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Purpose — In this paper, reference is treated as a market and the purpose is to argue that libraries need to refine their business strategies if they want to prosper in the digital environment. Design/methodology/approach — The paper compares Norway's national virtual reference service (Biblioteksvar) with its commercial and non-commercial competitors — and explores possible development strategies for the near future. Findings — Most virtual reference services in the library sector are modelled on the traditional face-to-face encounter between user and librarian that prevails in the physical library. As traffic grows, this creates a conflict between the wish to market the service, on the one hand, and the capacity to deliver high-value answers, on the other. Practical implications — The current organization of digital reference work is unable to cope with large increases in demand. To create scaleable services, libraries need to differentiate between user groups and to ease the burden on staff-intensive person-to-person services by adding well-designed self-service resources. Originality/value — The main value of the paper, the author believes, lies in its systematic treatment of reference as a competitive market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Any service being offered by the libraries should have well-defined and documented service policy with clearly articulated guidelines. The requirement of such a comprehensive service guidelines become more crucial in case the service is comparatively newer and the professionals as-well-as the users are not accustomed with such kind of information service. Virtual Reference Service/Digital Reference Service (VRS/DRS) is one such innovative service which calls for framing of such guidelines for providing effective VRS. This paper does the content analysis of the two very significant VRS guidelines stipulated by The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and Reference & User Services Association (RUSA) respectively. The paper attempts to analyse, synthesise and consolidate the major outcomes of these two guidelines and presents the lucid explanation of the same in coherent and cohesive manner. The discussion is structured aptly under 15 sections for easy adoption by the Indian libraries that are planning to launch VRS in future. A brief snapshot of growth of literature pertaining to the VRS/DRS guidelines has also been incorporated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference transaction statistics give insight into the needs of library users and help libraries prove their value within their institution. Collecting this data has long been an important aspect of librarianship. Historically, most libraries use paper tally sheets where librarians indicated each question asked with a mark. While paper systems are easy to implement, they provide little information about the nature of questions asked by library users. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Edith Garland Dupré Library replaced their traditional paper recording method with web-based statistics tracker Gimlet in 2016. Gimlet data reports for reference transactions occurring at the library's reference desk and those via instant message from June 2015 to June 2018 are presented and analyzed. In addition, a newly developed coding scheme was applied to transactions to ensure the accuracy of information. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this change, innovations in reporting reference transactions in the Reference and Research Services department, and topics for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Virtual reference is a part of the services offered at academic and other types of libraries. This paper discusses humanistic perspectives that merit consideration in the provision of virtual reference (VR), including mindfulness, authenticity, emotional intelligence (EI) and counseling. This study aims to make these perspectives become a part of the language and practice of virtual reference through this discussion.Design/methodology/approach The paper establishes a framework for the VR perspectives it discusses by examining relevant literature for background information and practical applications.Findings VR has the potential to benefit from the interrelated humanistic perspectives of mindfulness, authenticity, EI and counseling. It is through the counseling perspective that mindfulness, authenticity and EI are embodied to offer a more transformational and less transactional experience for both librarians and users.Research limitations/implications While the paper provides examples of language used by the author to illustrate the counseling perspective, a future study, whereby virtual reference transcripts are formally analyzed, may be beneficial to determine other expressions of counseling and its related perspectives of mindfulness, authenticity and EI.Practical implications This paper provides a resource especially helpful to individuals new to VR or who seek opportunities for growth in providing VR.Originality/value In addition to taking a multifaceted view of VR through the humanistic perspectives presented, this paper also offers a multidisciplinary approach in its discussion, drawing from areas such as business and medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The questions asked at the traditional reference desk are decreasing while questions asked at the virtual reference desk are on the rise. Over