Links to online materials via delicious
http://delicious.com/assessment4librarians

UW Information Literacy blog
http://uwinfolit.blogspot.com/

I know that Trinity has Blood on the Stacks and UF has Bioactive and while those are really cool projects, they don’t quite strike the tone I’d hope for. I also don’t necessarily see directed gaming as the way to go (although I am pushing hard for a finals week gaming throwdown at the library, completely study break and non-academic). ARGs in and of themselves are very cool, but largely known for their usage in viral marketing campaigns.

I think the thing about viral marketing is that it is exciting for a short time but largely lacking in staying power. After all, viral or not, it’s still marketing. As Kevin Marks and Brian Oberkirch have both pointed out—the future is organic, not viral. These two are also a big part of the reason I’m thinking about unmarketing these days. Well, these guys and Pabst Brewing Company.

The way I see the outreach struggle is this: the people who come to you are already predisposed to want to be in your space. The people who need you to connect to them are generally not thinking about you, your space or how either might be a benefit. Who do those people think of most frequently? The people who are up in their spaces.

This is where those wacky Pabst guys come in. They have gotten a lot of attention lately for their “unmarketing” scheme, which really consists of just being in the places their intended market likes to be. You want to sell to young hipsters who bowl? Go be at young hip bowling alleys. Eventually, later at the grocery on a Friday night, the bowling hipster will remember their association with PBR and buy some. This is an extremely oversimplified view of how this unmarketing thing works, but there you have it. I think I will have to do more reading to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the whole thing. Brand Hijack has been strongly recommended.

So how do we do this at PCC? I suppose first we have to figure out where our target market likes to be and when it is appropriate to go be there too. I’ve tried some limited electronic forays into this world, but somewhat predictably, no one on Facebook really cares that we’re there. Sigh, does this mean I have to attend a sporting event??? Maybe this will provide more backing to my belief that we should get that ice cream or hot dog cart goin’.

As you know, the library sure as hell doesn’t stop going when I’m not at work. The emails don’t stop coming, the thinking never ends, and the dreaming big for fall goes on all summer. To some extent it feels like I might as well be a 12 month librarian, I’m doing 12 months of thinking about it all.

There are also project management aspects that are frustrating. I agreed in spring term to undertake certain ongoing projects and responsibilities. I can’t really make them all happen in 4 hours a week, so other people have to forge ahead with them. This is good and I love working with a team who makes stuff happen. On the other hand, it was going to be my project and I wanted to be the creative force behind it. I’ll still be the coordinating force, but you know that’s a bit different.

It’s just the way summer rolls, but it takes some getting used to.

I had to dash out before the end of this session to catch my airport shuttle and head back home. This means I slammed the laptop shut when I got a txt message telling me the shuttle arrived early and was already boarding. Apparently I forgot to save my draft before doing so and lost most of my notes. Fortunately Joe wrote a guest blog for Tame the Web which talks about the Yale Science Library text a librarian program. Essentially Yale SciLib (and some others, as you see in the comments) launched a texting program and decided that the best option was actually to purchase a mobile device rather than a subscription service that forwards SMS to email/IM.

Apples & Oranges: A Comparison of Proprietary Chat Reference Software Versus Free Instant Messaging Services
Lorrie Evans, Nina McHale, Karen Sobel, all of the Auraria Library, University of Colorado, Denver

Staffing questions

• should we provide IM service the entire time the desk is staffed?
• is it appropriate to have parapros staff the IM service?
• What is the “triage” procedure when the desk/phone/IM are all busy?

AskColorado at Auraria Library

• Ask Colorado began in 2003 as a regional and consortial program offering chat reference service to Colorado residents.
• With large and diverse student pop. they felt the need to provide a flexible form of reference service.
• AskColorado would priprovide that with excellent support frmo the Colorado State Library
• uses tutor.com

I appreciated David Lankes reminding us all that we make a lot of assumptions about “young librarians” (whether that means age or time in the profession). Just because we’ve just come out of library school does not mean that you should cram us into a lot of techy responsibility because that tends to alienate us from the organization, from time spent getting to know the culture where we work. I feel lucky that I get to geek out, but have colleagues who reach out to wrap me into the fold of our culture all the same. It is a good blend but I can see how it would easily become overwhelming in many situations.

