[WEB4LIB] E-mail/online reference

[Dolores Judkins]

Looks good, Leslie.  Do you have statistics (per week/per month)?  It would be interesting to see it the use has been increasing.  If not, we probably want to start keeping them.  

Dolores

>>> Leslie Cable 10/23 8:07 AM >>>
Here's my recollection, somewhat vague, of how our email reference service evolved.  I'm copying a few people who may remember the details better than I.  I believe we began offering email reference service in 1996 (perhaps even earlier) to a select group of people, our medical students as they did their "rural" rotation through the Area Health Education Center's program in Oregon.   The rotation involved a dozen or so third year medical students going out every six weeks to a smaller community to work with a preceptor.  We reference librarians used our personal email addresses at that time.   Then a separate email address was created for this service (refer at ohsu.edu) perhaps in 1998.   Reference librarians were each assigned a weekday to be responsible for replying to any email received.  I believe around late summer of 1999 we gave the reference service's email address to our School of Nursing to provide to students.  This fall of 2000 we gave it to all entering students.   The address was posted on our Web site some time this year but I'm not certain when.   Within the last few months we have stopped listing the email address (refer at ohsu.edu) on our Web site and instead have links to a reference request form at www.ohsu.edu/library/refrequest.shtml.  Part of our motivation for this change was to make clear that this is a service for Oregon Health Sciences University folks and Oregon residents.  Because we have not advertised the service widely, we rarely receive more than two questions a day and often one or none.   Thus the service has not been a significant burden on the time of the reference librarians.  I would consider the service quite successful based on the responses of the users.

Leslie Cable
cable at ohsu.edu
503-494-3476
Reference Department
Oregon Health Sciences University Library
PO Bxo 573
Portland, Oregon  97207-0573 

>>> "Michael Sauers" <msauers at bcr.org> 10/20 8:06 AM >>>
Please excuse any cross-posting.

I'm working on my book titled "Using the Internet as a Reference Tool" and
one of the appendices is going to deal with libraries that are offering
e-mail/online based reference; patron submits a question online and the
answer is e-mailed back to them. I'd like to hear from libraries that are
offering this service.

I'd like to know:

* Your name, library and location
* How long have you been doing it for
* Whether or not you consider it successful (why/why not)
* Any other information or great stories you'd like to share

If you do not wish to be quoted in the book please specifically state so.

Thanks!

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Michael Sauers, Internet Trainer
Bibliographical Center for Research (BCR)
Aurora, CO :: msauers at bcr.org :: http://www.bcr.org/~msauers/ 
WWW Library Directory @ http://www.webpan.com/msauers/libdir/ 
Opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise noted.
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