R U There? How to Reach a Virtual Audience Through Affordable Marketing Strategies

ABSTRACT

Virtual reference is a vital service component of many libraries. Whether serving college students or the general public, a real-time reference service demands highly trained staff and quality resources. What can administrators do to make sure their users make the most of this cutting-edge service? The University at Buffalo (UB) was one of the first universities to establish a virtual reference service. Known as Instant Librarian, the chat room thrives as a major public service without placing a drain on staff or budget. This article discusses the marketing strategies UB applies to chat reference, including advertising, use of icons, and user surveys for assessment.     

Developing a Chat Reference Training Program

ABSTRACT

In the last few years, chat reference services have been implemented by public, college and university libraries. One important aspect of the chat reference service is library staff training. Literature shows that this is a vital step in offering a chat reference service. Library staff need to be well-trained in areas of chatting, reference interviewing in a digital environment and using electronic resources, such as the Internet and databases. This article discusses the chat reference training program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The following text provides an outline for establishing a chat training program including planning, organization, implementation and assessment. Areas of discussion include the chat reference interview, chatting and patron management techniques.     

It Wasn't Raining When Noah Built the Ark

SUMMARY

In 2004, ten libraries in the Texas A&;M University System began AskNow, a collaborative pilot project offering a chat-based virtual reference service to patrons. This article attempts to describe one of these libraries' experience with implementing virtual reference service.     

The Information Literacy Challenge

Abstract

Technological changes are occurring rapidly. As one result, students entering college are bringing very disparate computer skills and attitudes. Some students are reluctant to embrace new technologies; others demand electronic resources for all assignments. By considering the computer access and Internet resources available to elementary school students today, we can only imagine what our users of tomorrow will expect from libraries. Although college students may arrive at our libraries with increased computer skills, their knowledge of electronic information may be lacking. Definitions of information literacy and an overview of information literacy skills are outlined. The Digital Information Literacy program at The University of Texas at Austin, as well as the technological environment and facilities at the institution, serve as a case study for integrating information literacy skills into traditional services and partnerships.     

HawkHelp

SUMMARY

This article describes the factors that influenced the design of a chat reference service that meets the needs of distance learners as well as traditional students. Emphasis is placed in the importance of collaborative projects, evaluation of software, and planning the organizational structure. An innovative “peer and tier” staffing initiative may extend hours and free reference librarians to concentrate on research and in-depth questions. Finally, a planning effort by information services may lead to a one-stop shopping service that will include student services that often are problematic for the distant learner (counseling, enrollment, financial aid, etc.).     

Build It (and Customize and Market It) and They Will Come

ABSTRACT

Like other academic libraries, the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh (ULS) continues to invest in providing anytime, anywhere access to research materials in electronic format. While there are obvious benefits for users in this concomitant increase in complexity for these same users, with many of them, especially undergraduates, turning to the speed and simplicity of Google and away from the complexity of library sponsored electronic resources. Seeking ways to both maximize our investment in full text resources, and promote easy access to this universe of electronic resources for our users, the ULS felt strongly that a navigational solution had to be found, and in 2004 began the process of implementing a federated search tool.

This article discusses the collaborative process between the University Library System and its federated search vendor, and discusses the decision making process behind the customizations made by the ULS to its federated search system. The article also addresses the process of working with a professional marketing organization to developing a marketing message and supporting materials to promote its federated search system, and finally briefly looks at usability and usage statistics to assess the degree to which the Zoom! federated search system has met the goal of providing fast, easy access to high quality information. doi:10.1300/J136v12n03_07     

Centralizing Information About Library Services and Resources

SUMMARY

The School of Information Resources and Library Science at the University of Arizona (UA) has a mix of local and distance students in its program. The librarian at the UA Library who works with this program developed a Web site that centralizes information about several library services and resources that benefit distance learners: online orientation and research guides, chat reference, document delivery, and more. Bringing together this information with a focus on distance learners provides a platform for delivering the library to all users, whatever their distance from the library.     

Page Us

ABSTRACT

When patron workstations are located far from the reference desk, service suffers because patrons can't easily contact staff. While in-house chat services offer a partial solution to this problem, these services fail to provide the face-to-face element that the literature shows is critical for effective reference service. This study analyzes NCSU Libraries' method for solving this problem, a hybrid service that combines features of in-person and virtual reference service.     

A Historical Overview of Internet Reference Services for Distance Learners

SUMMARY

The advent of library services and collections on the Internet revolutionized reference services to students enrolled in distance learning programs. Prior to the Internet, reference librarians who supported distance learning programs had few methods, and many of them costly, to provide the equivalent library services advocated by the ACRL Guidelines. Through the Internet, these librarians were able to approximate the services and resources that had always been available to students who came into the library. This article describes the development of reference services on the Internet in a variety of libraries that support distance learners.     

