Initiating engineering outreach reference services: Background and practice

Purpose - This paper seeks to present a history of the initiations of an outreach or satellite reference service and analysis based on experience with the project. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology involved an online survey, e-mail queries, and in-person surveys. Findings - A successful program was initiated in one site, but a second site failed to thrive. Evaluation of the second site led to the creation of criteria by which to judge future sites. Research limitations/implications - This article contains a survey which is not statistically valid, which offers anecdotal insight into current reference outreach practice. A method of creating an outreach program is offered, along with pitfalls associated with that method. Practical implications - This article offers a method of evaluation for physical sites external to the library that may be potential sites of reference services. Originality/value - Builds on current practice in engineering libraries and creates a more concrete method for initiating these sites than currently exists in engineering library literature.