Going where the users are : Live digital reference

Abstract

This paper describes the development of the Temple University libraries' live digital reference service and discusses the process of creating a new way for users to pose questions. Staffing, digital transactions, promotion, systems support, software options, and funding are explored. The creation of customized software in-house is considered with emphasis on advantages and disadvantages. Staffing challenges are outlined. Variables that influence success are discussed and include management and staff support as well as a recognition that to prosper, we must find creative ways to provide reference service to our users, wherever they are. * Why Develop a Live Digital Reference Service? Before proceeding further, a definition should be given for what is meant by live digital reference. The goal of the Temple University libraries' live digital reference service is to allow patrons to reference questions using a computer and receive immediate responses. This service provides a response within seconds, as contrasted with e-mail reference, which can take hours or even days. Users have had remote to resources in the form of our online catalog for over a decade, and more recently with the advent of the Web, to online databases as well. The next step was to provide them with remote to services in the form of real live reference librarians answering their questions in real time. This need for online services has been created by the dramatic increase in the number of students accessing our databases and other resources from home. Our students are quite comfortable with the Web; it's been integrated into their daily lives. And with the rise of the Web have come chat programs. Many teenagers frequently use AOL's Instant Messenger. Temple students are used to using chat programs and seem at ease with them. The students are also increasingly logging on from home and the Temple libraries are actively seeking ways to support these remote users and various university distance education programs. Our executive leadership has been very supportive and was instrumental in creating a climate that allowed the development of the live reference service. The University Librarian encouraged exploration of new service approaches and clearly signaled her support for efforts to innovate. It was important for librarians to get the message that it was not just okay for them to experiment, but they were actually expected to do so. And further, that some things will be successful and others won't. Either way, valuable lessons will be learned. Continued support has made it possible to weather skepticism that has cropped up from time to time. Once we got the service up and running, the greatest challenges proved to be issues related to staffing. Our current model integrates live online reference into the reference desk workflow. Everything is done from the desk area. In addition to answering in-person and telephone inquiries from the desk, as they always have, librarians also respond to TalkNow questions from a computer at the reference desk. This additional access point is generally welcomed by users, but adds stress for the staff. An alternative model would involve assigning a specific person to respond to TalkNow questions at some location away from the desk. More about this later. * History of TalkBack and TalkNow In November 1998, Temple University libraries launched a new real-time reference service called TalkBack as a pilot project. This service allowed library users to connect directly with staff at the Paley Library reference desk through a link on the libraries' Web site. The user typed a question into a Web-based form that included name, e-mail address, and comment fields, and then clicked on a submit button to transmit the question to the library. A librarian received the question and typed in a response. The exchange was similar to a chat program interaction. …