purpose the purpose of this paper is to formally assess the training program received by information studies graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 and the reference services they provided at a research-intensive university. design/methodology/approach a qualitative content analysis was used to evaluate if graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 incorporated the training they received in their provision of reference services. the 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 ’ virtual reference transcripts were coded to identify the level of questions asked, if a reference interview occurred and if different teaching methods were used by the 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 in their interactions. the in-person reference transactions recorded by the 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 were coded for the level of questions asked. findings the main findings demonstrate a low frequency of reference interviews in chat interactions with a presence in only 23 per cent of instances while showing that instructional methods are highly used by graduate student reference assistants and are present in 66 per cent of chat conversations. originality/value this study is of interest to academic libraries who wish to partner with information studies programs and schools to offer graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 valuable work experience. it aims to show the value that graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 can bring to reference services. furthermore, it highlights the importance of continuously developing training programs and assessing the per<br>formance of graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 working in these roles.