a one-month period, the types of reference questions asked at an academic health sciences library were coded. This paper examines and compares the types of questions asked at the current day reference desk versus the virtual reference desk. This paper also reviews past literature examining the types of questions asked via virtual reference and the traditional reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education in the twenty-first century globally has been characterized and driven on business ethos. The institutions are faced with stiff competition in an attempt to increase their student enrolment, attract international students and faculty, pioneer centres of excellence, showcase outstanding research output, produce astute graduates and get listed in top ranking league tables. The paper therefore examined the effects of leveraging on value-added services to academic library users through competitive intelligence as a predictor of competitive advantage among tertiary institutions. It identified value-added personnel, collection, processing of materials and dissemination of information as constituting specific target selling points to be enriched with the concept. It however noted and x-rayed the concept of competitive intelligence as a critical precondition for achieving effective value-added service delivery in academic libraries. The paper concluded that robust collection coupled with technology-driven retrieval system as well as digital reference services would lead to greater user satisfaction and enhanced patronage of library services. It recommended among other factors the need to benchmark competitor institutions to gain competitive advantage over the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the Internet there have been several innovative developments in librarianship that have had a tremendous impact on reference services. Reference services have become more dynamic, social and collaborative. Consequently, library users are no longer restricted to fulfilling their information needs face-toface or over the telephone as in previous decades, but now have the opportunity to liaise with librarians virtually and to have their queries answered immediately anytime, anywhere, and via current applications such as Instant Messaging (IM), Short Messaging Service (SMS) and commercial tools. The model in which libraries collaborate in the provision of reference services has drawn much attention in academia and is regarded as a viable option for libraries seeking innovative solutions to the problems of budgetary constraints, social exclusion and a lack of visibility. Notwithstanding the benefits associated with a collaborative reference service, the issues of cost, quality control and the commitment of member libraries are a few of the constraints that are yet to be overcome. By presenting a review of the scholarly literature supported by the views of an experienced practitioner, this paper seeks to explore the advantages and disadvantages of a collaborative virtual reference service (VRS) as well as the implications of implementing such a service at the national level in Jamaica. It is hoped that the paper will encourage librarians to participate in a collaborative VRS in Jamaica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first part of the paper develops a framework explaining the need to disambiguate user inquiries to improve information systems and services. Theoretical grounds for this framework are explained for how questions are categorized on the basis of their ambiguity type, while the relevant literature is reviewed including both the traditional and the digital information service environment. The second part of the paper categorizes a set of questions (400 Qs), originally collected for TREC 8 and 9 QA Tracks, according to ambiguity type. Three types and two dimensions of ambiguity are identified by the author with the acceptable levels of inter-coder agreements presented. The last part of the paper discusses three aspects of information systems and services, mainly related to user-system and user-information intermediary (i.e., a reference librarian) interactions, on the basis of the results of categorization. Those three aspects include (1) increasing user input to make initial queries less ambiguous, (2) reducing search space by disambiguating queries, and (3) clustering search results based on the characteristics of prospective answers. In each of the three aspects, discussions on the evolving environments of virtual reference services were presented.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with the two major programs of the 2002 Annual Conference of the American Library Association in the U.S. Number of librarians who were invited to write white papers in advance of the conference; Opinion of reference librarian Catherine Ross regarding the value of reference interview and how it affects the reference process when it does not take place; Views of reference librarian David Tyckoson on reference interview.

A conference paper is presented introducing chat reference as a new concept in Iranian libraries as well as the competencies needed to implement it. It discusses the multiple definitions of digital or virtual reference as well as chat reference. The three kinds of competencies needed for chat reference are lists from individual collaborative projects used for training, statements developed by professional organizations, and discussions in works on implementing and managing chat reference.

