Virtual Reference at ALA: So Much to See, So Little Time (long because there's a lot of stuff)

[Stephen Coffman]

Virtual Reference at ALA:  So Much to See, So Little Time

The most up-to-date version of this schedule will also be posted on the LSSI Virtual Reference Services Web site at www.lssi.com/virtual



In the past 12 months we’ve seen a veritable explosion of virtual reference services in libraries.  The idea seems to have the caught the imagination of the profession, and those of us who have been around the field since its inception, stood by and watched in amazement as you all have taken the thing and run with it.  In the past year, we’ve seen the launch of the Livereference listserve(livereference at yahoogroups.com), the development of several new virtual reference tracking sites:  Gerry McKiernan’s at Iowa State University http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/LiveRef.htm and Stephen Francoeur’s at Baruch College http://pages.prodigy.net/tabo1/digref.htm).  Many new articles have been published (see Bernie Sloan’s bibliography at http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/~b-sloan/digiref.html and The Virtual Reference Desk Project http://vrd.org/pubinfo/proceedings99_bib.html
(both of which are incomplete, because there is so much coming out so fast now), and, of course, virtual reference programs and panel discussions have become a staple at almost every state and regional library association program around the continent. 

But we all know talk is cheap, so the real measure of the phenomenal growth in this field are the dozens and dozens of libraries that bitten the bullet and bravely launched virtual reference pilot projects over the past year.  At LSSI, we are now working with over 100 partner libraries on virtual reference projects, and of course, there are dozens of others out there using different software such as eShare, LivePerson, Convey Systems, 24/7 Reference, LiveAssistant, and others.   Another measure of how far we’ve come is the number of librarians who been trained in virtual reference skills.  Last year at this time, it was difficult to find a librarian who knew what virtual reference was, much less how to do it --- but over past year, Kay Henshall and the LSSI training group have introduced hundreds of reference staff to the ‘joys’ and, yes, the frustrations of virtual reference, the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland is experimenting with it in their reference courses, and there are now enough of us doing it, that we’re having the first Virtual Reference Veterans get together on Saturday afternoon at ALA to talk, drink beer and compare war stories (See Saturday’s activities below).  

Of course the field has not been without its problems, either.   There are a number of technical issues that have to be addresses, most notably co-browsing proprietary databases and authenticating patrons in reference sessions involving proprietary databases.  For a discussion of both of these issues, don’t miss Chris Zagar’s live Web session on proprietary databases at 12:00 noon Sunday (see below for details).  But, as is so often the case in libraries, marketing -- or rather, the lack of it -- is probably the most critical issue all of us are facing. We have already seen enough to know that the ‘build it and they will come’ philosophy to virtual reference is not likely to be successful, no matter how high the quality of the service you are offering. Meanwhile, services like AskJeeves and WebHelp – that pay very close attention to marketing indeed - have been able to generate very high levels of traffic (as in 4 million questions per day on AskJeeves, and 6000 questions per hour on Webhelp) even though the quality of ‘reference’ service they offer often leave much to be desired.  One of the few services to tackle the marketing issue head-on is the QandACafe project in the San Francisco Bay Area … to find more about what they have done to brand and market their services - and how you can take advantage of it in your own virtual reference service – come to the major QandACafe program at San Francisco Public Library’s Koret Auditorium 10:00-11:30 on Monday.  Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out the QandACafe Conference Concierge (see below for details) for a taste of how the service works (see program details below).  The Concierge Service is available 24 hours per day on the ALA Conference Web Page (planner.ala.org and click on Housing and Travel) from now until the end of ALA on June 19th.  

All of this foment and development is reflected in the wealth of programs and activities on virtual reference at ALA in San Francisco.  In fact there is so much going on many of you are going to find yourself ‘double teamed’ as Ronna Nemer put it, and forced to pick and choose between several good programs on the events happening at the same time.

I’ve listed the programs below by date and time … and a couple words of warning here, ALA has been slow in getting updated details on the conference programs out this year, so if there are any errors and omissions in this list, drop me a line at stevec at lssi.com and I’ll make changes to the ‘official version’ of this announcement which will be posted on LSSI’s Virtual Reference Services Web site at www.lssi.com/virtual.


