Managing a text reference consortium: the My Info Quest experience

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to describe management and operational considerations for collaborative text reference services.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted in‐depth interviews with members of the My Info Quest (MIQ) management team. The paper reports on the interviews in the context of MIQ's operations as the first US nationwide, collaborative text reference service.FindingsMIQ is a non‐hierarchal organization that relies on frequent communication, enthusiastic and dedicated member librarians, and a collective sense of commitment. Challenges and lessons from MIQ's operations are discussed in the following areas: policies and procedures, staffing, service software, training, marketing, communicating and problem solving, and overall project operation.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper examines collaborative text reference service only from the management perspective. Future research should investigate other aspects of collaboratively providing text reference service.Practical implicationsThis paper will help libraries implement and manage collaborative text reference services. Ultimately it will contribute to the development of best practices for text reference service.Originality/valueText reference is the most recent reference development and it does not have a large body of literature. Current reports are primarily of a single library's experience. This paper reports on collaborative service provision. It is the only article to date that examines collaborative text reference service from the management perspective.