Lankes also called for big changes in LIS education. Whenever I hear a speaker on this topic I am again affirmed that I really did get a great LIS education. I know there are people who think a theoretically-based/inspired program is a waste of time but it simply is not true. Tools and applications can be picked up later (hell, they keep changin’ anyway). This is not to say that cataloging is not important ( I took it, it was mandatory) but that there’s no point to it if we’re missing the underpinnings. It’s like wearing vintage couture without a bra: expensive and it wont hold you up for long.

Carla Stoffle, like many speakers, reminded us that we need to take the library to the user, not require the user to 1) figure out what they actually want and 2)find us to ask for it. Importantly, she points out that technology is a tool, not a finite set of skills to set and forget.

Marie Radford is not a woman I’d want to get into a barroom brawl with, she’d totally win. What a spitfire! She asserts that communication, content, and cognitive skills are the most important qualities in a reference librarian. Be an agent of change, don’t just get dragged along with it is the take home message here. Well, that and, “No more lone ranger librarians!”

Jamie LaRue of Douglas County Libraries reminded me about some of the softer, but essential elements of librarianship. The heart of communication is really the ability to be in the same space as another human being. As we face the destuction of the circulation desk via RFID and self-checkout this becomes so much more important. Do the simple things: look up and make eye-contact, examine your reference desk and determine whether you’ve got a fotress or moat effect going on.

Renee and I had a brief chat (she chatted, I gawked) with Jamie LaRue about some elements of the Working Together program spearheaded by VPL. Tres exciting. Take a look at what those wacky Canucks are doing, I am really impressed. I’m also impressed by the idea of bottom-up community mapping, also being done by VPL. Jamie was the perfect person to talk to about this as his talk during the plenary panel was really about outreach and putting ourselves where we need to be. He used the example of a librarian he “assigned” to attend community meetings (town council perhaps, I neglected to note it). Initially the meeting folks treated her like a mascot, not a useful member of the group. Within a short period of time they came to recognize how essential her presence and contributions were and the culture shifted to one of, “We can’t begin the meeting yet, the librarian hasn’t arrived.” How can you engender this in your community/library/environment?

What Participatory Approach Tells Us
R. David Lankes, Ph.D., Syracuse University

• the user is in control
• it is all about learning
• learning is a collaborative conversation
• the library serves as facilitators of conversation
• true facilitation with  the community means shared ownership
• invest in tools for creation over the collection of artifacts

Traditional reference is 1:1, but why?

Access is just one way/facilitator…. also knowledge, safety, policy, motivation

Changes in LIS education

• recognize the shift in innovation from concentrated in the academy to distributed throughout practice and other industries
• model co-learning in the classroom
• recognize and enhance the participatory network that is a school
• include communication and political skills
• we need to teach everyone coming out of library school how to be subversive, political, and a change agent
• we tend to take the “young librarians” and shove them into technical positions, based on our opinion that they must know more about it. but what they don’t know is the organization. we shove them into these tech spaces that then take them away from the organizational learning, getting to know the system, learning the politics, etc.

The idea that librarians are unbiased is ridiculous. The moment we reach for a book or start typing, we display our bias. We need to let go of this.

Carla Stoffle (C.f. org chart handout)

• Technology has to come from the sense that tech is a tool, something that will change. these are not a finite set of skills to develop and use.
• need someone who understand reference written large
• take the library to the user; not require the user to understand what they want/need and  come to us
• online textbooks
• reaching out to our Campus partners with solutions not waiting for them to Come to us _ how often do they think of us anyway ?
• off-desk reference
• importance of assessment
• less about helping people find information and more about helping them use info

Marie L. Radford, Ph.D., Rutgers University School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies

• communication, content, and cognitive/behavioral skills: most important qualities in a ref lib
• importance of interpersonal relations and skills
• agree with Lankes re: collaboration
• change is getting more rapid
• be a change advocate, not just dragged along by Change
• different roles: are, Para, etc,
• spending too much time writing long reports that no one reads
• when Teaching, make students get out their cell phones and add ref # to their contacts
• no more Lone Ranger librarians!
• 25-30% of IM & chat users are in the buildings!
• recommend: Conducting the Reference Interview, Catherine Ross

