Real-time Reference Service Research Articles

Embedded Clinical Librarianship: Bringing Medical Reference Services Bedside

This article was written by Patti Gibbons and Debra A. Werner. Patti is the Head of Collection Management at the University of Chicago Library’s Special Collections Research Center and holds a MLIS from the University of Illinois and a MA from the University of Washington. Debra is the Librarian for Science Instruction & Outreach and Biomedical Reference Librarian at the University of Chicago Library and the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine’s Director of Library Research in Medical Education and she holds a MLIS from Dominican University. This article covers an experimental project at the University of Chicago where the library’s medical librarian teamed up with the hospital’s clinical team during patient rounds to provide real-time reference services. The project’s effectiveness was studied by a medical student who found that the embedded librarian’s services improved the clinical team’s evidence-based medical decision-making abilities without increasing the length of bedside rounds.

R U There? How to Reach a Virtual Audience Through Affordable Marketing Strategies

ABSTRACT Virtual reference is a vital service component of many libraries. Whether serving college students or the general public, a real-time reference service demands highly trained staff and quality resources. What can administrators do to make sure their users make the most of this cutting-edge service? The University at Buffalo (UB) was one of the first universities to establish a virtual reference service. Known as Instant Librarian, the chat room thrives as a major public service without placing a drain on staff or budget. This article discusses the marketing strategies UB applies to chat reference, including advertising, use of icons, and user surveys for assessment.

The Nuts, Bolts, and Teaching Opportunities of Real-Time Reference

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.

Making and Application Skills about the Information Repository for Real-Time Reference Services

Making and Application Skills about the Information Repository for Real-Time Reference Services

Design and Implementation of Real-time Reference Services System Based on Short Message Service

Design and Implementation of Real-time Reference Services System Based on Short Message Service

Librarians as Hidden Gems in a Clinical Team

Medical librarians typically contribute to patient care from the confines of the library in response to practitioners—requests for literature searches, information pearls, and evidence-based information. While this model has long served the needs of active clinicians, the learning environment of residency programs is ripe for innovative librarian involvement. This paper illustrates how the librarian can become part of a clinical team outside of the library and provide real-time reference services while teaching by example. Benefits of the alliance include the integration of disciplines to provide enhanced resident learning and improved patient care.

Virtual Reference Services

Summary Traditional reference services are changing in response to the rapid growth of electronic resources available outside of the library. There are an increasing number of libraries that are providing digital reference services to meet the demands and expectations of remote users. This article provides an overview of virtual reference services at Louisiana State University (LSU) Libraries. It also examines the planning, implementation, marketing and user feedback of real time reference service after its first year.

Managing Data Collection for Real-Time Reference

SUMMARY Successful management of a real-time digital reference service requires effective and efficient data collection to provide accurate and useful information about service processes and outcomes. This article describes the data collection procedures developed by AskERIC for its real-time reference service; in particular, this article will describe how these procedures address limitations, gaps, and inaccuracies in the data as passively captured by software. Finally, particular issues and considerations for service managers about various statistical measures within the real-time environment are discussed.

Staffing a Real-Time Reference Service

SUMMARY Librarians are exploring a variety of models to staff new chat-based reference services in an effort to better serve users outside of the library. This article explores the issues in staffing a reference service operating in real-time. Observations are based on the experience of the author in administrating RefeXpress, the real-time reference service at the University of Florida, and on a survey of practices in other library settings. The issues addressed include service hours, staff competencies, scheduling, structuring the work environment, and choosing a centralized versus a decentralized model of operation.

Managing Data Collection for Real-Time Reference: Lessons from the AskERIC Live! Experience

Successful management of a real-time digital reference service requires effective and efficient data collection to provide accurate and useful information about service processes and outcomes. This article describes the data collection procedures developed by AskERIC for its real-time reference service; in particular, this article will describe how these procedures address limitations, gaps, and inaccuracies in the data as passively captured by software. Finally, particular issues and considerations for service managers about various statistical measures within the real-time environment are discussed.

Not Virtual, but a Real, Live, Online, Interactive Reference Service

In today's fast-paced environment, traditional medical reference services alone are not adequate to meet users' information needs. Efforts to find new ways to provide comprehensive service to users, where and when needed, have often included the use of new and developing technologies. This paper describes the experience of an academic health science library in developing and providing an online, real-time reference service. Issues discussed include selecting software, training librarians, staffing the service, and considering the future of the service. Use statistics, question type analysis, and feedback from users of the service and librarians who staff the service, are also presented.

Serving Up Information at the QandAcafè

Since 2001, increasing numbers of libraries have implemented real-time online reference services. QandAcafe is one of the first live reference programs to involve both public and academic libraries. The authors outline the genesis and development of this consortial virtual reference desk, describing the participants, funding, training program, and outcomes. Reference priorities of public libraries (quick, accurate question answering) and those of academic libraries (instruction in online research) are not mutually exclusive; both can be addressed when working toward the goal of serving remote users. In summary, the authors discuss lessons learned from the project and provide recommendations for multitype library groups establishing real-time reference services.

Real-Time Reference Service for the Remote User

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.