Virtual reference best practices : tailoring services to your library

157 Pages·2009·2.252 MB·English

by  M Kathleen Kern

Virtual reference
Best Practices
Tailoring ServiceS To Your librarY
M. KaTHleen Kern
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
ChiCago 2009
M. Kathleen Kern, MSliS, is the digital ser vices coordinator in central reference ser vices at the
university of illinois at urbana. She co-manages the library’s virtual reference ser vice, which has
offered chat since 2001 and instant messaging since 2005. She is a past chair of ruSa’s Machine
assisted reference Section (MarS) within ala and co-chaired the committee that authored
the guidelines for implementing and Maintaining virtual reference Ser vices. Her interests are
assessment of library ser vices and integration of virtual reference with more traditional reference
ser vices.
While extensive effort has gone into ensuring the reliability of information appearing in this book, the
publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, on the accuracy or reliability of the information, and does
not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or
omissions in this publication.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of american national Standard for
information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed library Materials, anSi Z39.48-1992. ∞
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kern, M. Kathleen.
virtual reference best practices : tailoring ser vices to your library / M. Kathleen Kern.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSbn 978-0-8389-0975-1 (alk. paper)
1. electronic reference ser vices (libraries) i. Title.
Z711.45K47 2009
025.5'2—dc22 2008015379
copyright © 2009 by the american library association. all rights reserved except those which may be
granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the copyright revision act of 1976.
iSbn-13: 978-0-8389-0975-1
Printed in the united States of america
13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1
contents
Acknowledgments v
Introduction vii
1 Defining Virtual Reference 1
2 Implementing Virtual Reference: Is It the Right Thing, Right Now? 5
3 Who Are We Doing This For? 15
4 Buy-in: Gaining Commitment and Support 22
5 Policies: Setting Expectations of Who, When, and What 32
6 Selecting Software 46
7 Communication: Do I Have to Learn a New Language? 61
8 Determining a Staffing Model 72
9 Assessing the Costs: Budgeting for Virtual Reference 83
10 Collaborative Virtual Reference 88
11 Aspects of Training 97
12 Marketing Your Virtual Reference Ser vice 104
13 Assessment and Evaluation: How Are We Doing? 109
14 The Road Ahead: Next Steps and Emerging Technologies 120
iii
iv contents
APPENDIxES
A Guidelines for Implementing and Maintaining Virtual
Reference ser vices 127
B Market Assessment 135
C Preparing for Virtual Reference: A checklist 139
Index 143
acknowledgments
I
wish to acknowledge the research and Publication committee of the university of illinois
at urbana-champaign library, which provided support for the completion of this research.
i truly could not have done this without the support provided, particularly the funding to
hire lena Singer (ba in journalism and MSliS, both from the university of illinois), who
conducted many interviews, wrote research summaries, and tracked down supporting facts.
Many people consented to write library Field reports. They are credited with their reports,
but i would like to thank them individually here, for i know the time writing a thousand words
can demand: Michael gorman and Mark Mccullough, Michelle Maloney, alec Sonsteby, Melissa
records, and Wayne bivens-Tatum.
Many more librarians took the time to be interviewed. in the end, some interviews resulted in
full-length field reports and others were used only in part. reading the interviews was one of the
best parts of writing this book. The variety in implementations of virtual reference is why i started
it, and the range of experiences shared with me by other librarians is what propelled me to keep
writing.
Thanks to my editor Kelli christiansen at bibliobibuli not only for having a great company
name but for asking me the right questions and providing the necessary prodding toward the goal.
Most important, i cannot express enough thanks to my husband Shea for providing chocolate,
putting up with my late-night writing habits, and giving up spending time with me. His support
and confidence in me made writing this book possible.
v