Jamie LaRue, Douglas County Libraries

• only one still matters communication
• the heart of communication is the ability to be in the same space as another human being
• economic gardening identify the person who is ready to take the next step
• for a long time in our libraries we based stiffing based on where the telephones are…
• leadership-know thyself
• destruction of the circ desk: RFID, self-checkout, etc.
• re-integration of departments, silos
• is there a fortress or moat around the Reference desk?
• leadership skills librarian as community asset

Other speakers provided information about services at their libraries that are not transferable or relevant to PCC at this point. University of Colorado - Boulder has developed an in-house database that provides access to library FAQs, course guides, and subject guides. They are having success with this approach and are able to keep better statistics on what students are searching for and can shift the metadata attached to their guides to get students to existing guides that meet their needs but were missed based on the search strategy used. This has interesting implications, but ultimately isn’t what we want to do, I think. I was put in mind of Jared Spool’s talk at Online NW this year, I got the impression from him that search boxes can cause some issues, but I haven’t looked at the UC-Boulder page to see exactly how they have implemented the search feature.

“Being in Their Space, Not on MySpace” University Libraries Satellite Outreach Services Program: Reference and Instruction at Multicultural Student Services Centers.
Paulita Aguilar, University of New Mexico, NM, and Kathleen Keating, University of New Mexico, NM

• Library agrees to
• establish professional library service point
• staff it
• install wireless connection for student services hall
• use IM and chat to reference desks for support and resource sharing
• provide access to current subject specific web-based research guides to all ac. disciplines

Spring 2006 to present

• implementation
• recruiting librarians
• schedule
• communication with student services director
• satellite-l (listserv for participating librarians)
• marketing and promotion
  • sponsored pizza party in the foyer of student services building

Equipment and Marketing

• wireless
• rebuilt laptop
• cell phone
• storage
• being visible
• flyers
• ad in campus paper [maybe via potty press?]
• listed as location on library website, etc.
• word of mouth
• student listservs
• chocolate

Referencing, E-Learning and the Faculty Librarian
Marleen van Wyk, JS Gericke Library Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Overview of libraries.

UFOs, Arabic Language and Culture, and Nanotechnology: An In-Depth Look at Access to Research and Subject Guides
Stephanie Alexander, Jennifer Gerke, Kathryn Lage, all of the University of Colorado at Boulder, CO

• Why create a database?
  • the good guides were not on the subject guide list
  • wanted keyword searching, e.g., “affirmative action”
  • can use metadata to create better searching
  • able to have much better stats on what people are using/searching for
  • including FAQs, subject guides, course guides
• Database design and development
  • inspired by projects at UM/UNC
  • cold fusion
  • mysql
  • data collection
    • internal DB reporting
    • webtrends
    • google analytics
  • has a search box because they perceive that students love search boxes (c.f. Jared Spool re: search boxes are bad)
• what we’ve learned
  • • not much consistency initially because they wanted librarians to be able to run with it
      • naming conventions, etc.
    • keyword analysis can prompt
      • metadata modification
      • addition of new guides
      • google analytics reliability issues
      • people use the DB to find guides
• future enhancements and next steps
  • survey of CU-Boulder librarians
  • refresher training for librarians
  • usability study

I really appreciated Bill Pardue’s (slam the boards) talk on predatory reference. As he said, think of it as a nature film: we are question-eating animals. I love that! We consume questions and we need to hunt them down. It may have been once upon a time that our potential users had nowhere else to go, but that is not true any longer. Consider services like ChaCha that are actively stalking our prey (questions). How do we connect to our patrons when they are not in our buildings, virtual spaces, and other ‘expected’ locales? We need to be in the quad, at the caf, over by the gym, in the coffee shop, etc. See the notes on this section for a brief overview of what some academic folks have been doing. Hey bosslady, can we have a hot dog cart, too?! (Or one of those bike ice cream carts, as I quipped on Facebook)

Kudos to Greg Notess for actually making me take an interest in screencasting (libcasting as he calls it). I had really been yawning at this idea for quite a while now, but I am starting to see the light.

News from the Front: Effects of QuestionPoint’s IM Widget on Chat Traffic
Virginia Cole, Olin Library, Cornell University, NY

Chat as distinct from IM– chat = full service, keeps transcripts, transcripts can be emailed, many features, etc.

