"....McClure's findings on digital reference come down to this: Most libraries don't have good measures of the effectiveness of providing reference services electronically, and the only thing certain about the future of the rapidly changing reference environment is continued change. Dynamic, direct, and sometimes critical, McClure offered an eye-opening assessment of libraries' efforts to become 24/7 service providers. ...."
—from "Reference around the clock: is it in your future? The availability of 24/7 reference is less crucial than the capability to offer it." by Richard M. Dougherty. American Libraries May 2002 v33 i5 p44(3) Mag.Coll.: 111B3815.
Prof. Charles R. McClure, spoke about his research project, "Assessing Digital Reference Services" ; The Library of Congress, which is piloting its new and growing Collaborative Digital Reference Service, is one of the test sites for McClure's work on evaluating digital reference.
Dr. Charles R. McClure was the Krafft Professor of Information Studies and founder and Director of the Information Institute in Florida State University School of Information (iSchool). He retired from this position in 2021.
Previous to his tenure at FSU, McClure was a professor at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Oklahoma and earned the rank of Distinguished Professor at Syracuse University, School of Information Studies (one of only eight so named at the time). He also served as President of Information Management Consulting Services, Inc. He completed his Ph.D. in Information Studies at Rutgers University, earned a master’s degree in Library Science at the University of Oklahoma, a second master’s in American West History, and his bachelor’s in Spanish both at Oklahoma State University.
McClure was a prolific producer of books, refereed articles, conference papers, and research reports – with some 50 authored or co-authored books and hundreds of published articles, reports, etc. During his career, he was regularly listed as one of the most cited researchers in library/information science. He received the Library and Information Technology Association’s Lifelong Achievement Award in Information Science Research in 2019.
Over his career, McClure received numerous awards for his research and teaching from professional associations such as the Association of Library and Information Science Educators, the American Library Association, and the American Society for Information Science and Technology. He was also recognized as a Distinguished Alumni from the University of Oklahoma and Rutgers University.
(Source for biography and photo - Florida State University, News and Events) External