introduction
I
n 2004, the reference and user Ser vices association of the american library association
introduced the guidelines for implementing and Maintaining virtual reference Ser-
vices (vr guidelines) in response to the growth of virtual reference ser vices and increased
demand from libraries for direction in setting up and operating this new type of patron
ser vice.
The vr guidelines meet this need by providing a checklist of decision points regarding
the implementation. Many librarians have been surprised that these guidelines do not prescribe
particular models for establishing a virtual reference ser vice. The committee that drafted the
guidelines intentionally left room for variation in local practice. Just as there is great variety in the
ways libraries of different size, type, orga nizational structure, and user population offer in-person
reference, so it was expected that variety would exist in virtual reference and that over time, as
this new ser vice matured, multiple best practices would emerge. The committee’s philosophy was
confirmed during the vr guidelines open comment period. librarians spoke out vocally about best
practices that they felt should be included in the vr guidelines, but these practices often were in
direct opposition to one another. What worked for one library would prohibit the support of a ser-
vice for another. it was decided that the guidelines would be informative but not overly prescriptive.
as a result, the vr guidelines are a useful framework for decision making, but they leave space for
virtual reference implementation to fit the needs of each library and user community.
This book bridges the space between the vr guidelines and implementation at your library by
providing a process for making the decisions recommended in the guidelines. For example, where
the vr guidelines indicate that a library policy “should be established for determining which
queries fall outside the parameters of ser vice, and how to respond in those cases,” this book contains
exercises your library may use to determine a virtual reference ser vice policy.
Key to a successful implementation is that you design your virtual reference ser vice to fit the
particular needs of your patrons and your library organ ization. To that end, although this book is
not a collection of research findings, it does include examples from other libraries and occasionally
research reports that should be practical and informative to your local decision making.
integration of virtual reference with traditional reference ser vices is an underlying theme of the
vr guidelines. integration means planning for virtual reference as a long-term ser vice, not as an
add-on. it is mainstreaming virtual reference into a library’s operations, budget, and assessments.
vii
viii iNTRoDUCTioN
Sustainability of virtual reference ser vices has become an issue: some ser vices have started, only
to fold within a couple of years or a few months. good planning combined with an integrated
approach to virtual reference will not guarantee a strong and enduring ser vice, but they are critical
components to success.
Using This Book
This book is meant to move you and your library from the abstract, checklist format of the vr
guidelines to the concrete decision making that you need in order to start and manage virtual
reference ser vice at your library. information in this book is presented in five basic ways:
Narrative text explains the decisions a library needs to make to start a virtual reference ser vice,
the process and components necessary to make decisions that fit your library, and some background
on what other libraries are doing.
Exercises provide a concrete framework for the decision-making process. Most major library
decisions are made by committees, teams, or working groups. These exercises are keys to focusing
on one decision at a time, in a logical progression, and bringing the group together while allowing
individuals a voice in the process. The exercises are formatted for easy photocopying. if you are a
solo decision maker, the exercises will still be useful in provoking and organ izing your thoughts.
Worksheets often are used in conjunction with exercises and are a place to collect data for decision
making. They also are formatted for photocopying.
Library Field Reports highlight practices of virtual reference at specific libraries; they are included
as fodder for discussion and thought. remember: what is a best practice at one library may not fit
your library organ ization or clientele, but these examples should lead to consideration of the issues
at hand.
Research You Can Use sections are one-page synopses of significant research in the area of virtual
reference with an emphasis on how the research is of practical importance to libraries. These are
included for reflection and guidance and are formatted to be easily copied.
The structure of the book is loosely based on the vr guidelines, and i encourage you to refer
to the guidelines as your library works through the decision-making process outlined in this book.
The vr guidelines are provided in appendix a. appendix c is a checklist of decisions intended to
help ensure that all components vital to the successful implementation of a virtual reference ser vice
are in place.
There are several ways that your library can structure the decision-making process. Your library
may wish to have weekly meetings and tackle one decision at each meeting. or, it may be more
your style to bring people together for half-days to make several decisions. exercises might be
done in preparation for a meeting or as part of the in-person discussion. i make recommendations
throughout where i have a preference, but flexibility to fit your library is the key to success even in
planning. if i recommend a three-hour workshop but that is out of the question for your staff, then
more frequent shorter meetings will have to be the answer. Make the decisions that fit your library.
Chapter 1
Defining Virtual
reference
Y
ou probably have read and heard several different terms that are related to virtual ref-
er ence—or that you think may be related to virtual reference. i cannot set standard no-
menclature, but there are some terms i prefer and use consistently throughout this book.
Most of my preferences are based on a long history with this area of reference, working
on the vr guidelines, and involvement with the virtual reference Desk conference.
Terms in This Book
Virtual Reference
This is the first definition listed because virtual reference is the central concept of this book (see
figure 1-1). The definition below is from the vr guidelines. it is a good definition that is as
accurate today as it was when it was written in 2004:
Virtual reference is reference ser vice initiated electronically, often in real-time, where
patrons employ computers or other Internet technology to communicate with reference
staff, without being physically present. communication channels used frequently in virtual
reference include chat, videoconferencing, Voice over IP, co-browsing, e-mail, and instant
messaging.
in practice, sometimes librarians say “virtual reference” when they are talking specifically about
chat, or iM, or e-mail. virtual reference is a concept apart from the technology that supports it, so
when someone says “virtual reference” they could be referring to any number of technologies. i’ve
read articles supposedly about virtual reference that turned out—halfway through the article—to
be about e-mail only. To avoid such confusion in these pages, i am specific when it is needed: if
a section is only about e-mail or only about chat, then that is the term i use. if a decision point
is relevant only to e-mail, i specify e-mail. When i use the term virtual reference, it is because the
concept being explored pertains to any virtual ser vice.
1