2017 Charleston Library Conference

If Google and Facebook are the masters of leveraging big data, consider the impact that institutional specific data might have for libraries to uncover causal relationships and predictive behavior from their user population. “Really big data” is an accepted trend in a variety of scholarly practices throughout academia. George Mason University Libraries conducted research using both uniform data and conversation transcripts to text mine three years of virtual reference chats, investigating its applicability for business analytics. Traditional data management systems are not capable of providing this type of real-time intelligence, but real transformative possibilities exist for management to identify misallocation of critical resources, opportunity to better integrate library resources and services, and to harvest authentic user conversations with compelling stories to build collaborative campus-wide relationships.