I eading I ibrarie - California State University

Virtual reference in libraries: Remote patrons heading your way? Doris Small Helfer Searcher; Feb 2001; 9, 2; ABI/INFORM Complete pg. 67

. I eading I ibrarie£ Virtual Reference in Libraries: Remote Patrons Heading Your Way? by Doris Small Helfer Chair, Technical Services Library California State University, Northridge Academic libraries across the country have been experiencing dramatic drops in their reference statistics. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) tracks service trends. While every other area of library service shows growth or at least no loss, reference transaction counts have dropped 2 percent 1991 to 1999. In contrast, interlibrary loan requests have shown a healthy 84 percent increase. The primary reason seems obvious to me from one of the most frequently asked questions at the reference desk, "Can I access all these databases from home and, if so, how?" Again, ARL statistics indicate the change in roles this represents to academic librarians with figures on group presentations up 34 percent and the number of participants in such presentations up 32 percent [http:/ /www.arl.org/stats/arlstat/ 1999tl.html]. The accessibility of information resources via the Internet has led students to take advantage of that accessibility by using the databases that the library pays for from their home or dorm room. By and large, this is a good thing. It gives students access to online and electronic collections whenever and wherever they may want or need them, not just during the physical library's open hours. But what about those students encountering problems getting into the library's resources, those struggling to extract

what they want from the databases they have selected, or those not knowing which database(s) to select? What help is available for those patrons who use or try to use resources from home? And what about those for whom the databases or Internet resources do not have the answer? Many libraries have taken reference questions via e-mail for years. In the case of e-mail, typically the patron sends an e-mail message asking their reference question and, whenever the next reference librarian gets time to check the e-mail, they respond to the question. The patron gets an answer to their question within 24 hours, if they have given the librarian sufficient information from which to answer their original question. However, all librarians know that patrons don't always give sufficient information or ask their questions in a manner that will get them the answer they really want. The essential reference interview process can frequently take several e- mails before the patron gets the information they need. Even in the best of cases, patrons must wait for answers to their reference questions. E-mail reference is not immediate and requires considerable time and patience by the patron. Telephone reference, while immediate when you can get through, is limited to the library's hours of operation. Technology, computers, and Internet mythology have raised patron expectations and demands. More and more students today expect everything they want available online and in full text. Patrons accessing library

resources increasingly don't want to search a database just to find an article citation, even though they can check the library catalog online to see if the library owns the journal. But if the library does own the journal, patrons may have to go into the library, find the specific article, and either copy it to read later or read the article in the library. Increasingly, patrons want and expect to not just find the citation, but also the article, online. This trend can disturb reference librarians when they see students taking lower-quality, nonacademic articles just because they can find them full text online. Of course, even these are the lucky patrons, the ones who have found relevant articles. What about those trying to find information they need from home, but failing to find the answers that satisfy their research needs, particularly those who either cannot or do not want to physically come into the library? Academic libraries feellhe heal of burning expectations, but they are not alone. Public libraries and special libraries also face the challenge of rising expectations, the Web-driven mandate of24/7.

24/7 Reference Project: A Library Approach Steve Coffman, now of LSSI, and Susan McGlamery of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System have been concerned about this issue for nearly 2 years and have been doing a lot February 2001---@

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about it. Coffman wrote an article in the May 1999 issue of American Libraries entitled "Reference As Others Do It," 1 in which he suggested the idea of live virtual reference and intimated that software was becoming available to make this a reality. [For a status report on virtual reference by Coffman, check the forthcoming March 2001 issue of Public Libraries.] Coffman and McGlamery worked together to develop and get a federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant for what they called the "24-7 Project." This project of the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System [http:/ /www.mcls.org] is supported by Federal LSTA funding and administered by the California State Library [http:/ /www.library.ca.gov/]. The project serves a number oflibraries in California. Its goal is to provide libraries with the tools needed to do live reference on the Web. [For more information about the project, check out http:/ /www.247ref.org.] Coffman and McGlamery wrote another article in the May 2000 issue of American Libraries entitled "The Librarian and Mr. Jeeves"2. In this article they looked at existing commercial Web reference services like AskJeeves and Webhelp and wondered why librarians would abandon the public to companies with a commercial interest, which access only Web-based information, and which have only a superficial understanding of how to help people find information. Coffman and McGlamery wrote: If we hope to continue to serve as honest brokers and offer a viable alternative to theAskJeeveses and Webhelps of the world, then we must adopt the tools and strategies of our competitors and join our patrons on the Web. Although some libraries have tried developing e-mail reference services, delivering answers can often take 24 hours or more, the reference interview can be difficult to handle, and most library e-mail services have gotten precious little