Several institutions have developed image feature extraction software to compute quantitative descriptors of medical images for radiomics analyses. With radiomics increasingly proposed for use in research and clinical contexts, new techniques are necessary for standardizing and replicating radiomics findings across software implementations. We have developed a software toolkit for the creation of 3D digital reference objects with customizable size, shape, intensity, texture, and margin sharpness values. Using user-supplied input parameters, these objects are defined mathematically as continuous functions, discretized, and then saved as DICOM objects. Here, we present the definition of these objects, parameterized derivations of a subset of their radiomics values, computer code for object generation, example use cases, and a user-downloadable sample collection used for the examples cited in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chat reference is becoming prevalent in academic libraries across the country. This paper details the experience of East Tennessee State University's Sherrod Library when initiating such a service at their institution during the 2001-2002 academic year, which began as a response to the addition of a new online degree program in the state. Software selection, staff training, management issues, and statistical data are presented. Data analyzed includes use patterns, types of questions, and categories of users. The paper details librarians' reactions to providing reference services in this format, including the problems encountered. It also offers suggestions for a more successful implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on work from two studies in progress related to assessing digital library reference services and developing standards that support such services. The paper suggests that two types of standards--utilization and technical--should be considered together in the costing, statistics, and measures for digital reference services. The digital reference community has the opportunity to embed quality standards and assessment data into software and infrastructure by linking utilization and technical standards early in the evolution of digital reference markets. Such an approach would greatly enhance the collection and analysis of a range of cost data related to digital reference service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the nature of queries posed by library patrons during a regular reference interview, within the conceptual framework of Internet reference services in an academic library. The users of the reference desk in a typical university setting usually range from the freshmen to the faculty, with researchers from the corporate sector occasionally dropping in. Presented here will be the viewpoint of a reference librarian indicating that library users, armed with the newly acquired knowledge of Internet/electronic tools, leave the reference desk with a vastly different perspective on carrying out a literature search than they arrived with. The observation is that while the basic theme and nature of queries remain pretty much the same, it is the role of the reference librarian in responding to these queries that has undergone an immense change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

When the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) was incorporated as the Ohio College Library Center in July 1967, it was largely considered an enterprise whose primary task was investigating cataloging duplication in American libraries. Fred Kilgour, OCLC's founder, was the visionary behind a collaborative enterprise that would eventually reshape the library landscape for generations. The concept of a cataloging system using automation to share bibliographic information, thus allowing libraries to copy catalog records for their own purposes, seems obvious today. In hindsight, it is hard to imagine the effort it would take if every library across the globe were required to individually catalog their acquisitions. Yet Kilgour's vision went beyond the standard use of automation in cataloging applications. He believed automation can “provide not just information about where to find information, but the information itself, the text of the book or article, the map, the recording, each delivered directly to the user” (Mason, 1998, p. 57). Kilgour's audacious approach signaled a sea change in the way libraries operate. Traditionally, librarians acted as pointers to information. They provided search strategies for readers and sent them on their way. It was up to the reader to review the card catalog or the paper index, decipher the information in those sources, again consulting the librarian as interpreter. The reader then needed to find the monograph or periodical article by physically locating the material or by making a request, depending on the type of library they frequented. For the better part of the 20th century, this paradigm dictated the interactions between reference librarians and their patrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As library service providers for distance learners, we are constantly searching for ways to improve communication, share our knowledge, and make distance learners aware of our resources. Virtual (real-time chat) reference is yet another tool to utilize in reaching these students. While virtual reference has been around for several years, and is offered by many libraries, the four institutions comprising this service have taken a variety of paths to reach the current stage—a collaboration among academic state university libraries of varying size. This paper discusses collaboration aspects such as differences in institutional cultures, negotiations, planning and implementation, developing policies and best practices, staff training, technology issues, and lessons learned that can he applied to any collaborative project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Royal Roads University (RRU) Library uses e-mail reference as its primary point of contact for reference services. Learners working off-site are encouraged to request reference help at