[WEB4LIB] RE: What's wrong with virtual reference?

[K.G. Schneider]

> No, the perfect library website design would not obviate the need for VR,
> or
> other reference service. However, there are a lot of variables in this
> social
> science of ours, and I was trying to propose (wryly) more places to look
> for
> the answers on VR's low usage. Maybe all the reasons aren't bad things we
> need to fix or fight.
> 
> Elena O'Malley

Welllllll, maybe, but that reminds me a bit of the mainstream Protestant
churches facing declining attendance that try to redefine low membership as
a plus, even though a trip to the local Starbucks and nearby megachurch can
reveal where the bodies went. I'm not sure it's a plus that most people
haven't heard of VR, don't know what it is, and don't know where to find it,
even though a lot of libraries offer it. But I would welcome a study that
eliminated this as a variable. :-)

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com