Digital Reference: Issues, Implications, & Impressions

1. Digital Reference: Issues, Implications, & Impressions Roy Tennant California Digital Library

2. An Explanation... • I support digital, global, 24x7 reference efforts • I will focus on issues and possible problems so that we are better prepared to avoid or deal with them • Got it?

3. Outline • Email Reference Issues • Real-Time Digital Reference Issues • 24x7 Reference Issues • Global Reference Issues • General Issues • Winning Strategies • Risks of Failure • Implications of Success

4. Email Reference Issues • No visual cues • Time delay • Difficulty in conducting a reference interview

5. Real-Time Digital Reference Issues • No visual cues • Not everyone is articulate (or fast) at a keyboard • It is difficult to say “look at this” for print materials • It may be more difficult to keep the patron happy (busy) while we try to find the answer to the question (remember, no visual cues)

6. 24x7 Reference Issues • If in the same time zone, who wants to work the graveyard shift? • If not the same time zone, good coordination, planning and management across state and country boundaries is essential, and … • Equity issues will arise: will we answer more questions than they do?; does it cost more in Australian $ to answer a question than in US $? Will our local users suffer?

7. Global Reference Issues • Different cultural backgrounds • Language differences • Reference tool differences • Mundane but frustrating issues: paper sizes, etc. • Patron/Librarian disconnect — patron assuming proximity of the librarian

8. Global Reference Issues cont’d • We know less about other countries than they know about us (and television is only partly to blame) A little test: what office holds executive power in Australia? So how are we to help their patrons? • The U.S. is idiosyncratic (does “metric system” ring any bells?) and myopic and we’d better figure out how to deal with it

9. General Issues • Not all reference is created equal • But…some is better than none

10. Winning Strategies • Establish protocols (what to answer, when and how to refer, etc.) • Create a common digital “ready reference” collection for digital reference librarians • Create a “fail-over” methodology • Train all participants & offer cross-training/fellowships • Academic libraries may be most successful with subject-based reference networks

11. Winning Strategies cont’d • Create or use an existing directory of reference network member library web sites and catalogs (e.g., http://www.libdex.com/) • Create cheat sheets for searching catalog systems of member sites, common databases, etc. • Set up librarian workstations to scan and share pages from print materials • Create “instant consoles”

12. The “Instant Console” • Patron is linked to home library by entering patron number or some other identifier when asking a question • When the request comes in, the librarian automatically sees the console for that library (created by local staff) • The console includes search boxes for the library’s catalog and web (or links) and links to key resources

13. Risks of Failure • It will be more difficult to try again • Others now in the online question-answering space will have more time to solidify their hold • Our users needs will continue to go unfulfilled • We’ll look stupid! (just kidding…)

14. Implications of Success • Patron expectations will exceed our ability to deliver (so what else is new?): • Any book, any time, anywhere, at little or no cost • There will be no going back