Building Effective Reference Services Roy Tennant.
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Transcript of Building Effective Reference Services Roy Tennant.
OutlineClassic Methods :– In-person– Telephone– E-mail
Moving Reference to the Web– Why?– Visions from Early Days– Technologies and Techniques
Winning Strategies
In-Person ReferenceConsidered essential by most librariesBenefits:– Personal, highly interactive– Can share collection– No technology needed
Drawbacks:– Users increasingly remote
and/or online– Requires coming to the library
Telephone ReferenceAlso considered essential by most libraries
Benefits:– Personal, highly interactive– Usually considered part of a staffed reference
desk
Drawbacks:– Cannot share collection or databases– Remote/online users cannot always call (may be
using the phone line to be on the Internet)
Email Reference Issues
Benefits:– Easy to offer (put up a form…)
Drawbacks:– Time delay, cannot help at the point of need
(major user’s concern)– Difficulty in conducting a reference interview
(major librarian’s concern)– Cannot share collection very effectively
The ProblemMost catalogs and search systems are difficult to understand and use Users need help at the moment they get stuck — email is inadequateUnless assistance is obvious and convenient, the user will remain stuckOther, readily available information sources can be convenient but inadequate (e.g., Google)We must be “in their face” [Anne Lipow]
Virtual Reference Technologies
Chat
Form sharing
Co-browsing
File transfer
Whiteboard
Highlighting
Voice over IP
Current Software Options
OCLC’s QuestionPoint (recently purchased the 24/7 product)
Tutor.com (recently purchased LSSI’s product)
Docutek’s VRLPlus
Virtual Reference Librarian Plus (VRLPlus) from Docuteck
Full disclosure: I’m on the Docutek’s Advisory Board
Virtual Reference Issues
No visual cues
Not everyone is articulate (or fast) at a keyboard
It is difficult to say “look at this” for print materials
Software issues (database authentication, usability, etc.)
Winning StrategiesEstablish protocols (what to answer, when and how to refer, etc.)
Create a common digital “ready reference” collection for digital reference librarians
Provide multiple and/or large monitors
Consider new staffing models
Train all participants
Solve the “where’s the bathroom” problem
Winning Strategies
Create a directory of reference network member library web sites and catalogs Create cheat sheets for searching catalog systems of member sites, common databases, etc.Set up librarian workstations to scan and share pages from print materialsPerform effective triage
Questions to Ask
How can we provide the best reference service for our users?
Where will our time/money/effort do the most good?
Are we overlooking new ways of doing things that may be more effective?
Recap
Modern reference service offers a suite of techniques — use each technique as appropriate for your audience/purpose to create holistic reference services
No one said it was easy, since you are basically building the airplane while flying it