Seeking peer assistance: Use of e-mail to consult weak and latent ties

This article examines university reference librarians' use of electronic mail (e-mail) for requesting assistance from weak and latent ties within their own professional community. Additionally, the research explored the librarians' perceptions regarding e-mail's influence on their own abilities to develop their professional network. The extent and frequency of contact initiation via e-mail were investigated in relationship to several professional and personal background characteristics, as well as proximity to other peer institutions. A Web-based survey indicated that many academic librarians use e-mail to directly contact completely unacquainted or loosely acquainted peers for purposes of seeking help with active reference queries. However, the frequency of use is quite low.