Electronic mail reference services in the public library

Although more and more libraries are offering electronic mail reference ser vices, little information about these services has been reported. We conduc ted an exploratory survey to examine public library e-mail reference servic es and the patrons who use them. Data collection techniques included a ques tionnaire mailed to participating libraries and a Web-based questionnaire c ompleted by library patrons. Data gathered included: (1) information on the provision and administration of e-mail reference services provided by publ ic libraries across the United States; (2) characteristics of public librar y a-mail reference patrons and their satisfaction with the service they rec eived; and (3) classification of e-mail reference questions received by pub lic libraries. Characteristics of the e-mail reference services varied cons iderably, but the patrons, citing ease and convenience as the major reasons for using such services, were mostly satisfied with what they received.