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)

E-Mail Reference

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

Moving Reference to the Web

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]

Visions from Early Days

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.)

How to Fail

Under commit

Over expect (e.g., immediate, dramatic success)

Deploy poorly

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

Winning Strategies

Support– Administration– Staffing

Promote

Integrate

Promotion

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