***** From Now Through June 19th *************************************

Friday, June 1, 2001 through Tuesday, June 19th  --- 24 hours per day 7 days a week from now until the end of the Conference.

The QandACafe Virtual Conference Concierge Service.

You don’t even have to wait for ALA to try this one.  QandACafe --- the virtual reference project of the libraries of the San Francisco Bay Area --- is offering a live conference concierge service on the ALA Conference site at http://planner.ala.org then click on Housing and Travel.  The QandACafe concierge staff will work with you live and online to help you locate conference programs, find hotels and restaurants, help you find your way around and give you information fun things to see and do while you are in or near  “The City”.   The service is available live 24 hours a day 7 days a week from now through the end of the ALA Conference on Tuesday, June 19th.   It is operated by QandACafe, and the libraries of the San Francisco Bay Area, and with help from LSSI’s Virtual Reference Services, and LSSI’s 24x7 Web Reference Center.  QandACafe is sponsoring the service to show off their virtual reference project, and to help publicize the opening of QandACafe for Libraries, a complete turnkey virtual reference system that they designed and will now be making available to other libraries.   For more on the QandACafe for Libraries meeting, please see program details on Monday, June 18th, below. 


***** Saturday June 16th *******************************************

1.  9:00 am to 5:00pm Exhibits Open  

There will be at least four exhibits focusing on various aspects of virtual reference

Booth # 705 Library of Congress:  presentations on the Collaborative Digital Reference Service Saturday, June 16: 1:30pm, Sunday, June 17: 1:00pm and Monday, June 18: 10:00am

Booth # #3245:  LSSI Virtual Reference Services and site of the Live From San Francisco Online Global Broadcasts.  Continuous live demonstrations of virtual reference software and site of the various Live from SF programs throughout the conference.  See below for details. 

Booth # 238:  QandACafe.com details about the QandACafe.com virtual reference project and the new QandACafe for Libraries service.  Staff by real, live virtual reference librarians who work the QandACafe Desk.

Booth # 1229 24/7 Reference details on the 24/7 Reference project in Southern California, plus brown-bag lunches on various virtual reference topics.  See below for details. 


2.  10:30 to 11:00 am   Karen Schneider Live from SF ... "Top Ten CIPA Facts” Online at www.lssi.com/virtual and on-site at LSSI Booth #3245. 

Karen Schneider will do a live online presentation on the "Top Ten CIPA Facts” what public libraries and consortia need to now KNOW about the Children's Internet Protection Act for effective decision-making in the year ahead. The First Amendment you save could be your own!  You can either logon and catch Karen's presentation online by going to www.lssi.com/virtual and following the links to Live from SF, or come by and see her do the presentation in person at the LSSI’s Exhibit Booth #3245.  


3.  12:00 noon to 1;00 pm “Homework Help In The Live Reference Environment” Bring your brown bag lunch to the 24/7 Reference Project Booth #1229 to discuss ways to improve your student’s researching abilities using live online reference.


4.  1:00 pm to 3:00 pm  “CDRS Interactive Session I. (This session will repeat 3:30-5:30) "What Is It Worth to You” Holiday Inn Financial District, 750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor: Chinese Culture Center or go to www.lssi.com/virtual and click of CDRS Interactive Sessions if you will be attending online. 

These participatory sessions are sponsored by CDRS, the Library of Congress, LSSI Virtual Reference Services and OCLC, and will give you an opportunity to express your opinions on key issues concerning the Collaborative Digital Reference Service using live real-time audience survey technology.  Simultaneous sessions will be conducted online using LSSI's Virtual Reference Service and Cogix Internet polling software and onsite using real-time audience survey technology.


5.  1:30 pm Poster Session "Live in Five (Minutes!):  Implementing a Virtual Reference Service in a Multitype Library Consortium."  Poster Session # II-4 at the Moscone Exhibit Hall. 

Susan Holmer, Director of the System Reference Center and Janie Silveria, Coordinator of Reference Services at CSU, Monterey Bay will discuss the QandACafe project and what it is like to do reference in a large multi-type collaborative.


6.  3:00 to 5:00 pm Virtual Reference Veterans Get Together.  Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant. Upstairs Dining Room.  2 Harrison Street, San Francisco. 

