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Presented by Meredith McCarthy and Tom PetersMissouri Library Association ConferenceFriday, October 7th 2011
My Info Quest: A Collaborative SMS-based Text Reference Service
www.tapinformation.com/MLAIQ.htm
My Info Quest (My IQ or IQ for short) http://www.myinfoquest.info/ A collaborative, nationwide effort
involving over 2-dozen libraries
Jefferson County Library here in Missouri.
Started as pilot project in 2010 2011 cost was $399 per library plus at
least 2 hours per week staffing the virtual ref desk
Basic Background
Face-to-face library service interactions probably have entered an era of steady decline.
Non-face-to-face service interactions in any service sector can be efficient for users, but also frustrating and incomplete. Interminable phone trees and wait-time Difficulty explaining your need and finding
the person or unit most likely to help
How to provide a high quality, useful, responsive, collaborative, multi-state, SMS-based reference service for mobile phone users?
Difficult (and perhaps expensive) to negotiate the information need via a reference interview
Many cell phone data plans charge for each SMS message.
“Textese” may be difficult to understand
Little or no knowledge of the context in which the question is being asked
No non-verbal communication
No demographic information
No phone number
No context of the info need
The adoption and diffusion of the mobile phone is arguably the fastest and greatest in human history
It puts the service right at the point of need in terms of place and time
It seems to appeal to the teen demographic
Powered by Textalibrarian from Mosio Participating member libraries share
one reference “desk” and thus field all questions
The service provider needs an Internet connection and browser software
The user needs a cell phone and a service plan that enables SMS-based messages.
When will power be restored to zip 99999?
Context: Thunderstorms and tornados had resulted in a major power outage in that area.
I need a recipe for a pie crust.
Context: The day before Thanksgiving Where is the Santa Monica Public Library?
Context: Someone driving or riding to the library Where’s the nearest locksmith in zip 99999?
Context: User had locked himself out of his house.
Traveling Cooking While interacting with or experiencing
some sort of information object or entertainment experience
Attending a class
How do we know they’re not taking a test?
Any net-connected device (desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet, smartphone, etc.) capable of running a modern browser should be able to function as an Info Quest service device.
Wifi and cell phone connectivity seem to be sufficient. Tom once provided service while watching
his older son play baseball.
Lots of questions asking for opinions or advice, not just facts
Quite a few about human sexuality and relationships
Is this a serious question?Discerning the nuances of the question
Example: “SACLIB When is the next Bruins home game?” (hypothetically posted on 9/15/11)
Boston Bruins hockey, UCLA Bruins football, or something else?
Keeping the response short (160 characters)
Getting the tone “right”
Professional and authoritative, yet relaxed and casual
Responding within 10 minutes on average Documenting your answer with a
supporting URL (often by using a URL-shortener)
Practice, practice, practice Read about best practices in the LIS
literature, blog posts, tweets, etc. Put yourself in the situation of the user. Even though we “know nothing,” try to
imagine the context within which the question is being asked.
If you guess wrong, the user will correct you.
“R U really a librarian?” How to establish pro cred in non-F2F situations without appearing stuffy
Much local info (services, weather, traffic, etc.) now accessible globally
Advantages of collaborative service provision: Cost-efficient
Able to offer more hours of service
24/7 is the goal
Tom PetersMilner LibraryIllinois State UniversityNormal, IL [email protected] Twitter: TAPintoITFB: Thomas A. Peters
Meredith McCarthy Jefferson County Library Arnold, MO 636-296-5171 [email protected] www.jeffersoncountylibrary.org