use. That is where the 24-7 Reference Project in Southern California comes in. Scheduled to go live by the summer of 2001, the project aims to help libraries develop the tools they will need to provide live, real-time reference services over the Web 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The 24-7 Reference Project uses Web line software (recently bought out by Cisco Systems), which provides sophisticated tools well beyond "chat" to enable librarians to interact with patrons. There are MCLS libraries such as the Santa Monica Public Library [http:www.smpl.org] that started using the virtual reference desk software on a very limited basis for weekend service to patrons. In the Summer 2000 issue of Reference and User Services Quarterly, an article entitled "Moving Reference to the Web"3 by McGlamery and Coffman appeared in which they stated the following: The development of the Internet is finally making it possible for libraries to realize a longstanding dream: to bring the library to the patron, rather than bringing the patron to the library. We want to serve our patrons whenever and wherever they need information, whether they are standing in front of the reference desk, sitting in their office, or helping the kids with homework at 9:30 in the evening. The Internet has given us the tools we need to realize this goal. Commercial firms are using Web-based technologies to provide live customer service, including text-based "live chat," collaborative browsing, Voice Over IP, and "click to call me," among others. This software is specially designed to improve the efficiency and quality of question handling on the Web. The Metropolitan Cooperative Library System/ Santiago Library System consortium has re-

ceived a grant to purchase contact center software and test its applicability for reference. If this approach lives up to its promise and reference service moves onto the Web, perhaps then it may be possible to provide our patrons with access to the library anyway, anyhow, and anywhere. The software the consortium purchased enables staff to track and cap-

Latest Announcement from 24-7 Project At presstime, we received this quick progress report from Susan McGlamery: Through an LSTA grant, the project was able to license the software and contract with a software developer to customize the product for libraries. We have about 60 libraries testing the software- most are public libraries, some are academic, and a few are special libraries. So far we have given each library total freedom, in that they decide what hours to offer the service, and with which staff. In January our public library members band together to cooperatively offer a centralized live reference service using the software. The hours are noon to 6 P.M., Monday through Friday. The "ask a librarian" is available on several los Angeles/Orange County public library Web sites, including los Angeles Public Library, Santa Monica Public Library, and others. Eventually, this spring, we will expand this service to cover these hours:

Sunday 6 P.M. to midnight Monday-Thursday noon to midnight Friday noon to 6 P.M. UCLA began offering the service live to their students in January. Other academic libraries testing the software include UC Irvine, Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona, and (soon) Caltech. This is an exciting example of cooperative reference in a consortia! context, and to my knowledge this will be the first such effort, using the live reference software.

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ture details of reference questions, provides scripting to prompt reference staff to ask certain questions for certain subjects, or refers to certain key sources, and allows easy authentication of the patrons so that only library card-holders can query the staff or access any proprietary databases. In addition it allows routing of calls, so staff could work in remote locations, for example, networking a group oflibrarians from different libraries or staff working at home. It also permits live, real-time collaborative browsing over the Web, which lets the reference librarian "push" the patron's browser to appropriate URLs. The Metropolitan Cooperative Library System/ Santiago Library System hoped to have the software installed by the end of last year and to go live by the summer of 200 l.