a central e-mail address which routes questions to librarians. Questions are monitored cooperatively and answered via an informal protocol. RRU prides itself on excellent client service and the librarians endeavor to be responsive and helpful. Recent staff turnover and a need to orient new librarians led to the development of a set of best practices for e-mail reference. This paper examines the role of e-mail reference in the continuum of digital reference services and discusses best practices together with staff training and development issues that are particular to the conduct of e-mail reference in a distributed learning environment. To measure the success of this model, learners were surveyed for their satisfaction with responses to questions and for their preferred mode of contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries have long experimented with how to staff the reference desk. Recent trends at college and university libraries indicate a shift toward a tiered staffing model, relying on a mix of professional librarians, library paraprofessional staff and often graduate students when available. Fewer academic libraries employ undergraduate students to work at the reference desk. This paper examines the use of undergraduate library assistants specifically to staff chat reference services at an academic library. It analyzes chat transcripts for content and comparative quality between different types of answerers: professional librarians, paraprofessional staff, and undergraduate students. Our analysis of 451 chat reference transcripts determined that undergraduate students can indeed provide satisfactory chat reference services, comparable in quality and content to that of paraprofessional staff and professional librarians. The data suggests that having well-trained undergraduate students staff chat reference is a viable, and even desirable, option for academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians need feedback from users to improve library services. On the other hand, users need assistance from librarians in order to gain a better understanding of library services. This paper focuses on how Chinese students use U.S. academic libraries' virtual reference services (VRS), and how academic librarians use VRS. By collecting data from Chinese students and librarians, this paper hopes to create a better understanding of these two factors in order to improve VRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital reference service refers to the task of providing assistance to the library users in fulfilling their various information needs. The digital reference services has become an important part and parcel of the library services in the changing technological environment. The paper is an attempt to provide an overview of the digital reference services in libraries in the present day world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a snapshot of virtual reference services (the use of instant messaging or chat for enquiries) in UK academic libraries, and provide information about software for libraries considering providing a virtual reference service. Design/methodology/approach – The paper summarises the results of a 2008 UK-wide survey of academic libraries and gives a brief overview and comparison matrix of top virtual reference software products as tested by the Virtual Enquiry Project. Findings – Virtual reference services are not widespread in UK academic libraries. However, current service providers are planning to continue or expand services and a majority of academic libraries surveyed are considering starting a service. Originality/value – This is the first survey of its kind among UK academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion or not of chat services within Virtual Reference (VR) is an important topic for university libraries. Increasingly, email supported by a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) database is suggested in the scholarly literature as the preferred, cost-effective means for providing university VR services. This paper examines these issues and identifies some best practices for university library VR services relating to chat and email service, collaborative service provision, services staffing, and staff training. Further studies are required to more completely identify best practices for the complete range of VR services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to compare established reference interview guidelines (RUSA) with actual reference provider behaviors in remote reference transactions. The data is used to argue that specific reference interview "best practice standards" should be developed for remote access reference services. Design/methodology/approach - Remote reference transactions were examined for evidence of adherence, or not, to the RUSA guidelines and behaviors. The transcripts were also coded for showing evidence, or not, of user satisfaction. Findings - Data from 1,435 virtual reference transcripts shows that in 82 percent of the reference sessions the user found the information needed. Analysis also shows that librarian compliance with RUSA-recommended reference interview behaviors, especially in the areas of listening/inquiring and searching is frequently poor - possibly due to time constraints. Research limitations/implication - This study adds to the empirically-based knowledge on the reference interview process and virtual reference services. Practical implication - Reference policies and procedures can be modified to accommodate patrons based on type of reference access. Education and training of reference staff can be customized to meet patron needs. Originality/value - This paper develops a methodology for evaluating the reference interview in virtual reference transaction and suggests modification of the RUSA reference interview guidelines for remote access reference services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 2006, Thomas Jefferson University went live with a new instant messaging (IM) service. This paper reviews the first 102 transcripts to examine question types and usage patterns. In addition, the paper