r u there? Adding IM to an Established Virtual Reference Service: Virtual Reference Desk Conference

r u there?  Adding IM to an Established Virtual Reference Service: Virtual Reference Desk Conference
Jean Ferguson and Pam Sessoms

Ferguson and Sessoms presented about adding instant messaging to existing virtual reference service offerings at both of their university libraries (UNC and Duke).

At UNC the librarians log on to monitor both the web-based chat and IM services at the same time.  [I thought this was an interesting strategy—much like centralizing VR services, something that many librarians are highly resistant to after being burned by centralized phone reference in years past].

Sessoms spoke about the reasons for adding IM to their VR cadre.  Many college-aged users use IM.  There is an installed user base and the software is already familiar to users.  It encourages repeat use via the user’s buddy list.  The service is perceived as friendly and informal. The problems with IM are that the shift change procedure can be unclear, statistics have to be kept manually, administration-side configuration can be difficult, it is perceived as “silly” by some librarians, the alerting doesn’t always do the job, spam and virus issues, and patrons have to register with a commercial entity.

The strengths of web-based chat are that you can see if another librarian is signed on, it keeps statistics, usually a software download isn’t required, there are alerts until the patron is picked up [umm, IM can do this too], it allows one public identity to represent multiple staff identities [IM does this too], and patrons do not need to register with a commercial entity to use the service.  The weaknesses of web-based chat are that it’s unstable, it’s not as intuitive for users, and the librarian-side configuration can be difficult.

At this point, both of their libraries answer more questions via IM than via web-based chat.  It has increased their overall virtual reference questions answered each month, which most likely means they’re tapping a whole new user base.

They talked a bit about staffing models.  At UNC, they have the chat computers set up in a little room behind the reference desk and when they receive an audio alert, one of the librarians at the physical desk goes back to answer the IM question.  They have set up a sound alert spaced in 20-second intervals.  They’re using Gaim, so they can specify what they want the sound to be.  Duke staffs IM off the reference desk if it’s busy, and if it’s slow they’ll staff it on the physical desk.  Shift changes can be a problem. 

They spoke about marketing (always the Achilles heel for all library services and resources).  Suggestions included web page advertising, e-mail signatures, icons on library computer desktops that point to AIM Express and instructions, stickers or business cards, library computer wallpaper or screensavers, a press release, word of mouth within the academic community, and flyers with tear-off screen name tabs.  [I like the idea of a screensaver or computer wallpaper with AskALibrarian information.]

In terms of training, they recommend having all staff sign up for individual IM accounts and use them for staff work.  Workshops for those needing additional trainings is also recommended.  They do note that IM training is so much easier than commercial web-based chat product training.  They also recommend that a list of IM acronyms or lingo be available to staff to use if they are not already comfortable/familiar with it.

Training issues that have been raised by staff include chat lingo, spam and viruses, abusive or silly patrons, bots, the “silliness” of some screen names, the use of lowercase and informal language, the need to be explicit by typing everything that you’re doing, and the practice of using short phrases and sentences instead of typing everything out in perfect grammar.

They noted that Gaim is nice in that you can have all the logs and configuration files stored on one centralized machine.  BUT, any Gaim accounts on the computers will be logged (including any personal librarian screen names they aggregate through Gaim).  As such, staff are encouraged to use Trillian or the native interface of the chat client for personal IMing.

One of the systems librarians is working on a script to add on to Gaim to anonymize the screen names and assign random identities to track repeat usage, and calculate simple usage stats.  Even better, they plan to make the script available for other institutions to customize (you have to be using Gaim and be able to run a PERL script).  Huzzah!

For the future: they want to be able to gather statistics, allow for queueing, add the IM interface to the commercial web-based chat software [yes, yes, yes], and market the service in other ways: Facebook, signs on buses, downtown, and outside the library).