LSSI has launched the Virtual Reference Desk [http:/ /www.lssi.com/vir tual/) and has already sold it to the Bay Area Libraries, Silicon Valley Library System, the South Jersey Library Cooperative, and North Carolina State University, among others. Steve Coffman estimates the Virtual Reference Desk is being used in about 65libraries to date. Coffman is traveling extensively now, responding to many libraries and library consortia looking at installing the product. It works fairly simply and requires a personal computer, preferably at least a Pentium II with 128K of memory and the ability to execute Java or JavaScript. When patrons come to the library Web site looking for information, they click on a button labeled "Get Live Help." The button can be a button or a text link, and the library can choose what it looks like and how it is labeled. When patrons LSSI's Virtual Reference Desk: click on the button at the library's Web A Vendor Approach site, a Virtual Reference Desk session begins. Patron are then prompted with In June of 2000, Steve Coffman left a login screen that requests their name, his position as the head of FYI, a feee-mail address, and the question. Libased service of the Los Angeles County brary staff can configure the login Public Library System, to join LSSI. LSSI screen. Once the login screen form is was interested in commercializing the complete, the patron clicks the connect work begun by the 24-7 project for the library market. Steve was chosen by button to transfer to a queue and await LSSI for this effort because of his pio- the next available librarian. When the neering efforts, knowledge, and experi- patron enters the queue, the system disence with the virtual reference desk plays an estimate of the wait time; if the from his work on the 24-7 project. For a time exceeds a certain threshold, the variety of reasons, Steve and LSSI chose system offers the patron the option of to go with different software called sending an e-mail question. Librarians monitor the queues eGain produced by a company called eGain Communications Corporation from a Session Inbox showing the [http:/ /www.egain.com!]. They de- number of patrons in each queue and cided to take software originally de- the average wait time on that queue. veloped for thee-commerce customer Calls are answered in the order reservice/call center market, the same ceived. When a librarian answers a software used on L.L. Bean's Web site, call, the system launches a special and customize it for library reference browser that allows the patron and the use. While there are many competitors librarian to work together online. to eGain in the eCommerce Customer Once the patron is connected, the liService software market, vendors such brarian and the patron can both have as eShare, Live Person, Live Assistant, a Web and chat-based dialogue while Webline, and others, LSSI is, to Steve's they work to locate the information knowledge, the only vendor that has the patron has requested. Librarians may perform the followadopted and marketed this kind of ing actions with any patron: software for library use.

• Send Web pages to the patron in real time, either one at a time, or through "escorting," in which the patron's browser follows the librarian's step-by-step. • Preview any Web page before sending it. For patrons with advanced browsers (IE or Netscape 4.0 or better), they can do two-way browsing (meaning the patron can push pages to the librarian and vice versa) and use a form synchronization feature that allows librarians and patrons to fill out forms, like search boxes, together. • Send "chat" responses to the customer's questions and statements. • Send pre-defined scripted messages and answers to commonly asked questions. • Capture and send screen shots from any application running on their computer. • Walk the patron through slideshows and presentations. • Transfer or conference the call to other librarians on the system or to any other library using the system. • When the transaction is completed, the librarian closes the session and both the patron and the librarian are e-mailed a complete transcript of the session, including all conversation exchanged and screens pushed. A copy of the transcript is also stored in the system database for future reference and analysis. As a hosted service, technically"installing" the Virtual Reference Desk on your Web site requires no more than pasting a bit ofHTML code on an icon or a text link to make you ready to go live. Librarians sign on to the system through a special Web address LSSI gives the library. There is no software to install or set up, so the whole process takes about 15 minutes. Of course, some things the software can't do for you, like plan your services, decide on how you would like to configure it for users, and train your staff. These are not small issues, as it does take some time to train staff to develop the skills to chat effectively with patrons February 2001--@


online and to lead them effectively to answer resources. To help, many librarians work to build in scripts the library may already have covering frequently asked questions. Most commonly the software is used in conjunction with chat and voiceover IP, but not video as most networks cannot handle the bandwidth necessary to do video, yet. Voiceover IP allows you to use the same phone line for talking to a librarian at the other end. But once the library is ready, deploying the software takes virtually no time at all, and updating andre-configuring the Virtual Reference Desk is equally simple. Since the librarian's "desktop" on the Virtual Reference Desk operates using any Web browser, patrons and library staffers can access the network from anywhere with a Web connection. In fact, a number of the new online commercial reference services have set up "virtual call centers," where all the agents work from home, but the computer still routes the questions to agents logged onto the system as if they all worked in one big "boiler room."

