Live Online Reference Services at ALA

[Steve Coffman]

You've Read About It in American Libraries ....

You May Have Heard About It on the Listserves or
in Presentations at the Library Conferences ....

Now, Finally You Can Try It Out For Yourself at ALA!


What Is It?


It's Live Real-Time Reference Service on the Web ...

And It's Coming to ALA

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For those of you who are interested in live, real-time reference on the Web,
there are a variety of programs and activities on this new, and
rapidly-developing field that you may want to check out at \the ALA Annual
Conference in Chicago ... including an opportunity to test drive the
software for yourself.


MEETINGS:

First off, there are several meetings that will focus in whole or in part on
live Web reference services, including:


"Reaching Users and Adding Value: Reference Services in the Online
Environment"
Monday:  9:30 a.m.-12 noon  --- RUSA Management and Operation of User
Services Section, Management of Reference Committee; PLA Technology in
Libraries Committee.  McCormick Place E-151.

Reference managers need to re-examine the evolving needs of information
seekers in the rapidly changing online environment. Reference and public
service librarians will discuss strategies for providing reference
assistance to on-site users in the new online environment (training,
measuring, etc.) and considering new reference measures/services for remote
online users. Topics include: staffing (including training) for online
in-house and remote users; traditional reference services in an online age
(considering the value of the personal interaction); adding value online for
remote users (how to reach and extend services to off-site users); planning
measurement of services to remote users.
Speakers: Chris D. Ferguson, exec. dir., Pub. Svcs. Core, Univ. Libs., Univ.
of Southern CA; Steve Coffman, Product Development Manager, LSSI; Linda
Arret and Diane Kresh, Network Development & MARC Standards Office, Lib. of
Congress; Marie L. Radford, assoc. prof., School of Info. & Lib. Science,
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY.


"Reference 24/7: High Touch or High Tech"
Monday:  2-4 p.m. --- RUSA President's Program.  Marriott Downtown, Grand
Ballroom II.

We examine the evolution of reference services from the more traditional
come-to-a-fixed-location-locally-during-normal-library-hours-for-a-face-to-f
ace into the brave new world of 24/7 global reference: automated, mediated,
and mixed. Sara Weissman describes her long running email reference service
in a public library. Roy Tennant addresses the fast moving target of where
technology is taking us, or preferably, where it will enable us to go in
decoupling the geographic and temporal limitations which have circumscribed
reference services until the last handful of years. Diane Kresh or Linda
Arrat, Library of Congress, considers the development of the Collaborative
Digital Reference Service.


"Live Networked Reference Services:  the Role for Fee-Based Services."
Sunday 9:30-11:00am --- FISCAL Discussion Group.  McCormick Place, E-350.

This program will feature a demonstration of a sophisticated question
routing and tracking system for both live and email inquiries and a
discussion of the roles fee-based services in libraries will play on a
reference network.  Part of what we hope to accomplish in this meeting is to
define the kinds of information libraries participating in such a network
would need to provide about their services in order to route questions
effectively, and what sort of tracking and accounting features the network
would have to offer to handle a variety of reference and research questions
effectively.  Although the emphasis is on fee-based services here, much of
the content and the discussion at this meeting will be of interest to any
library interested in networking reference services ... whether you have a
fee-based service or not.



LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS AND HANDS ON OPPORTUNITIES


In addition to all the meetings, presentations and discussions detailed
above, there will be a variety of hands on activities and demonstrations,
where you will be able to see the software up close and personal ... and
actually take live Web reference services for a test drive.



LSSI Launching New Virtual Reference Desk Software at ALA.

LSSI will be demonstrating it's brand new Virtual Reference Desk software at
the LSSI Exhibit Booth #611.  They will have a complete virtual reference
system set up so you can try out both the patron and librarian interfaces
and see how they work for yourself.  If you put in an email address, they
will even send you a complete email transcript of your session, so you can
review it later.   The Virtual Reference Desk software has been piloted in
applications at the Department of Energy and a number of other special
libraries, and LSSI is making it available to the broader library community
for the first time at ALA.  You can check out the demo Web page right now at
www.lssi.com/virtual, but the service won't actually be open and staffed
until
the Exhibits open next Saturday at ALA.


Library of Congress Collaborative Digital Reference Service

The Library of Congress will be giving a series of 30 minute presentations
on it Collaborative Digital Reference Service --- currently under
development --- at the Library of Congress Exhibit Booth, at the following
times.  Although the CDRS is currently working on systems to route email
questions, this system could possibly be extended to live questions in the
future.  The 30-Minute presentations are scheduled at:  Saturday July 8:
2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Sunday July 9: 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.; and Monday
July 10: 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.



All and all, it should be a very interesting conference for those of us
working with this rapidly developing technology, and I look forward to
seeing you all there.



Yours,


Steve Coffman
coffmanfyi at earthlink.net