Qwidget (QP widget)

Staff experience with IM (not full featured chat)

• openings in IM
• traffic spikes
• lack of email address in IM/anonymity (full chat logs and identifies by email addy)
• users more often open without a question in IM
• “how ya doing?” “hi?” etc.

IM traffic spikes… Real or imagined?

• peak period
• spikes=
  • more than one chat
  • within 5 minutes of each other
  • same librarian/same shift
• transaction length
  • none less than 2.5 mins
  • IM tends to be used for under 8 mins
  • chat tends to be less than 16 mins
  • 12 mins still tends to be the norm
  • patrons choose IM when they have shorter questions, choose chat for longer
• Question types
  • chat has tons of research questions, IM has decent research questions
  • IM tends toward questions on holdings, etc.
• will see hurry statements in IM moreso than chat
• users and anonymity — in most cases doesn’t seem to be an issue
• location is key but extended hours most important
• after break-in period staff will adjust
• 50% of users choose no-login IM
• but 50% stayed with chat

Implementing “Predatory Reference”: Fun and Innovative Approaches to Moving Reference Beyond the Library
Bill Pardue, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, IL   (slam the boards)

• Predatory reference
  • like a nature film — we are question-eating animals
  • we consume questions
  • we need to hunt them down!
• why go predatory?
  • because 90% of users identify the  library with books and nothing but books (OCLC “perceptions of libraries” report)
  • people don’t have questions just when they are in the library
  • ppl who arent at library aren’t thinking of calling us when they have questions?
  • our users ARE going to other places
  • it’d be nice to show off when it’s unexpected
• get the patrons when they are not
  • in the building
  • on the website
  • on our Facebook
  • etc
• what’s the goal?
  • provide reference?
  • meet people and marketing?
  • not mutually exclusive but need to make one or other primary!
• common strategies
  • get out of the building
    • do reference in odd places!
    • colleges — think dorms, quads, etc.
      • librarian house calls (franklin & marshall univ.)
        • also univ of Tennessee at Knoxville
      • roaming librarian
        • Northwestern at student center, cafeteria, etc.
      • Out on the quad (with hot dog cart)
        • George Mason Univ
        • later adopted at Penn state berks (billy walker bew11@psu.edu)
        • answer cart/library dude
      • Plan some fun and call it reference
        • jessamyn pub nights…
    • public libraries — same ideas, town center, parks, senior centers, nursing homes, downtown, bookmobile, grocery store, etc.
  • lurk and leap
  • weasel your way in
    • embedded librarians
    • enroll in blackboard, etc.
• consider whether you will have an audience for your service (promote vs. provide)
• make sure you have buy-in from the location you choose

Quick Screencasts for Distance Reference
Greg R. Notess, Montana State University, MN
searchengineshowdown.com
notess.com/screencasting

• modern library
  • we buy stuff
  • we’re pushy (we push out resources out)
  • we’re everywhere
• why screencasts?
  • proactive assistant
  • communicate with distant people
  • accessible 24/7, like our resources
  • teach visually, with audio
  • have fun!
• use them for
  • response to email and phone
  • quick tutorials
  • communicating with tech support
• how to create one?
  • record a video
    • screen motions including mouse movements and clicks
    • audio commentary
    • can be updated quickly
    • many software choices

USC libraries contribute to an OCLC QuestionPoint similar to L-net and still wanted to explore the IM options in addition to the vendor-chat method. Most interesting about this decision was the belief that users should be able to stay in their native chat environment and not have to come to the library website to use the chat service. Other presenters indicate their agencies approached this in different ways, some deciding that forcing users into the library website is the most effective way to provide service and others, like USC, deciding that it’s a barrier. I come down firmly on the side of it being a barrier. If I can get you to remember me as a resource just by getting into your buddy list once it seems far more effective than forcing you onto the library website.

Instant Messaging & Collaborative VR: Developing Software to Make it Work
M. Kathleen Kern

Why new VR software?

• patrons choose IM over vendor-chat 7:1
• IM interface and speed preferred by library staff
• only one IM operator (librarian) can be logged into an IM account

Why collaborate in a single library?

• University of Illinois at Urbana environment
• large– multiple service desks offering IM
• busy IM/chat reference service >7000 year

Why develop in-house?