If you are a veteran of virtual reference and are not afraid to talk about it, come and join Jana Ronan of the University of Florida, and LSSI's own Kay Henshall and Michelle Fiander and your friends and colleagues from libraries around the country for some beer, appetizers and a lot of good discussion and comparing notes at Gordon Biersch.  Rsvp to Jana Ronan at jronan at ufl.edu.  


7.   3:30 to 5:300 pm “CDRS Interactive Session II” (This is a repeat of the 1:00-3:00 session, see above).  "What Is It Worth to You: Holiday Inn Financial District, 750 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor: Chinese Culture Center. 

These participatory sessions are sponsored by CDRS, the Library of Congress, LSSI Virtual Reference Services and OCLC, and will give you an opportunity to express your opinions on key issues concerning the Collaborative Digital Reference Service using live real-time audience survey technology.  Simultaneous sessions will be conducted online using LSSI's Virtual Reference Service and Cogix Internet polling software and onsite using real-time audience survey technology.



***** Sunday June 17th *******************************************

9:00 am – 5:00pm Exhibits Open 


8.  9:00 to 10:30 am: YALSA Technology for Young Adults Committee
"Online Reference: A Chat with the Vendors" 

This was all the location information available on this program at press time, please refer to Official Conference Program for further details.  Online reference suites are now critical customer services. How do librarians serving young adults select and support a balanced collection of products that will best meet the needs of their constituents? Meet major vendors of reference services for young adults, find out what is new in reference publishing, and get answers to your questions about content and trends!


9.  9:30 to 11:30 am  "Is There A Free Lunch? The Impact Of
Technological Innovations (like Virtual Reference) On Fee-Based Services."  Moscone Convention Center Rm. 224/226.   RUSA MOUSS Program. 

Speakers for this program include Beth Hanson from VTIC, and Steve Coffman, formerly manager of the fee-based service, FYI, Los Angeles Public Library and currently at LSSI will speak. The program will focus specialty reference are research services in academic and public libraries, and the role that virtual reference and other technologies can play in helping expand the reach of these services.  This program will also be of value to libraries that currently operate 2nd-level or subject specialty reference centers and would like those services better used, and for any library that has always wanted to offer a fee-based or subject-specialty reference service but couldn’t figure out a way to do it.  There may not be a free lunch, but there are plenty of fresh ideas here for everyone.  


10.  12:00 noon to 12:30 pm.  Live from SF  “Authenticating Patrons in Virtual Reference” a live global broadcast with Chris Zagar, founder of EZProxy.  Join us online at www.lssi.com/virtual and on-site at LSSI Booth #3245.

Chris Zagar, developer of EZProxy, one of the most respected and well-known Web authentication software used in libraries, will discuss techniques for authenticating patrons in virtual reference sessions.   Chris will cover both techniques for authenticating patrons as they come into virtual reference systems, and then strategies for co-browsing databases that use IP authentication.  Come by LSSI’s exhibit at Booth #3245 to see Chris live, or join us online at www.lssi.com/virtual and click on Live from SF, then select this session to login. 


11.  12:00 noon to 1:00 pm “Staffing A Live Online
Reference Center” Bring your brown bag lunch to the 24/7 Reference Project Booth #1229 to explore options & considerations used in staffing live reference.


12. 2:00 to 3:00 pm.  Live From SF. “The Future of Virtual Reference with Bernie Sloan” Join us online at www.lssi.com/virtual and on-site at LSSI Booth #3245.  

You’ve all seen some of the discussion on future of virtual reference the livereference and digi-ref listserves recently, now here’s your chance to exchange your ideas live and online.   The indefatigable Bernie Sloan – who will be live from Illinois - will start with an brief opening presentation highlighting some of the key issues facing virtual reference and will then open up this online meeting to discussion from everybody logged on.  You can join this meeting live and online, be going to the LSSI Web site at www.lssi.com/virtual and clicking on Live From SF; or stop by the LSSI Exhibit at Booth #3245 and watch the proceedings live or join in on our computers.


13.  2:00 to 4:00 pm.  "E-Reference, Local/Global: How Are We Doing?," Moscone Convention Center, Room 307.  

