The Future of Digital Reference Services?? (Revisited)

[Sloan, Bernie]

It looks like there will be a number of sessions at ALA in San Francisco
that deal with digital reference services. As people prepare for these
sessions, it might be a good time to reflect on the future of such services.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a note asking about the future of digital
reference services. I didn't get a whole lot of responses, and someone
suggested that might be because my note may have been too cluttered with
info on the history of digital reference. So, I am sending another note
that's pared down to the basic questions I had, plus one or two additional
questions.

What might be waiting on the horizon to steal the thunder away from
chat-based services? What's the next technology that will impact digital
reference services? Will videoconferencing make a comeback as cameras become
more commonplace and bandwidth is increased? Will voice-over-IP applications
lessen the need for typed chat sessions in Web call center software as
microphones become more common as computer peripherals? 

Will digital reference services become more automated? For example, the OPAL
Project at the UK's Open University will attempt, in part, to use
agent-based architecture to create a generic "artificial librarian", capable
of answering complex questions about library resources. (See
http://oulib1.open.ac.uk/wh/research/opal/intro.html). 

Will we see more "hybrid" services (e.g., chat to conduct a quick reference
interview, and e-mail to deliver the answers)?

How will collaborative services (e.g., LC's CDRS or the Alliance Library
System's "Ready for Reference" project) impact local digital reference
services?

Will e-mail continue to be the default medium for digital reference services
as we experiment with other technologies? 

I'm sure others can think of additional questions!

Bernie Sloan
Senior Library Information Systems Consultant
University of Illinois Office for Planning and Budgeting
338 Henry Administration Building
506 S. Wright Street
Urbana, IL  61801
Phone: (217) 333-4895
Fax:     (217) 265-0454
E-mail: bernies at uillinois.edu