Ronan, J.S.: Chat reference : A guide to live virtual reference services (2003)
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- Footnote
- Rez. in: JASIST 55(2004) no.4, S.366-368 (L. Mon): "The early years of the 21st century have been marked in the library community by a sharp increase in "chat reference" Services offered through library Web sites. Variously called "live reference," "virtual reference," or "chat reference," these Services utilize chat, MOO, instant messaging, and other online technologies to extend the live, synchronous interaction of the library reference desk to the Internet. In 2001, Stephen Francoeur found 272 libraries with chat reference Services worldwide, and in June 2003 Bernie Sloan's online listing of chat consortia included 47 consortia, which together represented more than 550 U.S. libraries. (Francoeur, 2001; Sloan, 2003) Jana Ronan's book is the latest entrant among recent works intended to guide librarians in the growing trend of setting up synchronous online "chat reference" services, and provides information about selecting software, setting service policies, conducting training, and managing staffing for a variety of different service configurations. Ronan, who serves as Interactive Reference Coordinator for the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida, Gainesville, covers the practical aspects of launching and managing chat reference services in 10 chapters, followed by five chapters of individual case studies contributed by other authors who describe chat reference implementations at SUNY Morrisville, Austin Peay State University, Paradise Valley Community College, University of South Florida, and the University of Florida.
Other recent works in this field include Marc Meola and Sam Stormont's 2002 "how to do it manual" for starting and operating live reference services, and Anne Grodzins Lipow's 2003 "handbook" for virtual reference librarians (Meola & Stormont, 2002; Lipow, 2003). As with Ronan's book, each of these is targeted toward librarians who are considering offering live interactive online reference services as part of a digital library presence. While Meola and Stormont provide extensive guidance an adapting chat services to specific staffing configurations and Lipow focuses more deeply an developing staff skills for the chat reference interaction, Ronan's book offers the most comprehensive overview for analyzing and selecting among chat reference software choices. Ronan's first two Chapters are focused an software choices. Chapter 1 describes "basic" software such as Internet Relay Chat (IRC), MOO, instant messaging, and Web-based chat, while Chapter 2 covers "advanced" options such as online distance education courseware and Web-based call center software. In Chapter 3, Ronan discusses the audience for chat reference services. Chapter 4 concerns the criteria for selecting "real time software" appropriate for the library and its users. Chapter 5 explores staffing models of all types, from recruitment of regular staff to work extra hours to outsourcing of chat reference work among vendors, consortia, and independent contractors.
Training techniques are the focus in Chapter 6, including ways to relax trainees and reduce cognitive load as well as to maximize training utility when the software limits the number of logins available. Ronan covers everyday administration and policy issues in Chapters 7 and 8. These include a list of daily routines such as checking that the software is functioning, plus monthly routines of updating statistics, policies, and procedures. Chapter 9 offers guidance an the chat reference interview, which Ronan likens to "information therapy" within an online environment of diminished contextual cues. Marketing and publicity are discussed in Chapter 10, with advice an advertising and publicity campaigns as well as a checklist of 20 promotional strategies for attracting users to a new chat service (p. 165). In the final section of the book, Chapters 11-15 provide individual case studies written by six contributors describing how live different academic libraries have been able to launch and operate chat reference services using a variety of different types of software including instant messaging, MOO, Internet Relay Chat, and call center software. Each case study begins with a statement of the software used, launch date, staffing, and hours of the service, and most include statistical information an chat reference traffic. These final live chapters provide "voices from the front lines" giving details of individual librarians' experiences in launching chat services.
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