Diane Kresh, CDRS Director and Director, Public Service Collections and other presenters will discuss the various forms of e-reference in public libraries.  Presentations that represent models in practice and that describe technology, staffing, statistics and other practices and evolving considerations.  This is all of the information available on this program at this time, for further details, please see official Conference Program.  


14.  4:30 to 6:30 pm  "Forum on Digital Reference and Bibliographic Control: Options for Collaboration," Grand Hyatt San Francisco, Dolores Room, cosponsored by the Library of Congress and RUSA.

The program will address needs for bibliographic control of World Wide Web resources in library collections.  Topics will include the uses made of CORC (OCLC's Cooperative Online Resource Catalog) by reference and cataloging librarians and a model for digital reference service, anytime, anywhere, to be provided by the Collaborative Digital Reference Service that is currently under development by LC and partner libraries.

 
15.  5:00 pm to 7:00 pm  “24/7 Reference Happy Hour.  Follow us to
the Milano Hotel Bar, (no host!) as we discuss Follow the Sun Reference scenarios.  The Milano Hotel is located at 55 5th Street. just a few blocks from the Convention Center.


***** Monday, June 18th  *******************************************

9:00 am – 5:00pm Exhibits Open


16.  9:00 to 10:30am "Virtual Reference Opportunities for Collaboration," in the Marriott Hotel, Golden Gate B2, sponsored by OCLC.

Hear from four librarians who have implemented the Collaborative
Digital Reference Service at their institutions at the program
After opening remarks from Diane Kresh, Director of the Collaborative Digital Reference Service, Rosemary Cooper (Boise Public Library), Paul Constantine (Cornell University), Joan Stahl (Smithsonian American Art Museum) and Sally Drew (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction) will share how they have implemented the service at their institutions,
how their staff have dealt with it, and how their libraries have
benefited from participation.  Chip Nilges, Director, New Product
Planning at OCLC will present closing remarks.  You can register
for this meeting at: http://www.oclc.org/events/register/index.shtm



17.  10:00 to 11:30 am  “What It Really Takes to Develop and Run A Great Virtual Reference Service” and Grand Opening of QandACafe.com for Libraries.  Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Public Library Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco and here’s a map to help get you there http://206.14.7.53/branches/branchmap.html. 

Come and hear how the libraries of the San Francisco Bay Area set up one of the most sophisticated virtual reference services on the Web.  The team that put together the QandACafe project will give you the ‘nitty-gritty’ of what it really takes and how much it really costs to get an great virtual reference service off the ground, including details of system design and management, software, training, evaluation, branding, front-end Web site design, marketing, authentication, as well as the back office ‘tools’ you need to have to support a system like QandACafe.  Sounds like a lot of work, huh? But don’t despair, because those of you interested in setting up your own virtual reference services will now have the option of avoiding a lot of the time, trouble and expense of doing it yourself.  Beginning at this meeting, the libraries of the San Francisco Bay Area are making the QandACafe program available to others for the first time.  The program is called QandACafe.com for Libraries, and it will allow any library to use the complete QandACafe system to set up a sophisticated virtual reference system quickly and at a minimum of expense.  Libraries will be able to take advantage of the QandACafe brand, the Web site, marketing plans, advertising and promotion pieces, service policies, software customizations, back-office tools and training and support programs, and much more. Libraries get the complete QandACafe package, and can either use everything as is, or customize it as much as you want to fit your own needs.  This is a wonderful option for libraries that would rather focus on the service and avoid the expense and pitfalls of developing it.   


18.  12:00 noon to 1:00 pm “Distance Learning Using Reference”. Bring your brown bag lunch to the 24/7 Reference Project Booth #1229 to see how to use the Internet to expand distance learning for your students and employees using live reference software.



***** Tuesday June 19th *******************************************

9:00 am – 1:00pm Exhibits Close at 1::00 pm



Ok, folks if you’ve gotten through all of this, you will really be ready to go home --- hopefully having learned a little something.  

We will post this on the LSSI Web site at www.lssi.com/virtual and keep it update with any changes and additions you send me at stevec at lssi.com



Sincerely, 


Steve Coffman
Product Manager, Virtual Reference Services
LSSI
www.lssi.com/virtual
stevec at lssi.com
800-638-8725