• Nothing fully developed that meet our needs
• contracted with campus softwawre development office
• may have other campus uses–admissions, IT, help desk, etc.

Timeline

• contracted March 08
• letter of agreement and specs April 08
• beta 1 July 16
• Production Sept 16
• implement after thanksgiving

Other higher-ups are working on open access/source.

Three to Get Ready: A Trio of Chat Configurations for 24/7 Coverage
Susan Gardner and Shahla Bahavar, both of University of Southern California Libraries, CA

overview

• USC contribute to the QuestionPoint OCLC service by answering questions from local and non-USC patrons
• since 2006 USC serves 7 hours per week in the coop, answering questions from both USC and non-USC patrons
• In return, USC receives 24/7 coverage for patrons

• Pilot project 1
  • added 4 additional chat hours on QP, fall semester, through subject chat pilotProject
  • subject-based chat emerged to simultaneously increase local chat coverage within the consortium while offering customized chat service for selected disciplines
    • in spring increased monitoring of USC-only queue  by addtional 14 hours by offering in 13 subjects
    • these librarians also take any general questions from the USC queue
    • Number of hours added are during times that QP needed.
  • benefits of subject chat
  • challenges
  • finding time
  • making subject-specific clientele and departments aware of service
  • juggling chat with both subject specific patrons and general USC patrons

• Pilot project 2
  • wanted to use IM in addition to QP so users can stay in native chat environment and not have to come to LIB website
  • added IM chat hours
  • piloted with librarians and staff who were already serving at refdesk
  • created multiple accounts on various services
  • created entry points for popups on library webpage
  • monitored with Pidgin, recording transcripts
  • when no IM is avail the link leads to the QP 24/7 service
• Future goals
• continue monitoring virtual reference stats
• trends
• stats for IM and subject chat
• co-op stats
• user satisfaction survey
• experiment with queues and routing in libraryh3lp to set up internal circ queues

Organizational Shift and its Effect on Reference Service
George Bergstrom, Management & Economics Library, Purdue University Libraries, IN

• overview of libraries
• overview of reference
• management and econ library pre may 06
• management and econ today

I was especially interested in the challenges K-state reported to rolling out IM. Across the conference it seems as though there are reasons to choose to provide chat or IM services. In terms of PCC, I think that IM would be a good option. Many presenters note that IM users self-select and thus understand the limitations of the service–not as apt to ask in-depth questions. Also, IM is (mostly) free whereas a full-service chat suite is gonna cost ya.

Ohio’s Academic and Public Library Virtual Reference Partnership
Donald Boozer, KnowItNow Coordinator, Cleveland Public Library and; Megan S. Mitchell, Oberlin College Library, OH

vision of service is: free virtual service for all residents of ohio

• Overview
  • Joined After Dark service for 24/7 coverage
  • Not happy/comfy referring patrons to “strangers”
  • declining stats
  • had a workshop–needed collaboration
  • closed public chat service and piloted academic/public service
  • all members did not staff
  • shorter hours
  • low staff
  • grouped/queued by subject: staff did two at a time
  • general reference needed the most staffing
  • staff survey
  • some felt really “wired” and energized by the experience
  • others really only did it because they were required to
    • typical, eh?
• Transition from Pilot to Partnership
  • librarian recruitment drive
  • 2 hour morning shift added
  • evening operators allowed to drop General reference queue
  • tips for serving children — how to?
  • streamlined canned messages
• What’s next?
  • joint public/academic training

“r u there? i need help:” Virtual Reference at Kansas State University
Danielle Theiss-White, Laura Bonella, Jason Coleman, and Erin Fritch, of Kansas State University, KS

• used to use questionpoint
  • users had to enter too much info before getting to librarians
  • too slow
  • clunky unfamiliar interface
  • steep learning curve
  • NOT free
• Meebo instead
  • can use meebo widgets so that patrons don’t need to have a mesenger/client
  • BUT…meebo doesn’t follow-me [or does it now??, have to look into that]
  • claims you can use AOL to route to SMS BUT…isn’t that a 3rd party service? cooks…soup…etc.
• Procedures
  • account monitoring
  • staffing at desk vs office
  • switching operators
    • communication — sounds much the same as passing off at the physical desk
  • recording transcripts in libstats
  • staff online for help
• Marketing
  • k-state askalibrarian walk away card…
  • branded post-its [way better than bookmarks!!!]
• Challenges
  • single operator
  • can miss questions during busy refdesk
  • cant xfer questions
  • no co-browsing
  • does not provide stats
  • some questions are hard to answer via IM
  • inappropriate conversations/questions

Here are my notes, slides will be available at BCR soon.