Implications This software has implications beyond just dealing with our patrons. Many libraries with remote branches could use it for immediate access to colleagues at the main library. And, of course, there are potential uses for distance education and classrooms as well. But librarians will have to deal with issues that define their patrons and their level of service to those patrons. If you have a service which any and everyone can enter, are you prepared for the demand on your library's time? If you are budgeted to serve only a certain constituency, you will have to ensure only those constituents have access to your Virtual Reference Desk. This is not hard to do, but the libraries entering the Virtual Reference Desk must be prepared on how to handle all these and other situations likely to be encountered by the library dealing

with remote patrons before the library truly implements such a service. While I am truly excited about the possibilities and potential that the virtual reference desk has for librarians and the chance it gives us to work interactively with remote patrons as well as compete effectively with commercial services like Ask Jeeves and Webhelp, I sometimes have nightmare visions of myself and my colleagues tied to the virtual reference desk 24/7. Not a pretty sight. The thought of having to answer a patron inquiry at 3 A.M. does not exactly excite me- or at least, not positively. However, I do believe this development may move librarians to band closer together in either consortia or more informal sharing arrangements to ensure patron inquiries get answered whenever and wherever a need or demand arises. I suspect some librarians will embrace the change enthusiastically, especially where they find staff who enjoy working late nights. Others will employ the option on a more limited basis such as Santa Monica Public Library does, by offering those services during limited weekend daytime hours. I do however believe that libraries that wish to continue to thrive and help

their patrons cannot ignore the declining numbers in personal reference desk transactions for long. We have made our patrons able to search our resources from home, and we can't abandon them there. I don't know about you, but I've yet to get an even remotely useful answer to my questions when I've asked a question of Ask Jeeves in the past. I believe this will cause a major shift in the way in which our profession delivers reference service to patrons. The Internet has already changed the way we deliver information to our customers and this just further extends that change. I do believe that sooner or later all librarians will embrace these changes and the superior service they offer our patrons.

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Endnotes 1 Coffman, Steve. "Reference As Others Do It," American Libraries(30)(5) (May 1999) pp. 54-6. 2 Coffman, Steve and Susan McGlamery. "The Librarian and Mr. Jeeves," American Libraries 31(5) (May 2000) pp. 66-69. 3

McGlamery, Susan and Coffman, Steve. "Moving Reference to the Web," Reference & User Services Quarterly v. 39 no4 (Summer 2000) pp. 380-6.

Bibliography Coffman, Steve, "Reference As Others Do It," American Libraries, vol. 30, no. 5, May 1999, pp. 54-6. Coffman, Steve and Susan McGlamery, "The Librarian and Mr. Jeeves," American Libraries, vol. 31, no. 5, May 2000, pp. 66-9. Coffman, Steve, "The Response to 'Building Earth's Largest Library,"' Searcher, val. 7, no. 7, July/August 1999, pp. 28-32 [http://www.infot0day.com/searcner/jul99/coffman.htm]. Coffman, Steve, "Building Earth's Largest Library: Driving into the Future," Searcher, vol. 7, no. 3, March 1999, pp. 34c47+ [http://www.infotoday.com/ searcher/mar99/coffman. htmJ. Coffman, Steve, "What If You Ran Your Library Like a Bookstore?" American Libraries, vol. 29, March 1998, pp. 40-2+. McGlamery, Susan and Steve Coffman, "Moving Reference to the Web," l?eference & User Services Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 4, Summer 2000, pp. 380-6. Tomaiuolo, Nicholas G,, "Aska and You May Receive: Commercial Reference Services on the Web," Searcher, vol. 8, no. 5, May 2000, pp. 56-62. Tomaiuolo, Nicholas G. and Joan G. f>acker, "'Aska' Do's, Don'ts, and How-To's: Lessons Learned in a Library," Searcher, vot. 8. no. 3, March 2000, pp. 32-35.

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