The Relationship Between Cultural Diversity and User Needs in Virtual Reference Services.

The article focuses on a study of virtual reference transactions of non-traditional Caucasian and African American library users. The data for the study originated from requests sent by distance education students to a reference desk. It was found that on average, 10.5 messages were sent by African American users, while 7.5 messages were sent by Caucasian users. The study found that the African Americans asked more questions in the second messages, while their Caucasian counterparts asked more technical questions. The study suggests that African American students need more library support.