Guiding Remote Users: Challenges and Opportunities

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Guiding Remote UsersChallenges and
Opportunities

• Angela Horne
• Management Library
• IRPC Retreat, March 17, 2003

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One of the cardinal and transformational rules
of online reference is that the user isnt
remote the librarian is. -- Karen Schneider,
The Distributed LibrarianLive, Online,
Real-Time Reference. American Libraries,
November 2000 (at http//www.ala.org/alonline/netl
ib/il1100.html)
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Because you dont have time to waste.
-- Tagline, Management Library Workshops Brochure
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Types

• Course specific
• Subject specific
• Research oriented
• Database specific
• Topic specific (FAQs, Bullseyes)
• Others?

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Creation Details

• Single units
• Reviewed internally within unit
• Input from subject specialists
• Updatedwhen?
• Formats
• Electronic (including tutorials and FAQs)
• Print (including PDFs on web)

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Guides Role in Digital Reference

• Role? What role?
• Priorities (Not an automatic adjunct of classroom
  instruction or questions asked at reference
  desks)
  
• Asynchronous
• 24/7 availability
• Quality (library staff selections / annotations)
  vs. quantity (Google et al)

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Guides Role in Digital Reference

• Reference
• Instruction
• Gateway compilation

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Math for Librarians

• Time does
• New guide 10-15 hours (more?)
• Guide revision 5-10 hours (more?)
• Vendors provide guides / tutorials / tips
• License and includes help materials

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Statistics

• only 44 percent of respondents libraries keep
  statistics on how often the Web guides are
  visited.

Sara Morris and Marybeth Grimes, A Great Deal of
Time and Effort, Library Computing, vol 18, no.
3, 2000, p. 214
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Statisticsfor evaluation of patron needs / use
patterns

• Gateway guides hits (overall) 590 from Jan
  13-31 485 from Feb 1-12
  
• Just-in-time statistics
• JGSM bullseyes -- usage spikes after 20-minute
  sessions
  

How are these collected/used as part of overall
reference statistics?
Launched Jan 13
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Guides in the Future (that is now)

• Gather input from students / faculty (before and
  after)
  
• