Library Voice

This is one way to get students to use your IM/Chat reference service. From the University of Mississippi Libraries:

Chat with a Librarian and Win an iPod Shuffle!
During the month of February every student or faculty/staff member who chats with a librarian will automatically be entered to win an iPod Shuffle. You don’t have to fill out any surveys. It’s that easy!

Rochelle Mazar has a nice post about providing radical reference in which she states:

The future of reference service is not behind a desk. Truly radical reference is coming out from behind that desk and bringing that crucial resource of answers into real life, into that space between having a question and the topic shifting over to something else, into the space between half-way done and handed in. Radical reference is not about waiting for the question. It’s not about simply being as good as we are and being the only ones who know it. It’s about handing out those answers where they’re needed. It’s about being there with help at the point of need, not under the “info” sign. It’s about being a part of the process rather than an appendage that might be useful if it occurred to you to put it to use.

I definitely agree with this statement. One of my biggest fears (perhaps unfounded) is that one day my job as a reference librarian will become obsolete. This is really scary, as I really love what I do. I don’t have a fear of being replaced by the Internet or some super computer in the very near future, but I feel that if I am complacent with the status quo, I may one day wake up and see that I am not needed anymore. Granted, I may still have a job, but I may be just as obsolete if I no longer provide academic support by teaching or answering questions. Sitting at a reference desk and talking to no one, or attempting to teach classes that no one attends really does not appeal to me. The answer: as Rochelle says, we must adapt with our users while changing current reference paradigms. However, change does not come easy, as there can be several potential barriers to change. Time, culture, technology, and personal limitations, to name a few, can all be barriers to changing the way we do business.

When attempting to change the way we do things, time can be a factor that hinders our progress. I realize that we often try to change processes, procedures, and behaviors because to do so will be more efficient. However, time itself can keep us from trying new things. If you already work the reference desk, perform collection development duties, serve on committees, and try to keep up with professional issues, then when do you have time to try new things? It takes time to try something new and innovative while also trying to keep up with your current daily duties. While challenging, if you really want to try to change something, you have to make time to do so. For example, when I am gearing up for fall quarter library instruction classes, I make sure I take time to look at ways I can improve over the last time I taught a class. It takes very little time to prepare if you only give the same demonstration. However, if you spend 15-30 extra minutes trying to change 1-2 things about your presentation, you never know what sort of impact that change might have. By taking the time to try something new, you might be able to reach the student/patron better.

Our ability or willingness to try new things can be hindered by the culture at our institutions. Rochelle hinted that one such barrier can be the academic culture, as “instructors are unlikely to want us sitting in on all of their classes, looking over the assignments and offering advice regularly.” In this example, it can be very difficult to change that mindset, but there are things we can do as librarians to tie us closer to the classroom. One such thing is to offer to teach a 1-2 hour instruction session to the class. Make sure that there is plenty of time to cover the project topic, and make sure the search examples are relevant to what the students will be working on. While a class might not seem like a good idea to an instructor, simply making yourself available (rather than waiting for him/her to contact you) shows that you are interested in what he/she is teaching and what the students are working on.

Our own culture as librarians can hinder change as well. Let’s say that you have some great ideas about how to take your services to where the users are. You might be interested in setting up shop in one of the academic buildings, dorms, or computer labs for a few hours each week. What’s stopping you? Well, time may be an issue, but also your existing work culture. The status quo may dictate that you are supposed to work the reference desk on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to 2. You are also supposes to be available to handle walk-in patrons who have questions in your specific subject area. How in the world can you be across campus as well? A pilot program might be a good idea, as that will allow you to investigate if a service is needed, while also letting you test the waters of your own culture. Folks are generally pretty receptive to a pilot, as they know they can pull the plug if things don’t work out quite right.

Another barrier that we may have to overcome in shifting the paradigm is technology. The argument has been around for quite some time that technology makes a number of things easier. One should just simply begin using the technology, right? Well, the problem with technology is that there are many times when it is not used as intended, or as effectively as it should be used. One example of this is with course management tools such as Blackboard and WebCT. I know that there are many instructors who do a great job of managing their classes with these systems, and they are incorporating creative measures into changing how they teach. Unfortunately, there are also a great number of instructors who just use the system to post class readings, notes, and quizzes. In this example, technology really has not improved the teaching of the class, but rather has only made it more convenient to get the class content.

I have been guilty of a similar situation in the library world. A fine example is with my research guides/pathfinders. These basically used to be word documents that were handed out to business students. These are now online in html format, but are they any more useful because technology made them more available? I would guess no, as the content can be terribly boring to read, and it does not focus on a specific topic at hand. My solution to this has been to compliment my research guides with a blog. When students have a specific industry analysis or marketing plan to do, I can write about the project in my business blog and point them to relevant resources for the project, while also pointing them to the subject guides. In this way, technology has allowed me to deliver more timely and needed information, while also allowing me to still use more traditional methods as well.