highlights lessons learned in instituting the service. IM reference represents a small proportion of reference questions, but based on user feedback and technological improvements, the library has decided to continue the service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the trends affecting reference services in court and government law libraries, such as globalization, shrinking budgets, the increasing availability of information, declining in-person patron visits, increasing numbers of pro se patrons, and the emergence of new technologies and the millennial generation. The paper then considers innovations arising in response to these trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the implementation of its instant messaging reference service in the 2000–2001 academic year, the librarians at the University at Buffalo (UB) have succeeded in creating a vital presence for virtual reference. The Instant Librarian chat service, open 57 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters, supplements the traditional face-to-face and e-mail reference services available at UB. Real-time reference using AOL Instant Messenger addresses the expectations of a well-informed population of UB users comfortable with the conveniences enjoyed via the Internet, such as tile sharing and instant messaging. Librarians at UB use Instant Librarian to their advantage by employing active learning techniques, while answering both simple and complex questions. A chat session is a unique way to reach a patron who normally would not come into the library for help. In the chatroorn, the librarian Creates a positive teaching environment, prompting repeat visits and even in-person follow-up research consultations. This paper describes the nuts and bolts of UB's chat reference service and illustrates ways UB librarians attempt to incorporate teaching strategies within the online environment. The first section discusses issues such as staff training, technology/software problems, marketing/publicity matters, and the methodology and purpose of a user survey. The second section addresses the instruction element of UB's Instant Librarian. Librarians take advantage of the online environment to promote self-directed learning. The paper also includes a literature review highlighting published articles, hooks, and surveys that examine the significant facets of a real-time reference service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of Nebraska at Omaha's Library expanded its reference services to an underserved area/curriculum at the Peter Kiewit Institute, a building on the University's South Campus. The Library chose videoconferencing to deliver library services to the Institute. This method included Web cameras, microphones, and Polycom software for a real-time interaction between the patron and librarian. The paper describes the planning process, hardware, software, problems, marketing, staff training, and ideas for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the incorporation of instruction in library virtual reference services (VRS), and explores whether the rate, and nature of instruction provided to patrons during VRS sessions is different than that provided during face-to-face reference. The Penn State VRS was used as a case study in this assessment. An analysis of a sample of archived Penn State VRS transcripts was conducted to assess the nature and quantity of instruction provided based on the presence of defined instructional elements incorporated in the sessions. The paper discusses the similarities and differences in approach to instruction during VRS and face-to-face reference, and how these relate to overall instructional services in academic libraries. The paper also reviews findings of some similar studies cited in the literature. The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant amount of instruction taking place during both face-to-face reference and VRS. Furthermore, the approach to instruction in both reference environments is very similar. However, the VRS system in use at Penn State (LSSI Virtual Reference Toolkit), because of its technological features and capability, has facilitated new and unique enhancements to instructive reference that are not available in face-to-face reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to compare user perspectives on visits to in-person and virtual reference services conducted by participants in the Library Visit Study, an ongoing research project. Design/methodology/approach - This paper compares satisfaction rates, identifies staff behaviours that influence user satisfaction, and suggests how both face-to-face and virtual reference can be improved. Since 1990, participants in the Library Visit Study have been MLIS students who ask questions at in-person and virtual reference desks, and report on their experiences. In addition to these accounts, students complete questionnaires on their experiences. Level of satisfaction with the in-person or virtual transactions, based on the ‘willingness to return’ criterion, are computed. Satisfaction is compared with other factors such as correctness of answers and friendliness of library staff. Underlying problems that influence satisfaction are identified. Findings - Data from 261 in-person and 85 virtual reference transaction accounts (both e-mail and chat) show that virtual reference results in lower satisfaction than in-person reference. Underlying problems that are associated with user dissatisfaction were identified in face-to-face reference and carry over to virtual reference, including lack of reference interviews, unmonitored referrals and failure to follow-up. Research limitations/implications - The number of virtual reference visits is relatively small (85) compared with 261 in-person visits. Practical implications - The reasons for ongoing failures are examined and solutions that can help improve both face-to-face and virtual reference are identified. Education and training of reference staff can be improved by recognition of the behavioural causes of dissatisfaction in users. Originality/value - This paper provides empirical data that compare user