations to Groups. Report the total number of sessions during the year of presentations made
as part of formal bibliographic instruction programs and through other planned class presentations, orientation
sessions, and tours. If the library sponsors multi-session or credit courses that meet several times over the course of
a semester, each session should be counted. Presentations to groups may be for either bibliographic instruction,
cultural, recreational, or educational purposes. Presentations both on and off the premises should be included as
long as they are sponsored by the library. Do not include meetings sponsored by other groups using library meeting
rooms. Do not include training for library staff the purpose of this question is to capture information about the
services the library provides for its clientele. Please indicate if the figure is based on sampling.
Question 30. Participants in Group Presentations. Report the total number of participants in the presentations
reported on line 29. For multi-session classes with a constant enrollment, count each person only once. Personal,
one-to-one instruction in the use of sources should be counted as reference transactions on line 31. Please indicate if
the figure is based on sampling. Use a footnote to describe any special situations.
Question 31. Reference Transactions. Report the total number of reference transactions. A reference
transaction is
an information contact that involves the knowledge, use, recommendations,
interpretation, or instruction in the use of one or more information sources by a
member of the library staff. The term includes information and referral service.
Information sources include (a) printed and nonprinted material (b) machine-
readable databases (including computer-assisted instruction) (c) the library’s
own catalogs and other holdings records (d) other libraries and institutions
through communication or referral and (e) persons both inside and outside the
library. When a staff member uses information gained from previous use of
information sources to answer a question, the transaction is reported as a
reference transaction even if the source is not consulted again.
If a contact includes both reference and directional services, it should be reported as one reference transaction.
Duration should not be an element in determining whether a transaction is a reference transaction. Sampling based
on a typical week may be used to extrapolate TO A FULL YEAR for Question 31. Please indicate if the figure is
based on sampling.
EXCLUDE SIMPLE DIRECTIONAL QUESTIONS. A directional transaction is an information contact that
facilitates the logistical use of the library and that does not involve the knowledge, use, recommendations,
interpretation, or instruction in the use of any information sources other than those that describe the library, such as
schedules, floor plans, and handbooks.
Questions 32-33. Circulation. For Question 32, count the number of initial circulations during the fiscal year from
the general collection for use usually (although not always) outside the library. Do not count renewals. Include
circulations to and from remote storage facilities for library users (i.e., do not include transactions reflecting
transfers or stages of technical processing). Count the total number of items lent, not the number of borrowers. For
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