Reference services and Web 2.0

Web 2.0 technologies have been used by libraries for reference services for a number of years.Susanne Bruhn, Director of Reader Services at the National Library of Australia (NLA) stated “The technology should not be an end in itself, but a means of providing the right service and we should use it to our advantage.” She also sees chat, IM and SMS as “one-to-one technologies that require immediate responses and are good for quick conversations ... [and] while they may be useful for some ready reference enquiries, they do not lend themselves to complex reference enquiries or reference interviews.” Bruhn sees these methods as being useful for initial communications between users and reference staff.

Social networking (Facebook and Twitter) and other user-generated content (blogs and wikis) provide opportunities for libraries to reach specialist interest groups with information about collections and services.

Online / virtual reference

Enquire instantly connects you to someone who is trained to help you find the answers to your questions. Enquire is a United Kingdom collaboration of over 80 public libraries throughout England and Scotland staffing the service Monday – Saturday 9am-5pm. After these hours, you will be connected to one of their partners in the USA.

RefTracker

RefTracker provides web-based tools for the operation of reference services. The system that RefTracker provides is variously called reference request management, virtual reference, and / or research tracking.

One of the special features of RefTracker, is a knowledge database is developed so when a question recurs, both the answer and the search strategies used are available for reuse. Email questions and responses, online chat and instant messaging are some of the communication methods available. 

Examples of libraries using RefTracker:

University of Technology Sydney Library

Charles Sturt University Library (New South Wales)

National Library of Australia through RefTracker.

LibAnswers

LibAnswers from Springshare is a reference (ask-a-librarian) platform with a built-in knowledge base. Web-based chat widgets can be embedded into LibAnswers and it provides an SMS module for text messaging access. An advertised feature is the Analytics module that provides real-time analytics for all reference transactions (in person, phone, IM, SMS).

Examples of libraries using LibAnswers:

Harvard Library, Graduate School of Education

Deakin University University

University of Massachusetts, Boston

Ask a Librarian

Many libraries operate virtual reference under the banner of “Ask a librarian”. Here are some Australian examples.

Murdoch University Library

Macquarie University Library

Victoria’s Virtual Library

Mobile Technologies and IM for reference services

Mobile technologies and instant messaging are additions to reference services and not a replacement. They also make reference services relevant to a new group of users, aligning them with a technology they are familiar with.

Meebo is just one example of a free application that provides an instant messaging service available for library use.  Examples of how mobile technologies are incorporated as a virtual library application are follows :

Using Meebo as a virtual reference tool

Using Meebo chat at your library

University of Technology Sydney reference service uses Meebo

There’s a librarian in my pocket (UTS).

Roving Reference

Roving Reference is reference conducted away from the reference desk. The philosophy behind roving reference is to remove the barriers between staff and clients, and to lend assistance where patrons need it rather than having them come to a desk.

 Here are some examples of the reference librarians or information specialists of the future.

Roving Reference

The reference librarian

Second Life Reference

Researcher of the future