Trying it on for Size

ABSTRACT

Most colleges are continuing to see growth in their online education programs. Academic libraries are attempting to strike a balance between traditional library offerings and new online resources and services. Determining how to allocate funds is complicated by the fact that many students in online classes today live near enough campus to come to the library. Should libraries at institutions where most online students live near campus devote scarce resources to providing services such as online reference? One community college library is attempting to answer that question by testing online reference with Elluminate vClass in a limited way.     

Developing Skype-Based Reference Services

ABSTRACT

Internet voice and video calling have demonstrated a dramatic rise in quality in the past several years and have quickly become communication technologies with a disruptive impact on society. Librarians, who regularly adopt such technologies in outreach and public services, should evaluate Web-calling programs as potential sources of innovative reference programming. This article describes the development of Skype video and Internet telephony pilot reference services at the Ohio University Libraries and considers the utility of Skype and VoIP in a library setting.     

Twenty Years of Virtual Reference

ABSTRACT

In observance of the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the first journal article devoted to virtual reference, the author explores early e-mail and chat reference services.     

Slashdotting Digital Library Resources

This study analyzes 1557 chat reference questions received at Grand Valley State University Libraries over four semesters to determine the quantity and nature of the questions. Results indicated that use of chat reference was low and that less than a quarter of chat questions required a librarian to answer. The cost of a librarian answering a chat question ranged from $37 to $439 per question. The findings suggest that assigning chat reference to trained reference assistants will not affect patron service and that it is not cost effective to use reference librarians to answer chat questions.     

Burning the Midnight Oil: Librarians,Students, and Late-Night Chat Reference at the University of Notre Dame

Late-night chat reference was a service offered by University of Notre Dame reference librarians from November of 2007 until May of 2010. It was staffed by local Notre Dame librarians and was available to users from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday evenings during the academic year. Data showed that the number of questions asked during late-night chat hours was comparable to the number being asked during regular reference chat hours. Findings showed that the complexity of the chat questions being asked after hours was greater than that of chat questions asked during regular hours and that of reference desk transactions as a whole. Late-night chat reference was a valuable exercise in meeting users at their point of need.     

Providing Reference in a Joint-Use Library

SUMMARY

As a one of a kind joint-use facility between a private university and a county government, the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) provides reference services to both NSU students on and off campus and public users. Reference librarians have had to adjust to the variety of users and demands for new services and at the same time find new and creative methods of offering, promoting, and providing instruction about their services to public users as well as NSU's local and distance students. Tracking statistics can assist in identifying user needs.     

Using Courseware Discussion Boards to Engage Graduate Students in Online Library Workshops

ABSTRACT

Librarians at Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries used the discussion board features of Blackboard courseware to create an interactive experience for graduate students at a distance who could not attend the on-campus “Literature Review Workshops.” These recently developed workshops have been extremely popular with graduate students across the disciplines and have generated a growing demand from distance education graduate students and faculty to offer similar information online. Reluctant to simply deliver content via an online tutorial, librarians sought to duplicate the workshop atmosphere by making the sessions available for a short time-period online, asking participants to respond to discussion questions at specific points in the workshop, and offering audio-mediated online demonstrations of tools and resources. Student feedback and follow-up requests for more workshops support the perception that this approach offered a rewarding learning experience that addressed their specific adult learning needs.     

Optimising Publications for Google Users

Abstract

Librarians should think explicitly about Google users whenever they publish on the Web, and should update their policies and procedures accordingly. The article describes procedures that libraries can adopt to ensure that their publications are optimised for access by users of Google and other Web search engines. The aim of these procedures is to enhance resource discovery and information retrieval, and to enhance the reputation of libraries as valued custodians of published information, as well as exemplars of good practice in information management.     

Libraries Begin to Engage Their Menacing Mobile Phone Hordes Without Shhhhh!

ABSTRACT

Few libraries are experimenting with using mobile phones to engage their patrons to improve their service experience rather than focusing exclusively on managing phone use behavior: library code of conduct policies, policy enforcement, signage, quiet library space zoning, and strategies for staff and patron buy-in. Over the past 18 months signs of hope have appeared. Libraries are beginning to engage their users via mobile phones in four ways: audio tours, text message reference service, text message alerts, and mobile library collection search engines. They are not waiting for a better mobile phone service development environment. Library staffs are redefining the possible ways to engage their communities.     

Distance Library Services for Doctor of Pharmacy Students

SUMMARY

Doctor of Pharmacy students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison spend their final year of study working side-by-side with pharmacists throughout Wisconsin. Clerkship rotations often take place outside of Madison, away from familiar and dependable library resources and services. To make the transition from campus to community as smooth as possible, librarians have developed a focused orientation and a detailed field guide to provide students with the tools for a productive and successful year working and studying at a distance.

This article will outline the library's orientation program, describe the elements included in the distance services field guide, and highlight the pre- and post-clerkship assessment tools to be used in measuring satisfaction with the program in the future.