Is the reference desk going to disappear? Not if the participants in a recent teleconference titled, "Virtual Reference Services...What, Why and How?" have anything to say about it.
In the second of this two-part series on the changing face of reference librarianship, participants discussed ways in which virtual reference will complement traditional reference desk functions.
The conference, which was broadcast nationally on April 19 from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill., was viewed live by a group in the Library's National Digital Library Learning Center.
The first part of the series, broadcast from the college on Feb. 8, provided an overview of current virtual reference initiatives. Part two gave viewers a realistic picture of the pros and cons of setting up a virtual reference service. Each of the session's four presenters "librarians and library administrators recognized for their pioneering work in the digital reference field" had implemented some kind of virtual reference service in their own institution.
The speakers included Diane Kresh, director of the Library's Public Service Collections Directorate; Tracy Strobel, Cleveland Public Library; Jana Ronan, University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries; and Nancy O'Neill, Santa Monica Public Library. They shared the benefit of their experience with the audience–itself "virtual"–which was scattered among different broadcast sites throughout the country.
Kresh, who developed the Library's Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) and its successor, QuestionPoint at www.questionpoint.org, stressed the importance of collaboration. "Collaboration is useful so that institutions do not have to reinvent the wheel," she said. She also emphasized that the online environment offers the opportunity to collaborate with international partners in developing new resources, and to provide a way to "keep libraries in the public eye."
Strobel reasoned that "technology is synonymous with change" and, therefore, it is important to use technologies that are adaptable enough to change with the times. She encouraged librarians to be flexible, and to take advantage of the tools now available to them to create new kinds of partnerships with experts in their community. Cleveland Public Library has done this with its KnowitNow online "live-chat" reference service (www.knowitnow24x7.net) which expands its reference network to include experts such as law librarians, nurses, and tutors to bring new kinds of resources to their patrons and community. The Web site is designed to give the same standard of service that patrons would receive by speaking with a librarian.
Jana Ronan, who was instrumental in establishing RefeXpress, a similar, online assistance service for students, faculty and staff at the University of Florida, spoke about her belief that staff training is key to the success of a digital reference project. When asked about the time commitment necessary, Ronan acknowledged that, "Start-up is time-intensive, but things begin to fall into place with practice."
Nancy O'Neill represented Santa Monica Public Library, which participates in the 24/7 Chat Reference Service sponsored by the Greater Los Angeles Area Metropolitan Cooperative Library System. One of the original 16 libraries that participated in CDRS, the Santa Monica library also allows patrons to submit reference questions online at www.smpl.org/forms/email_reference.htm.
The speakers all shared the viewpoint articulated by O'Neill: "Virtual reference should be considered a core service meeting the client where they are, when they need us."
