Telephone Calls Received at an Academic Library's Reference Desk: A New Analysis

It has been established that much of the assistance provided to library patrons at reference desks does not require the knowledge and expertise of a professional librarian. Is the same thing true of the telephone calls received at reference desks in academic libraries? This article reports the results of one academic librarian's reference desk transaction log analysis which focuses on the categories of assistance provided to patrons who called the library's reference desk.