The digital reference research agenda

Abstract A research agenda for the study of digital reference is presented. The agenda stems from a research symposium held at Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts in August 2002. The agenda defines digital reference as “the use of human intermediation to answer questions in a digital environment.” The agenda also proposes the central research question in digital reference: “How can human expertise be effectively and efficiently incorporated into information systems to answer user questions?” The definition and question are used to outline a research agenda centered on how the exploration of digital reference relates to other fields of inquiry.