One OLIVE or Two: Shaking (or Stirring) Up Library Service with Videoconferencing: New Approaches to Reference Instruction
Julie Ventura and Kathy Sanchez both of Orange County Library System, FL

What does OLIVE do?

• connects patrons and staff by video-conferencing eqpt
• provides an additional staff presence, as needed, in several branches at one time
• can be placed in remote locations such as shopping malls to make the library more accessible
• an instructional tool (co-browse feature)

When is OLIVE used?

• busy times as a spare staff member
• for in depth reference questions when a librarian is not available
• when a patron feels uncomfortable approaching staff aboutan issue
• when a manager is needed and one is not present in a branch
• ILL and spanish speakers

OLIVE and technology

• Units cost between $8-20k
• comprised of
  • camera
  • display
  • phone

Challenges of OLIVE

• adults tend to be embarassed to see themselves on the screen
• children often pick up the handset in an attempt to make a call
• some patrons feel we are trying to pass them off to others
• current Questline (similar to how MCL does ref) schedule makes it so that OLIVE is answered by available staff member

[My thoughts: expensive and unnecessary forus; very public focused...also kind of creepy that they are giving it personification (they use the female pronoun for the service..."she can help patrons"]

Reference Librarians Sharing Space with Information Technology: Five Ways to Ensure Success
Susan P. Lieberthal, Stony Brook University Libraries, NY

Five planning elements for Collaborative Projects

1. technology
   • 26 new PCs, Pharos print station
2. architecture
   • removed current paper journals and national bibliographies, moved information desk
3. workflow
   • moved info desk
4. policies
   • computer troubleshooting, hours, question/info flow issues
5. personnel
   • IT consultant til 10pm, ref lib til 9pm

sidebar on Adobe Connect: have to have all windows open (not tabs?) that you want to push to your chat person…can use whiteboard feature to “draw” on websites.

Virtual Services Librarian: Bridge Between the Public Desk and IT
Laurie Van Court, Douglas County Libraries, Castle Rock, CO

• requirements from position description
  • working knowledge of the professional principles of reference services, to include reference tools and methodologies. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. Must be able to work independently and to demonstrate a positive attitude towards staff and patrons of all ages. Ability to master virtual products–their use and limitations. Ability to empathize and assist customers in the mastery of virtual products. Ability to craft or purchase products beyond those traditionally used or marketed in libraries.
• 7 months as a virtual services librarian
  • provide 8 hours per week of AskColorado virtual ref service
  • serve as library’s AskColorado rep and also serve on steering committee
  • substitute at least one per month on a public service desk
  • provide on-call telephone back-up reference for the library’s central call center
  • with fellow VSlibrarian, begin creation of a ”database of databases”, which includes complete background information for our library’s current databases and analysis of their use, as well as similar informatino for comparable libraries in the US
  • participated in the trials and subsequent purchase of three non-tradtional virtual prodcuts for the library: onlien tutoring, online software instructino and online langauge instruction
  • provide telephone and email trouble-shooting for patron’s priblems with the library’s virtual products
  • with library’s web development team helped design new website, launched june 08
  • with fellow VS librarian, completel overhauled library’s website presentation of virtual products, including streamlined tabs system and a “virtual research assistant”
  • with cooperation of collection development librarians, responsible for creation of all material lists on the new website; e.g., bestsellers, recommended new fiction, etc.
  • with fellow VSlibrarian, create and maintain oblibe subject guides
  • presented training sessions to branch’s staffs on using the new website and its new catalog interface
  • respond to telephone and email questions/complaints about the new website, from both staff and patrons
  • created staff training materials for a new online holds procedure
  • preparing to train staff on the use of a new Point of Service cash register/debt collection service
  • with library’s IT and facilities team, learning to use new online Help desk system

[my thoughts: this is interesting. they are very much in a transitional space right now, but she seems happy and Jamie LaRue is definitely open to feedback from the VS librarians]