|
The Evolution of Reference Service
- Librarians go Virtual
The shift in academic libraries from print
to electronic has brought with it many exciting opportunities
as well as challenges. Worlds of information have opened
up and have allowed students and researchers an unprecedented
degree of freedom and convenience. At the same time,
our users are changing and so are their habits. The
"Google generation" is accustomed to quick
access from the desktop, and often a generic Internet
search engine is the first (and sometimes the last)
line of approach for many students. Because so many
students prefer to use electronic resources, they often
access their information off-site - from home, computer
labs, or workplaces. And this means that when they need
help, some of them are turning to commercial online
services like "Ask Jeeves" for live assistance
because library services like reference don't seem to
be where they need them.
Well, if you think reference services
aren't there for students and researchers on the home
computer, in the computer lab or office - think again!
Reference services continue to evolve to meet these
changing needs.
 |
A year and
a half ago, York Libraries launched an online reference
service called Ask A Librarian Chat Reference.
The button for this service can be found on our
Library homepage (http://www.library.yorku.ca).
During the fall and winter terms the service is
open 46 hrs/week (Mon-Thurs. 11:00 am - 9:00 pm;
Friday 11:00 am - 5:00 pm). |
Ask A Librarian Chat Reference
allows users to chat online live with a librarian, and
work together with patrons by sharing a web page. Our
users can watch us as we navigate web sites and electronic
resources, and we can also let our users show us where
they are encountering difficulties. And afterwards,
users receive a transcript of the chat session by email
so that they can keep a record of all the advice and
links. It's a great way to get quick help from wherever
you are.
The service has proved to be quite popular.
Over the 2002/03 fall and winter semesters we helped
people with over 2300 questions, and we expect the demand
to continue climbing in the coming academic year as
more people discover the service. What began as a pilot
project has become a fixture of the Libraries. In fact,
"Ask a Librarian" could in some ways be considered
a new virtual branch of the York University library
system.
Of course, the launch of any substantial
new service point inevitably presents resource challenges.
The Reference Department of the Scott Library has been
able to introduce this new service largely because we
participate in the Ontario Collaborative Virtual Reference
Project (OCVRP) with Ryerson University and the University
of Guelph. This innovative project allows us to share
staffing of the service across the three universities
such that calls are picked up by library staff at Guelph,
Ryerson or York. The collaborative infrastructure is
invisible to our patrons; users access the service from
their own institution's library home page, and receive
assistance in using their own library's resources. This
collaboration has allowed our institutions to expand
our hours of digital reference services and increase
our capacity for chat interactions while sharing resources
and saving costs.
The collaborative project has received
a great deal of attention from other academic libraries
because it is one of the few virtual reference collaborations
in Canada. In June, one of our reference staff was also
recognized for excellence in virtual reference service.
Irene Tencinger from the Scott Library Reference Department
was awarded the Samuel Swett Green Award for the Best
Virtual Reference Transcript at the American Libraries
Association Conference. This international award attests
to the quality and success of the service.
If you would like to try out the Ask
A Librarian Chat Reference service, look for the
button on the Library homepage.
For more about the OCVRP, see: http://alpha.lib.uoguelph.ca/reference/OCUL/about.html
For more about Irene Tencinger being awarded the Green
Award, see:
http://www.vrtoolkit.net/press_release/PR_06212003.htm
<< newsletter
home
|
