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1.
《College & Undergraduate Libraries》2013,20(4):117-127
Abstract Researchers performed a cost and benefit analysis of the University of South Florida's locally controlled chat service and compared the results to the advantages and expenses associated with a chat consortium. An evaluation of chat sessions revealed that a substantial portion of the inquiries received relate to university-specific interests. In addition to the local nature of chat questions, library staff used USF statistics to estimate the staffing, software, and training costs of the current chat reference service. The collaborative service under consideration involves both additional costs and benefits. A final decision, however, requires an in-depth assessment of several factors. Supplementary factors in this examination include a brief history of USF virtual reference service and the current trends in instant messaging that support the continuance of chat reference. 相似文献
2.
ABSTRACTDespite a general decline in recent years in academic libraries’ reference desk statistics, research indicates that library users continue to have complex research questions but are largely unaware that librarians are waiting and ready to assist them. The challenge for librarians is to connect with users at their point of need. At Bowling Green State University, we are making a move in this direction with proactive (pop-up) chat widgets embedded within our library Web pages, catalog, and databases. Since implementation, the number of chat reference questions received has more than doubled, helping us reach additional users from on-and off-campus. 相似文献
3.
《Library & information science research》2006,28(3):350-373
The questions of whether chat reference service is beneficial enough to users to justify the costs of offering it, and how valuable it is to users in fulfilling their information needs, have been primary concerns for librarians providing the service, for library administrators managing the service, and for funding agencies paying for it. The present study combines a traditional evaluation of the user's satisfaction with the reference encounter, with details of the user's information use and the user's motivation for using the chat reference service. This evaluation study assesses the effectiveness of chat reference service in meeting users' information needs. 相似文献
4.
《图书馆管理杂志》2013,53(1-2):217-226
Abstract A virtual reference service is likely to attract both on-campus and off-campus students and providing one service for all users can extend the hours of availability to all students. The needs of these two student populations may differ and off-campus users may present some specific challenges to the reference staff. While some libraries do have a specified distance education librarian, it is unlikely at many institutions that there will be reference staff dedicated only to answering questions from off-campus students. Reference services for off-campus students do present special issues about which general reference staff may not be aware. With awareness of these challenges and proper training, an existing virtual reference service can be extended (or improved) to help off-campus students, or a new chat service can be developed with the objective to assist all user groups with equal success. 相似文献
5.
《Public Services Quarterly》2013,9(2):29-41
Abstract Carnegie Mellon University Libraries began its chat reference service in October of 2000. The article explains why library administrators decided to institute chat reference and the steps taken to implement this decision. The Libraries utilize commercial off-the-shelf software called LivePerson. Service evaluation features of LivePerson provide interesting data for analysis. Summary statistics of the service and the cumulative results of post chat surveys (filled out by chat patrons on a voluntary basis) are presented. Plans for future enhancements of the chat reference service are discussed. 相似文献
6.
Lori Northrup 《College & Undergraduate Libraries》2013,20(3):357-363
ABSTRACT Virtual reference using chat or instant messaging clients (IM) has become an expected service offering for libraries seeking to cater to today's Web 2.0 patrons. The use of chat aggregators to monitor multiple accounts in one interface allows libraries to reach a wider audience of IM/chat users. Embedding chat widgets into library Web pages can further increase chat reference use because it allows patrons without IM/chat experience or accounts to reach librarians seamlessly. This article reviews the use of aggregator software for chat reference monitoring, examines the popularity of the MeeboMe! chat widget for embedded virtual reference and briefly describes the experiences and recommendations of librarians at Samford University Library as they have implemented its use. 相似文献
7.
《College & Undergraduate Libraries》2013,20(3):63-85
ABSTRACT Since the implementation of its instant messaging reference service in the 2000-2001 academic year, the librarians at the University at Buffalo (UB) have succeeded in creating a vital presence for virtual reference. The Instant Librarian chat service, open 57 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters, supplements the traditional face-to-face and e-mail reference services available at UB. Real-time reference using AOL Instant Messenger addresses the expectations of a well-informed population of UB users comfortable with the conveniences enjoyed via the Internet, such as file sharing and instant messaging. Librarians at UB use Instant Librarian to their advantage by employing active learning techniques, while answering both simple and complex questions. A chat session is a unique way to reach a patron who normally would not come into the library for help. In the chatroom, the librarian creates a positive teaching environment, prompting repeat visits and even in-person follow-up research consultations. This paper describes the nuts and bolts of UB's chat reference service and illustrates ways UB librarians attempt to incorporate teaching strategies within the online environment. The first section discusses issues such as staff training, technology/software problems, marketing/publicity matters, and the methodology and purpose of a user survey. The second section addresses the instruction element of UB's Instant Librarian. Librarians take advantage of the online environment to promote self-directed learning. The paper also includes a literature review highlighting published articles, books, and surveys that examine the significant facets of a real-time reference service. 相似文献
8.
《The Reference Librarian》2013,54(79-80):281-295
Summary After a 22-week pilot study, Penn State launched a university-wide real-time virtual reference service in Fall 2002. The Penn State Virtual Reference Service (VRS) features chat, co-browsing, and authentication into licensed databases. VRS serves students, faculty, and staff at 21 residential and commuter campuses statewide, as well as students enrolled in World Campus distance learning courses. This paper presents an analysis of the users, questions, exit surveys, and a VRS librarian survey. 相似文献
9.
