Are You There? Discoveries in Synchronous Communication in an Asynchronous Class
IM Reference in Libraries
One of the most startling discoveries for me this week was in thinking about how teens use SMS and IM while they are doing just about everything. It is as much a part of their life as the telephone was for me as a teen. They are in the course of an evening, communicating throughout their online time with classmates about assignments and social issues simultaneously. My own children do this, but I’ve never put two and two together as to how they rely so heavily on IM and texting to communicate with each other; they would be lost without it. According to the Syrsi Dynix presentation Engaging Youth in Their Own Terms, teens treat IM like their phone. Whether or not the older generation will agree with them that this is a good idea is not the point, we must recognize that this is the way it is. When Sarah Houghton-Jan and Aaron Schmidt mentioned that email for teens is something they do to communicate with older people, it made perfect sense to me; the only time my kids use their email is to communicate with adults. Ouch.
It of course makes sense that IM reference services are a great way to help users of this generation. There is an immediate gratification for getting an answer the moment you need it.
I used the IM reference service at the Cal State Monterey Otter Library this past week. In speaking to the librarian, he told me that this is a service that they have been offering for a little over a year. Users have been overwhelming positive about the service. He even put some of the responses on the text box that they received from survey results. “Whoever thought of this is a genius” was one of them. The librarians like using the service as well, although they do have a concern about how to service the users when they have an IM and a live reference question at the same time.
There are considerations for IM reference. The reference interview, which can be challenging to conduct when there is no face-to-face interview, is one of these challenges. Also, how does a librarian answer an IM request when they are in the middle of a reference interview? One last one to think about, is what does the user do if the status of the librarian is “online” and yet there is response to the user’s request for chat?
Houghton-Jan and Schmidt make a strong argument for IM reference in their presentation in that, users can put the library screen name into their buddy list, so that the library is right there every time the user turns on their IM service. The library becomes part of the user’s community and makes a connection with the user on a personal level.
Another positive thing about IM reference is that it is so easy to use. Users don’t even need to download software if they choose to chat on the embedded widget the library provides on their webpage.
Finally for the library, the cost is free. Just the sheer number of libraries incorporating IM reference services at the library is an indication of the usefulness of this tool. The Library Success Wiki has an entire page devoted to Libraries Using IM Reference
There are commercial virtual reference services that some libraries are using, and that are offered 24/7.
The Maryland AskUsNow! reference service allows you as a user to select your library so that the librarian answering your question has access to the databases and resources available to you. They even have a section on their main page where there is a list of favorite resources and links to these resources to further help the users. A nice feature of the Maryland AskUsNow! reference service is the ability to push the website onto the users browers as well as sending an email of the chat transcript.
I had an opportunity to use the ASKNOW! Service, a 24/7 reference service offered by the California State Libraries and accessed through the Contra Costa Public Library system. There was no guarantee that I would get a librarian in my area or even the state. I worked with a librarian in Washington DC. The question I had was on drought resistant plants in my area and she really didn’t know how to help. She directed me to a so-so website and offered to send my question to my local branch. Five days later I did receive an email from my local library, which was, in my opinion, a long time to wait.
Another service offered by some libraries is live homework help for primary and secondary school students. The Contra Costa Public Library offers such a service and is available during posted hours. These services require a library card number to use them.
SMS and PDA Device Consideration in the Library
This is another area that more libraries are trying out namely text and modifying screens on websites for mobile devices.
More and more people are using PDA devices such as Blackberrys and iPhones and there are a number of libraries that are designing the content of web pages for mobile users. Stanford University’s Lane Medical Library is one such library and Athabasca University Library in Alberta Canada is another. Libraries must think of these users as they move forward and try to provide access and services for users on the go.
Texting and SMS services are another way that libraries can reach users. According the librarian at the Cal State Monterey Otter Library, there is less use for text reference and the questions are more of the short answer nature as in hours and computer availability.
As discussed in the Elluminate session this past Saturday with Debbie Faires, SMS can work effectively with users as Blackberrys can send emails to libraries, and libraries can respond back to the user’s mobile device via email as well.
A blog I found on the Library Success Wiki called The Digital Reference Blog talks about Bryant University Library. This school bought a smart phone and a service plan for about $240 a year. This has yielded about 420 text messages in the course of a year. Students can text questions to reference desk. With the amount of text messaging that young people do in a day, it makes sense to reach out to them to offer library services this way.
Another thing some libraries are doing, as discussed in the Elluminate session, is SMS integrated into OPAC systems, where the user can receive texts sent from the OPAC to their mobile phone. This is useful to get a call number if you are already out in the stacks. Bryn Mawr Library is a library that offers this service.
VoIP in Libraries
According to Farkas, there are not many libraries offering VoIP services to their users, but there are libraries that use it for communications between colleagues in different states. VoIP requires more effort to make contact with a user. The user and librarian will most likely need to schedule the call, and there is also software that must be installed. VoIP is an effective way to offer reference services to people with visual impairments. Organizations such as InfoEyes provide services that allow visually impaired users to connect with a librarian over the Internet.
Another consideration for VoIP (as with chat services) the user and librarian must be on the same system in orders to have successful communications.
Of the three forms of synchronous communication we discussed, this is the least one I’ve seen used. The element that VoIP brings to online reference lacking in IM and SMS is the vocal element.
