The desk’s report card

The Reference Desk is an AI assistant. It follows Dr. Bob Zybach’s published research method; it is not Bob. Once the exam is given, this page will show, in plain numbers, how the desk’s answers compare with answers worked by hand.

The exam

The exam has not been given yet. Whatever its score, the desk is an AI assistant that follows Dr. Bob Zybach’s published method; it does not speak for him.

When the reference librarian has worked parcels by hand, they will be listed here and the desk will be graded against them. None has been entered yet.

Pages with a “Checked by” stamp

0 of 30 pages that can carry a “Checked by” stamp have one.

No page carries a “Checked by” stamp yet. A page shows one only after a named person has read it and marked it right; the stamp gives that person’s name and the date.

How the exam will work

A parcel is worked out loud by hand: the owner’s question, the first clue, where to look next, the explanations thrown out, and the answer. The desk gets the same question, and its answer is graded: match, partly right, miss, or invented. “Invented” means the desk made up a name, a date, a record or a link, which is the one thing it must never do.

Assembled by software from the exam records.