《Legal Reference Services Quarterly》2013,32(1-2):133-146
Summary Technology makes it possible for library users to ask reference questions using e-mail or forms on the web and for librarians to conduct reference interviews using chat or videoconferencing software. This article explores each of these technologies and their current and potential use in reference services. A discussion of how technology has changed the way librarians find answers to reference questions is followed by a review of the tools needed for a well-equipped reference desk. 相似文献
10.
Content analysis of questions asked at multiple reference service points are used to inform library application (app) development. Reduced library budgets create service gaps, and library apps present one potential solution to help users with simple wayfinding and library attribute questions. Content analysis of three years of questions asked at fifteen face-to-face service points on the campus of the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, as well as questions received via telephone, e-mail, and chat demonstrate that library location-based questions comprise 77.6% of the total questions asked. This approach shows the potential that the study of library location-based questions has for informing library apps. 相似文献
11.
《The Reference Librarian》2013,54(95-96):81-98
Abstract As digital and chat reference services become established as another way to do business, many libraries juggle the delivery of consortial and local virtual reference services. Balancing services without overtaxing staff and resources presents a number of challenges. How, for example, do libraries staff more than one chat reference service in addition to traditional services? Or more critically, how are subject specialists used to their greatest advantage in a multi-type library service? This article explores the benefits and issues of offering service at the statewide and local level based on OSU's experience and describes how OSU responded to these issues. 相似文献
12.
This article discusses the potential weakness of location-based questions for chat reference consortia and the actions taken to overcome this weakness by Florida's Ask a Librarian Reference Service. Ask a Librarian is a statewide chat reference consortium where users are able to pose questions to any librarian from 115 participating agencies. In turn, any agency's librarian is able to respond to questions from any user. This article discusses findings from three focus groups with librarians who staff the service. In addition, the article includes a discussion of the efforts to overcome the weakness by both populating and encouraging use of the service's knowledge base. 相似文献
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14.
《The Reference Librarian》2013,54(79-80):67-99
Summary Libraries have begun to add chat reference as a method to deliver reference service to remote user populations. To deliver quality service in a timely fashion, libraries need to construct a Virtual Ready Reference Collection (VRRC) of elite ready reference Web sites most often used during the chat reference interaction. This article explores the collection development steps needed to create a VRRC that is most beneficial on the local level. The value in creating this collection lies not just in the end product, but also in the process, which serves as a valuable training exercise. Selecting and maintaining the virtual ready reference collection will enhance the chat reference librarians' ability to deliver service in the chat reference environment. 相似文献
15.
ABSTRACTAs staffing models evolve for academic library service points, online chat reference services require strategic analysis to improve efficiency and effectiveness. This paper will examine the perception of chat reference before and after staffing changes from faculty librarians, staff, and graduate assistants to non-MLIS library professionals and graduate assistants at Florida State University’s a large, public research university library. Our survey explores satisfaction levels and perception of both patrons and library personnel before and after the staffing change.Our analysis of 197 patron survey results determined that patrons are equally satisfied with non-librarian provision of chat reference services and found chat interactions to be comparable in quality and timeliness to chats staffed by librarians. Our research into staffer survey results revealed a slight decrease in satisfaction with operation of the service, notably in terms of confidence after the staffing transition even though this was not reflected in the patron satisfaction levels. This assessment indicates that library workers are equally as competent in staffing chat reference services as librarians from patron perspectives. As academic libraries continue to measure the value of staffing service desks with librarians, this study will provide relevant insight into how patrons and staffers are affected by changes in staffing models. 相似文献
16.
《The Reference Librarian》2013,54(67-68):69-83
Summary For the past twenty-five years, the Slavic Reference Service has been providing specialized bibliographic and information reference service to the community of students, scholars, and librarians in the field of Slavic Studies. This service includes the verification, location, and acquisition of rare monographs and serials, and answering both ready-reference and in-depth research questions. The Internet and e-mail have provided a new medium by which we are able to expand our services both to our traditional community of users in the Slavic field, and also to the general public. The expansion of our services has cause us to reconsider our methods of providing reference service in a virtual reference environment. 相似文献
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18.
《College & Undergraduate Libraries》2013,20(4):43-54
Abstract Launching virtual chat reference services at Boatwright Library at the University of Richmond has been an interesting challenge of “trial and error” over the years. After trying several different software programs and staffing options, librarians have finally found a niche with AOL's Instant Messenger service. The first section of the article describes a path of experimentation, including early collaborations with the computing services help desk, staffing patterns within the library, technical and financial challenges with virtual reference software, and attempts to get students to use reference chat services. The second half of the case study describes the great success with AIM service in the past year, providing statistical information as well as coverage of training and guidelines, advertising, and staffing. This article touches on a number of themes, including the value of experimenting with a variety of chat reference software programs, and the need for library staff to stay current with new technologies. 相似文献
19.
《The Reference Librarian》2013,54(67-68):29-40
Summary Academic libraries now provide reference service for the remote user in at least two ways: by the telephone and by electronic mail. The remote user at a computer workstation, however, may not have access to a telephone and may be poorly served by the asynchronous nature of electronic mail. New technologies and collaborative software for serving remote users in real-time such as Internet chat, paging and instant messaging, whiteboard, application sharing, and audio and video conferencing offer new possibilities for remote access to reference services. In this article we review these technologies and report the results of a trial project at Temple University. The results are promising for real-time reference services. 相似文献