Newest Book
Academic Library Research: Perspectives and Current Trends. Radford, M. L. & Snelson, P. (Eds.) (2008). Chicago: ACRL/ALA.


Photo by Victor Estrellado

Marie L. Radford, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Library Consultant
School of Communication, Information
& Library Studies
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Book Chapter,
Reference Service in Face-to-Face and Virtual Envrionments (with Lorri Mon). In Academic Library Research: Perspectives and Current Trends. Radford, M. L. & Snelson, P. (Eds.) (2008). Chicago: ACRL/ALA, pp. 1-47.

Guest Column
Radford, M. L. (Winter, 2008). A Personal choice: Reference service excellence. Reference and User’s Services Quarterly 48(2), pp. 108-115.

New Book
Virtual Reference Service: From Competencies to Assessment
Lankes, R.D., Nicholson, S., Radford, M. L., Westbrook, L., Silverstein, J., & Nast, P. (Eds.)(2008). NY: Neal-Schuman.
I'm one of the editors and author of the chapter: Interpersonal communication in virtual reference encounters in the Library LAWLINE Consortium (pp. 77-88).

Other Recent Publications

Radford, M. L. & Connaway, L. S.(2009) CREATing a New Theoretical Model for Reference Encounters in Synchronous Face-to-Face and Virtual Environments. Juried paper abstract published as Online Proceedings of the 2009 ALISE Conference to be held in Denver, CO, January 20-23, 2009.

Connaway, L. S., Radford, M. L., Dickey, T. J., Williams, J. D., & Confer, P. C. (June, 2008). Sense-making and Synchronicity: Information-Seeking Behaviors of Millennials and Baby Boomers. Libri (58), 123-135.
Click here for e-print (pdf192.4K/32 pp.)

Radford, M. L. (June, 2008). Review of: Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis, by Kathy Charmaz (2006, London: Sage Publications). Library & Information Science Research, 30(2), 158-159.

Radford, M. L. (January/February, 2008). How to conduct a focus group. Marketing Library Services, 22(1), 1-3.

Connaway, L. S., Radford, M. L., & Dickey, T. J. (December/January, 2008). On the trail of the elusive non-user: What research in virtual reference environments reveals. ASIST Bulletin, 34(2).

Radford, M. L. & Connaway, L. S. (February, 2007). “Screenagers” and Live Chat Reference: Living Up to the Promise. Scan. 26(1), 31-39.

Upcoming and Recent Presentations

Radford, M. L. & Connaway, L. S. (2009). CREATing a New Theoretical Model for Reference Encounters in Synchronous Face-to-Face and Virtual Environments. 2009 ALISE Conference, Denver, CO, January 20-23, 2009.

Radford, M. L. (2008). Cut to the Chase: Evaluating Services and Programs Using the Critical Incident Technique and Challenges for Reference Excellence: Realities & Possibilities. Wisconsin Library Association, Middleton, WI, November 6-7, 2008.

Radford, M .L. & Connaway, L. S. (2008). E-Valuating Virtual Viewpoints: User, Non-User, and Librarians Perspectives on Live Chat-Based Reference. The American Society for Information Science and Technology Conference, Columbus, OH, October 24-29, 2008.

Radford, M. L. & Connaway, L. S. (2008). Getting better all the time: Improving communication and accuracy in virtual reference. Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends, Denver, CO, August 4-5, 2008.

PowerPoint presentations and handouts for prior presentations relating to Seeking Synchronicity grant findings on chat reference are available on the "Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives" website.

Link to

School of Communication, Information & Library Studies, Rutgers University

Course Syllabi

Press Release for IMLS Grant

The Atlantic Journal of Communication

The Professors - I play keyboards with this cool band.

Gary P. Radford's Webpage



Contact Information
Phone: (732) 932-7500 x8233
Fax: (732) 932-6916
E-Mail
Mailing Address: School of Communication, Information & Library Studies
Rutgers University, 4 Huntington Street, Room 329
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1071

Blog: Library Garden

Radford Consulting
Radford Consulting E-mail

Academic Vita

Link to: "Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives" IMLS Grant for which I am co-principal investigator with Lynn Silipigni Connaway of OCLC.

Biosketch
I am a tenured Associate Professor at the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. Prior to this, from 2002 to August, 2004, I was Acting Dean at Pratt Institute, School of Information and Library Science. I was an Associate Professor at Pratt from 1996-2004, tenured in 2001. I have taught courses in Information & Communication Processes, Interpersonal Communication, Library and Information Science Theory, Reference Services, Management, Retrieving and Evaluating Electronic Resources, Online Searching, and School Media. I also conduct library research, evaluation, and training with Radford Consulting. I am an interdisciplinary scholar, with interests in the library and information field as well as in interpersonal communication and cultural studies.
Currently, my research focus is on interpersonal communication in reference encounters (face-to-face and in virtual environments), nonverbal communication, media stereotypes of librarians and libraries, qualitative assessment of traditional and virtual reference services and library programs, and cultural studies. I am active in both library and communication organizations, including , the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), and the Library Research Round Table of the American Library Association. Also, I am the Rutgers SCILS liaison to the New Jersey Library Association, the SCILS Alumni Association, and SCILS Beta Phi Mu Omicron Chapter. I am an Associate Editor of The Atlantic Journal of Communication and historian for the New Jersey Communication Association. Also, I am Past President of The New York State Communication Association.

My Books
Virtual Reference Service: From Competencies to Assessment.

Lankes, R.D., Nicholson, S., Radford, M. L., Westbrook, L., Silverstein, J., & Nast, P. (Eds.) (2008). NY: Neal-Schuman. I'm one of the editors and author of the chapter: Interpersonal communication in virtual reference encounters in the Library LAWLINE Consortium (pp. 77-88).


Web Research: Selecting, Evaluating, and Citing(2006) 2nd ed. with co-authors Susan Barnes and Linda Barr, was published by Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
Purchase this book at Barnes and Noble.

"The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library" was published in 1999 by the American Library Association/Association of College and Research Libraries, Chicago, Illinois. It is now out of print, but you can download it free of charge by clicking on the above title.

Copyright 2004, Marie L. Radford.
This site last updated November 4, 2008.