[WEB4LIB] The Necessity of Real-time Digital Reference?

[Abbott, Bruce]

At the risk of stating the obvious--real-time would work for ready-reference
sorts of questions---in-depth reference does require time and reflection on
the part of the reference librarian.


Bruce Abbott
Assistant Director for Library Systems and Electronic Resources
LSUHSC Library 
433 Bolivar St.
New Orleans, LA 70112

babbot at lsuhsc.edu
504-568-6103 (voice)
504-568-7718 (fax)


-----Original Message-----
From: Sloan, Bernie [mailto:bernies at uillinois.edu]
Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 10:20 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] The Necessity of Real-time Digital Reference?


Resending...first paragraph was omitted in first try.

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With all the emphasis on real-time virtual reference services in journals
and at conferences, it may be easy to overlook asynchronous services (e.g.,
e-mail reference). In the new issue of Reference & User Services Quarterly,
Dave Lankes and Pauline Shostack discuss the "fact and fiction" regarding
digital reference services. 

Lankes and Shostack refer to asynchronous digital reference as the
"predominant form of digital reference", and that its dismissal is
"premature". They note that "real-time systems and asynchronous systems will
need to coexist (or rather digital reference systems will need to support
both forms of interaction)." 

The authors highlight two "vital questions":

1. What variables allow a digital reference system to predict when real-time
is needed?

2. When are asynchronous interactions sufficient?

Here's the citation:

Lankes, R. David, and Pauline Shostack. The necessity of real time: Fact and
fiction in digital reference systems. Reference & User Services Quarterly,
41(4), 350-355. Summer 2002.

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