Consultation DefinitionBelow is how ACRL describes a consultation.
Consultations are one-on-one or small group appointments that are often scheduled in advance, occur outside of the classroom or a service point, and require staff preparation or equivalent previous relevant experience. Include interactions that took place in person or were conducted by phone, e-mail, Web interface, or other medium. Include appointments made with staff for archives and special collections. This may include any walk-up transactions if the person initially asked could not answer the question and the question is referred to another person with the appropriate and aligned knowledge, no matter what the length or topic discussed.
A specific example of a walk-up transaction becoming a consultation is when a question posed at the reference desk cannot be answered at the desk at that moment for whatever reason. The person at the desk may encourage the patron to schedule an appointment or contact an appropriate person in their office to see if they are available. If an appropriate person is available and comes out to the desk, or invites the patron back to their office, this would be a reference consultation albeit unscheduled.