perceptions of in-person and virtual reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soon after AskALibrarian, Florida's Statewide Virtual Reference Desk, began to offer Chat Reference to the public in 2003, a Quality Assurance Workgroup was established to ensure that the service patrons received would be friendly, accurate, and adequate. To make certain that best practices were used in answering the real time questions, two methods of evaluation were quickly put into place. One of these was a patron survey, which appeared directly after the chat ended. The other method involved the forming of a Quality Assurance Work-group of academic and public librarians who would read chat transcripts and select the best one(s) that followed designated criteria for good virtual reference service. This paper presents statistics from the patron survey results and quotes from actual transcripts, which demonstrate how the Quality Assurance Workgroup used designated criteria in choosing the Best Chats for the month. [Article copies available for a fee from The [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents up-to-date information collected by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute Reference Library in regard to Slavic literature. The Ukrainian collection at the Harvard University Library, the largest collection outside Eastern Europe, is located primarily in Widener Library and Houghton Library, with the remainder housed in several specialized collections on campus (Fine Arts, Music, Anthropology, Science, Law), including the Ukrainian Research Institute's own Reference Library. The library also serves as a reading room for current serials, a center for reserve materials for courses in Ukrainian studies, and a repository for archival, manuscript, and ephemeral collections (concert and banquet programs, annual reports, anniversary booklets, exhibit catalogs, broadsides, etc.). Several collections provide insights into the immediate post-World War I period in Ukraine. The collections are a particularly important historical resource for the study of Ukraine during the revolution of 1917 to 1921, and Ukrainian refugee and émigré life in Europe and the United States.

In today's fast-paced environment, traditional medical reference services alone are not adequate to meet users' information needs. Efforts to find new ways to provide comprehensive service to users, where and when needed, have often included the use of new and developing technologies. This paper describes the experience of an academic health science library in developing and providing an online, real-time reference service. Issues discussed include selecting software, training librarians, staffing the service, and considering the future of the service. Use statistics, question type analysis, and feedback from users of the service and librarians who staff the service, are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Winter Park Public Library began Chat Live/Ask a Librarian (Chat Live), a live online reference service, on February 1, 2002. We first chose LiveAssistance as our library's service provider but later switched to QuestionPoint, sponsored by OCLC. This paper outlines our experiences with both chat services and includes the following: our reasoning behind initiating a chat reference service; the selection process; how we trained and implemented the service into our daily routine; marketing the service to patrons; our day-to-day experiences (including a chat session transcript); the importance of script writing; some brief statistics on usage; and our overall thoughts on the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper relates the collaborative planning by a task force of public, academic, and special librarians to develop KANAnswer, a statewide virtual reference pilot project. Major points include selecting software, developing policies and procedures, marketing, procuring partners, staffing and training, coordinating the project, and early impressions of the librarians who staff the service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a use analysis and the results of a user survey of Bowling Green State University Libraries' "Chat with a Librarian" service for the academic year 2001-2002. When appropriate, the results are compared with the results of other libraries' services. Information examined includes when and from where users ask questions via the services, how users find out about the service, and what types of questions the users ask, the status and affiliation of the users, and user satisfaction with the service. Most of this information can be compared to findings from at least one other academic library's study of a somewhat similar service. With a few exceptions, the findings are similar from service to service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world of the reference librarian is changing. As more and more patrons go to the Internet first to meet their information needs, libraries must be there to help them locate and obtain relevant information. Libraries have been experimenting with virtual reference tools for some time. This paper will provide a brief overview of the development of virtual reference services, examine the need for and provide lessons learned from implementing virtual reference services in a major research library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many students, the World Wide Web is their main access point for library research and, therefore, libraries need to find a venue for the virtual reference interview. This paper discusses the use of the library home page as a reference tool and its importance in the online reference interview process. This article also discusses some of the research that went into the creation of a home page for a large, urban, academic institution, how this research was utilized, and how the resulting page serves as an online surrogate for the in-person reference interview. