Unobtrusive Performance Evaluation of Reference Librarians in Academic Libraries of Korea

비 통보식 조사를 통한 참고사서 업무능력 평가

The purposes of this study are to confirm the applicability of the unobtrusive evaluation to Korean libraries, to develop survey forms, check lists and evaluation criteria appropriate for Korean libraries, to analyze the relationship between the test variables and the performance level, to find out the causes of poor service if any, and to propose measures for improving the quality of reference services. The main results of the analyses are as follows : $\cdot$ The accuracy of answers was correlated to appropriateness of search process, way of providing answer, usage of language, approachability and use of second materials in the order named. That is, there was a strong correlation between accuracy and the variables related to librarian's behavior. $\cdot$ There was no statistically significant relationship between accuracy and the environmental aspects of reference department such as number of professional librarians, self-evaluation of reference collection, etc. $\cdot$ The main reasons for failing to give accurate answers were found to be weaknesses in understanding questions. developing search strategy logically and relating the querries to available information sources.