I have mentioned three external factors that can hinder one from shifting into radical reference. I am sure that there are quite a few others. However, I believe the most difficult barrier to overcome might be our own personal limitations. These can be a variety of things, such as a fear of change, fear of failure, or perhaps a fear of not knowing where the future may take you. As cheesy as it sounds, you can really accomplish some cool things when you recognize your personal limitations and confront them. I used to be afraid of trying new things in the classroom, because I was afraid that I would fail in front of 25 students. I got over this fear by introducing small changes in different classes. Some would work, others would fail miserable. The students didn’t really care, because they had never seen the way I used to do it. Only I knew that things didn’t work out as I intended, but at the same time, I learned something by taking a risk. We can often learn a great deal about ourselves when we take risks, step outside of our comfort zones, and try to change our “business as usual” approach to doing things.

I’ll try to write more about this topic, because I find it interesting how libraries and librarians are redefining their roles while conquering stereotypes, fears, and the status quo. I believe that libraries and librarians will be around for quite some time, but we will need to adapt to our users needs if we are to be successful. As Rochelle states: We can’t keep replicating traditional reference service; we need to radicalize it. I am sure the same thing can be said for a variety of library services. The question is, how are you getting radical and what barriers have you faced in getting radical?

While the details have yet to be ironed out, sometime this summer the Ohio University Libraries will have a pilot program of providing reference via Instant Messaging. We have been thinking about this for some time, and by now my colleagues are probably getting very tired of me forwarding links from Michael, Aaron, Bill, Sarah, and others.

To evaluate the need for the service, we used the same questions that were used by Sherri Vokey for the UNLV survey, plus added a few of our own. In one week’s time 302 people answered our survey, and the results are very similar to what Sherri found. By comparing our results with Sherri’s, one can definitely see the need for IM reference, and the need is the same in Ohio or Nevada or wherever.

Some highlights from our respondents:

75.8% indicated a status of undergraduate, 21.9% were graduate students
96.7% of all respondents use IM
84.8% use AOL, 24.5% use Yahoo!, 25.5% use MSN
75.8% have NOT use our Chat Reference Service
87.4% said they would contact a Librarian via IM

In addition to inquiring about IM usage, I was also curious to explore other technology usage patterns:

59% own iPods or other mp3 players
6.3% (19 out of 302) had downloaded a podcast
60.3% (182 out of 302) wondered “what in the world is a podcast”
86.4% own cell phones
53.6% use cell phones to send text messages

I was not really surprised by any of the answers, with the exception of the responses to the question about podcasting. With all of the hype about podcasting in the blogosphere right now, I had thought that more of our students would have downloaded podcasts. I can definitely see the value in creating library content in the form of a podcast, but am concerned that if we create it, will anyone listen to it? On our campus, our library patrons will definitely need to be educated about the availability of podcast content. Perhaps this is an idea that will require further exploration this summer. One thing that I would like to know is download stats for libraries that are podcasting. Does anyone have any idea how much your library’s podcast is being used?

While the numbers may dictate that podcasting is not the most pressing need on our campus, IM reference definitely deserves a great deal of consideration. To prepare for our pilot program, I have been helping my colleagues set up accounts with Yahoo! and AIM. We are currently using Trillian to connect to both services through a common interface. We have been messing around in the office to practice using the software, adding buddies, and sending files. Thus far, most of my colleagues seem open to the idea, particularly when I show the results of the survey.

One thing that we have not addressed is whether to install the actual IM clients for AIM and Yahoo on our public computers. Currently the only option for users of IM in the library is for them to use the web versions of the clients. Our survey indicates that many would prefer “to download the actual instant messenger system on the computers because sometimes using the AIM express is a hassle and doesn’t always work.” The primary problem I see with using the desktop application is that patrons may forget to close and log out of the program. Another concern is the little box that you can check that tells the app to “remember my login information.” I would be interested to see if this is a problem with other libraries, or if they worry about it at all.

While most of the respondents seemed enthusiastic about the idea, there were a few who weren’t so keen on us using technology to expand services. One person writes:

I have no idea what this survey is about so how about instead of giving help via IM you just staff the library better so it’s easier to find qualified help in person.

Another voiced concern over IM reference forcing librarians out of a job:

I think that the instant messaging service sounds like a good idea. However, I’d probably just come to the desk and ask in person. (Also, creating an instant messenger service would, as I see it, lessen the need for face to face interaction with research help. or in other words, lessen the need for reference librarians. Not good. Especially for you guys. and I’m rambling… but seriously, watch out ’cause people nowadays don’t feel like they need librarians. they can just “get it off the internet”.)

I am not sure whom this person expects to answer the IM questions, but it raises the issue of educating folks about what we do. However, it does sort of give you a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that patrons actually care about our job security.

With these two comments and a few others aside, most agreed that IM would be a valuable service to add:

IM will be a better way to communicate with librarians. As students are more familiar with IM services than the current way. This will increase usage as people will not be intimidated or turned off by inability to use the current service. (sometimes the applet simply does not show up)

I’ll write more about our project as soon as we launch the service. The UNLV Libraries will be also be launching their service very soon, and I am sure that Sherri will report about their successes on at schwagbag.

My son has been ill for about a week, so my wife and I have been swapping on/off days. As a result, neither one of us has been able to get much work done, even with trying to stay on top of email from home. I have been attempting to play catch-up today which, at eight this morning, seemed like a viable possibility because I only had one desk and one chat shift scheduled. Best laid plans……..all good intentions………etc.

In every class I teach, and in nearly every conversation I have with faculty or students, I encourage patrons to contact me if they ever have a question. I make myself available in a variety of ways: via email, chat, IM, phone, or even in person. I usually encourage the first three methods as the primary option because this allows me to handle the question as time permits, or enables me to set up an appointment to discuss the question further. Business questions can be very tricky, and it may take a while to find the perfect industry analysis or market outlook. With the more advanced questions, I feel better prepared when I have some sense of a topic before meeting a patron face-to-face. I think that if I am able to do some preliminary searching before meeting the patron, I can save time during the actual reference interview. Also, if a person stops by to see me unannounced, it is often likely that I may be in one of the many meetings that I attend, or it might be my night to work and therefore I’ve taken the afternoon off.

I don’t have office hours, so if I am at the library working and available, my time essentially belongs to the patron. Usually if someone comes in and asks for me by name, I’ll drop what I’m doing and help him or her out. Most of the time the questions are fairly routine, so I can teach the patron how to find the necessary information, and then try to get back to the project at hand. Unfortunately, my to-do list keeps getting longer and longer, because I find that I am talking to more and more patrons. While sometimes frustrating, I have come to realize that the projects can wait, even if deadlines are missed and the inbox never gets anywhere near empty. The true joy of this job is talking with students and faculty, supporting them in their research needs, helping them learn, and contributing to the collective knowledge of the university.

Today, the questions were anything but routine, as I was visited by two graduate students and a faculty member. The first student was a masters of financial economics student who needed to do a regression analysis of several stocks and stock indices. His thesis advisor apparently passed my name on to him. His question involved using a complex database that takes a great deal of time to learn, so we agreed to meet later this week.

The second student came in while I was doing Business Chat for our statewide consortium. He sat in my cube with me as I answered a few chat questions, and we talked about his MBA small business competition. He was working on a business plan for a local company interested in selling urban or hip-hop apparel. We spent about an hour talking and searching a few business databases. One of the cool things about this particular conversation was something the guy said. He recalled that we had originally met at a library orientation session that I gave to all the MBA students last September. He said, “Well, you said if we ever needed help to come by and see you. So, here I am. ”

My final tough one of the day was an accounting professor who was just beginning the research for a comparative analysis of Russian and U.S. accounting ethics. This was one of those ‘I’ll have to get back to you on that one’ questions. He was satisfied with that answer, and we talked for a few more minutes about libraries and shrinking library budgets.

What made today unique was not necessarily the number of visitors, but rather the type of patron who came to the library to see me. As our university serves a large undergraduate population, most of my patron interactions are with undergraduate business students. Perhaps once a week I get the chance to talk to a faculty member or graduate student about his or her research needs. Three in one day is almost unheard of. I enjoyed the challenge of the conversations and questions, and it looks like I’ll have some challenging research topics to play with. Once again, it looks like that to-do list will have to wait until tomorrow.

Aaron Schmidt and Michael Stephens have put together a good write-up about using Instant Messaging in libraries. Once you read this, you’ll want to try IM at your library.

Link via LibrarianInBlack.

Since January 6, I have had a total of eleven IM sessions with business students. Of these , nine were basically your run-of-the-mill reference questions. Most had questions about industry ratios, market shares, or SWOT analyses. However, the last two interactions were a little more unique.

The first encounter occurred last Thursday. The question started out about a business-related inquiry, and then evolved into something else. Before I knew it, I was helping a guy with de-bugging his html code. He sent me the link to his project, and then I proof-read the source code. I would tell him what he might consider changing and he would make the changes. He would tell me when to refresh my browser to see the updated version of the page. This exchange went on for at least 15 minutes, until his html code was just right.