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since their inception, virtual reference services have evolved considerably and are now a significant component of library services in many types of library environments. The current paper reports on a study undertaken at a research-intensive academic library that analyzed and evaluated a decade-old virtual reference service. The main goal of the study was to obtain a broad and comprehensive picture of the current service, grounded in the actual day-to-day provision, usage, and organization of the service. The group of librarians involved in the study developed a feasible, efficient, and adaptable methodology for assessing and evaluating a virtual reference service. The developed methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative methods can be used and applied for a similar evaluation of the service in any type of library environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reference services (VRS) and social question and answer (SQA) are two different platforms that share many facets of their functionality, leading to an opportunity to create synergic solutions by bringing complimentary aspects of these services together. This article describes the use of participatory design, a method commonly used in human-computer interaction (HCI), for investigating design and deployment challenges to create a new hybrid question-answer (Q&A) system. A set of three design sessions was conducted with 17 experts from academia and industry. These semi-guided discussions asked the experts for their opinions and suggestions on various issues concerning what a potential hybrid Q&A system could look like. In addition, the participants were encouraged to provide design and implementation ideas based on expertise in their relative fields. The suggestions, comments, and ideas resulted in the development of 11 themes within three categories: (1) provision of more information; (2) provision of control; and (3) focus on user-friendly design. This paper provides details of the method, the sessions, and the design suggestions including the 11 themes and three broad categories. The paper provides a synthesis of the implications of the findings for virtual reference and social Q&A service providers and system designers. Finally, the participatory design method is compared to other methods, and implications for its use in library and information science are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The graphical branding of electronic resources reminds users that what they are using has been paid for by the library, and provides a visual connection between the e-resource and the library. This is especially important when the user accesses an e-resource without first going to the library's Web site. At the University of Mississippi Libraries, there are three different graphics that are being used to brand electronic resources: the Web-Bridge button, the Research Pro logo, and the e-resources brand. This paper looks at the creation of these graphics and what was learned from the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first section of this article reviews the literature on the changing face of reference, beginning with a discussion of the national decline in reference transactions, its causes, and the likelihood that online reference services might one day halt or reverse the decline. It then analyzes definitions of the term “reference,” pointing to a disconnect between those definitions and much of the work that actually takes place at reference desks. Next, critiques of desk-centric models of reference are examined, followed by a discussion of the persistence of the desk in so many academic libraries today. The analysis of the literature in section one informs the re-envisioning of reference services at CPP discussed in section two. Specifically, section two describes and assesses CPP's reference desk staffing shift from librarians to LibStARs (Library Student Assistant Researchers) and our implementation of LibAnswers in an effort to automate some reference transactions. The paper ends with an overview of the benefits of these new initiatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper reports a research study aimed to explore the readiness for digital reference service (DRS) of university libraries of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, in terms of organizational awareness, willingness, planning and strength of resources. This descriptive research employed the survey method. The survey instrument (questionnaire) was reviewed by a panel of LIS experts of national level and was worded to achieve an official organizational response to probe the status. Thirty-eight libraries of Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognized universities participated in the study. The findings reveal that only a few libraries were at a level of DRS readiness while the others were adopting this system at a slow pace. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Dyna is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin, Facultad de Minas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The spread of active braking controllers on vehicles with significant mechanical differences and on low-cost products asks for control design approaches which offer easy and fast calibration and re-tuning capabilities. This task is made difficult by the use of model-based control approaches which heavily rely on specific vehicle dynamics descriptions. To address these issues, this brief paper proposes a data-driven approach to active braking control design, grounded on the virtual reference feedback tuning (VRFT) approach complemented with a data-driven nonlinear compensator. