Linda Bedwell, Dalhousie University
"How I learned to stop worrying and love virtual reference"
Problems: communication, instruction, technical
Communication
Don't try to replicate the in person reference interview with virtual reference- you have to learn to communication appropriately in the medium. (So important!) IM is fast and informal. In order to learn this, programs like "23 things" I think can be very valuable to newbie librarians.
While using IM to communicate with patrons, you can use screen-capture technologies to show the client the steps on "how to". Make it quick! (less than a minute) and upload to a video sharing service (eg. NRTube). Also can use sharedcopy and screencast. Use copy url (a Firefox plugin) to share URLs and notes.
Technical
Embedded IM: meedbo. Pidgin was used as back-end to integrate IM apps on desktop.
Face to face and an IM Widget were preferred by far compared to over phone and email in an academic library.
Where was widget embedded: content webpages, databases "ask a librarian" in EBSCO, the OPAC, and subject guides. Be careful: too many pings can break the widget (happened in the OPAC at Dalhousie).
I think this would be a fabulous addition to our services, especially for the new employees coming from academic settings who may come to expect this type of service. There was an additional 1, 500 interactions at Dalhousie using the IM widget without any marketing. It's too bad this may not be technically feasible for NRCan :(
Alternatives to Meebo:
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