I had a similar exchange this morning. A guy IMed me to ask how to upgrade from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. I told him where to get a copy of the OS (fortunately, we have a campus license that makes the price really nice) and then told him what he could expect during the upgrade. I also told him that after installation, he would need to do a Windows Update to get the latest Service Pack and the most current updates. He IMed me again about an hour ago and said that everything had worked fine and that he had a brand new OS on his laptop.

The stories above are not unique to virtual reference or instant messaging. While staffing the physical reference desk, I have had a number of similar encounters. Our desk is a horse-shoe shaped monstrosity, with library services staff (librarians and student assistants) occupying one side, and technology services staff (usually students) sitting on the other side. Patrons often do not distinguish between the two sides of the desk, so they ask their questions to the first person they see. As a result, the library services side, although intended for reference questions, fields a number of technical questions. We get questions ranging from attaching a file in an email to applying a filter in Photoshop.

Many of my colleagues will refer these questions to the other side of the desk, because “that’s what the other side of the desk is for.” I prefer to try to answer the tech question if I can, because this is often a way to learn something new (or at least keep in touch) with software and hardware issues. Also, I think it is bad service to pass a patron off to someone else, particularly if you are able to answer the question. Many are intimidated by technology-related questions, and that is very understandable. However, as librarians, we all know that a great way to learn about something new is to attempt to answer a new question.

Currently, we keep desk statistics for non-reference and reference questions. It might be interesting to add a third category to keep track of technology questions that we answer on the library services side of the desk. There might be some debate over whether librarians are supposed to be able to answer these kind of questions, as many feel these are outside the scope of reference duties. However, it would be interesting to see how our patrons define the scope of our reference duties. Perhaps by gathering a greater understanding of what they expect us to know, we might actually be prepared to answer new types of questions, while also providing a higher level of service. What if we have reached a new age and according to our patrons, reference librarians aren’t just for reference anymore?

I had another IM reference interaction tonight. The really cool thing about this particular interaction is that it was someone who had IMed me about a month ago. While business is a little slow, it’s nice to know that I am at least getting repeat customers.

I first put my IM profiles on my contact information page about six months ago. However, I did not have any business at all. That all changed when I put the IM profiles on my Business Blog. Traffic has picked up considerably since then, and eight in the last month is a pretty good start.

Sarah at Librarian in Black and Michael at Tame The Web have both posted some updates on their libraries’ Instant Messaging reference programs. Both services seem to be returning excellent numbers and are excellent examples of reaching out to the patrons. Both libraries are supporting the big three clients (AIM, Yahoo! IM, and MSN Messenger), which means that there really should be no one left out. Michael is even supporting Apple’s client, iChat.

Their numbers and success are encouraging (or perhaps overwhelming) to folks who may be thinking about starting a similar service. Our library is fortunate to be a member of OhioLINK, which offers a web-based chat service. We are able to staff a seat for our institution during most hours of operation. As mentioned in a previous post, I have made my Yahoo! and AIM screen names available to students at our university in addition to this service. They can find my screen names on my Business Blog, as well as under my library contact information. My hopes are that if they would like to contact me directly, this would be a great way to do so. CurrentlyI have no set hours of opearation as I can’t afford to dedicate a block of time just yet. However, I am available at all times while I am at my desk, so provided I am not in a meeting, teaching a class, or at the ref desk, I’ll be able to answer a question. Currently I am only supporting AIM and Yahoo! but that may change after I get the results of a survey I am doing.

During the first week of this quarter, I had the opportunity to market this idea to 80 business students during an overview of library resources. The last thing I show the students in every class is the business blog and my contact information, and I empasized the IM service in the last few classes that I have taught. During the second week of the quarter, I had six IM interactions in seven days. Not bad, but since then, all has been quiet. I have another round of classes to teach during the month of February, so perhaps this will stir up some more business. I guess we’ll wait and see.

Today I had my first reference interaction using AOL IM. My library has been doing chat reference for quite some time, and we are available for about ten hours on most weekdays. Our business is good, and we are able to help quite a few students with library research. We have about twelve people who staff our chat queue. Personally, I am only on chat once or twice a day and these times are irregular. As a result, this makes it difficult for would-be chatters to contact me directly.

Last summer I created both Yahoo! IM and AIM accounts and posted them on my library contact information page. By doing this, I wanted to enable business students to be able to contact me directly. In each class I showed students my contact information, and talked about being available through IM. Day after day I would start up my IM client, only to shut it down eight hours later. It was all quiet on the chat front —–until now.

The question was fairly basic. The patron wanted to know the update frequency of the Value Line Investment Survey. I answered him, and also referred him to another similar resource. Again, pretty basic, but very effective act extending my reach and going where the users are. Will there be more? Only time will tell.