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is assessed both on a full-fledged multibody simulator and on a tire-in-the-loop experimental facility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Information Science is the property of Brazilian Journal of Information Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Digital reference service (DRS) has its origin in the early 1980s and as subsequently become a ubiquitous feature of the twenty-first century library. With approximately 50% of academic libraries in the United States of America providing digital reference service, this case study examined the service offered at the Syracuse University. The paper seeks to present the findings of an exploratory research that was undertaken during the period October to December 2009. The objectives of the study were to identify the various models of DRS, determine the issues that librarians need to consider when offering DRS and to analyze the students’ perceptions of the service at Syracuse University. An online survey was administered to the students at the School of Information to determine their perception of the service provided by the Bird Library and its implications for libraries in Jamaica. A total of 53 respondents participated. The results showed that DRS augments the traditional reference service and that students believe that DRS enhances their learning. The results have implications for those libraries in Jamaica considering implementing such an initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper seeks to evaluate to what extent Google retrieved correct answers to queries inferred from factual and topical requests in a digital Ask-a-Librarian service. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 100 factual and 100 topical questions were picked from a digital reference service run by public libraries. The inferred queries simulated average web queries. They were expressed as separate keywords and as questions. The top ten retrieval results were observed for each answer. The inspection was stopped when the first correct answer was identified. Findings – Google retrieved correct answers to 42 percent of the topical questions and 29 percent of factual questions by keyword queries. The performance of queries in question form was considerably weaker. The results concerning the characteristics of queries and retrieval effectiveness are also presented. Evaluations indicate that the public library reference services answered at least 55 percent of the questions correctly. Thus Google did not outperform the Ask-a-Librarian service. Originality/value – The study introduces a new way of evaluating search engines by comparing their performance with other related services such as an Ask-a-Librarian service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic communication technologies continue to change the landscape of reference services. For many users, virtual communication is the preferred means of conversing. Synchronous virtual reference, similar to other synchronous means of communication, is an important method for reaching students and for providing teaching and learning opportunities. Grounded Theory (GT) research provides a method for examining the transcripts of synchronous virtual reference. In this study, the library implemented the instant messaging (IM) application known as Meebo. Using the qualitative software ATLAS.ti, Iowa State University Library researchers uploaded, analyzed, and coded the instant messaging transcripts. From the analysis, a snapshot developed of the library's central role in educating the university community about research resources. This paper describes ongoing challenges that occur during synchronous virtual reference interviews and staff training needs that cannot be captured by number crunching alone. Synchronous virtual reference can provide essential teaching and learning experiences that complement the educational mission of most research universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the communicative rituals of opening and closing manifested in e-mail-based Internet Public Library's (IPL's) online reference interaction. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 400 transcripts comprising user queries and responses by IPL librarians are examined. The opening and closing elements are identified to examine the way in which IPL librarians and users construct social space; that is, communicate their interpersonal and affective stances during the course of seeking and offering information. Findings - The results of data analysis show regular patterns of verbal and structural politeness indicators of opening and closing e-mail discourse. Linguistic elements such as greetings and acknowledgement are included in all the sampled transcripts; i.e. a 100 percent occurrence. Closing rituals have a 95 percent occurrence of linguistic features such as acknowledgement and invitation for follow-up. In contrast, there is a low occurrence of personalized openings through greeting by user name (26 percent). This lack of personalization also occurs in closings: personalized farewell through use of librarian name appears in only 8 percent of closings. Research limitations/implications - The employment of the various politeness tactics in opening and closing reflects the librarian's attention and concern to user's information needs, interests and wants. Such communicative competence narrows social distance and brings forth close socio-interpersonal space for interaction; this may, in turn, improve the overall quality of reference service. Research findings also indicate that more use of personal names may decrease the social distance between the librarian and user, resulting in increased solidarity and proximity. Originality/value - The study provides new insights into linguistic politeness and the functions of address forms such as personal names with a view toward developing effective opening and closing rituals that contribute to the enhancement of virtual reference services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Reference (VR) tools are a useful means of allowing remote interaction between librarians and library users. This paper focuses on the use of synchronous VR tools and their potential for fostering information literacy. The use of chat software, co-browse and Second Life was surveyed and follow-up interviews were undertaken. Conclusions: The three tools investigated all have merits as ways of promoting information literacy within VR services at the enquiry desk, with chat being the most popular because of its stable and user-friendly nature, and the ease with which it can be integrated with other products such as blogs, webpages and co-browse tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]