The Virtual Reference Handbook: Interview and Information Delivery Techniques for the Chat and E-mail Environments

Abstract

Virtual reference is hardly a new topic. Well over two dozen current handbooks, readers, and manuals concerning it are currently on the market. They range from starting a virtual reference service [1], through updating skills and reviewing case histories [2], to expanding and enhancing the service [3]. Kovacs's The Virtual Reference Handbook may be unique among them. Its aim is to answer the pointed question of what it takes to become a competent virtual reference librarian. To accomplish this, the author identifies and discusses forty-two specific competencies that should be mastered to reach that state and provides practical learning activities to assist. The author is a specialist in Internet and web-based training for librarians, has taught related continuing education courses for the Medical Library Association and other professional organizations, and has published numerous books and articles on Internet resources and staff training. She structured this book for use by either individuals or groups. The Handbook's first chapter explores the technical, communications, reference skills, and knowledge needed by virtual reference librarians. It reviews reference interviewing and search strategy development and provides a number of learning questions for each. The remaining chapters present competencies, which include competencies for acquiring and improving technical skills and knowledge for virtual reference, practicing and expanding communication skills and knowledge for the virtual reference interview, and maintaining and building reference resource skills and knowledge. The competencies are phrased as educational objectives and are discussed in depth. A typical example is “CI.9. Demonstrate awareness of when and how to teach or instruct during a virtual reference transaction” (p. 88). The book discusses discovering whether a user just wants an answer or wants help finding it. For the latter situation, helpful strategies are suggested, such as typing dialogue as if speaking directly to the person, performing separate but simultaneous searches while remaining connected, and employing co-browsing technology. Learning activities are also provided for select competencies, for example, “Learning Activities 2–3: Minimal Multitasking Practice” provides online practice activities appropriate for either Windows XP or Mac OSX machines (p. 42). Additionally, a list of common email abbreviations, emoticons, and emoting (body language indicators) is included in the book. References and recommended readings are provided at the end of each chapter. A special feature of the handbook is the transcript of email interviews with eight experienced librarians. The author builds scenarios, such as what to do when encountering a “bad” chat reference customer or how to decide whether a librarian is going to be good at chat. She then asks the librarians to comment on their own experiences and solutions. Being in a live conversation, the librarians are able to build on each other's comments. This results in deepened insight and valuable advice on those topics. The book's format is a little “choppy.” Some competencies are followed by “Learning Activities,” some by “Interviews,” some neither. A number of font types and sizes are used, sometimes in the same section. Quotes from other authors are interspersed at different spots throughout chapters to enrich the content. These variations may detract from browsing ease but do not affect the book's integrity of focus. The index is effective for identifying numerous acronyms and product names and has several unusual entries that strengthen it, such as “Ways to Make Virtual Reference Users Disconnect and Never Visit Your Virtual Reference Service Again” and “Empathy in the Virtual Reference Interview.” The Virtual Reference Handbook is a practical manual for identifying and learning the skills and knowledge sets key to building librarian competence in providing virtual reference. It should prove a constructive tool for librarians and paraprofessionals in health sciences and other types of libraries and for faculty who teach library science reference courses.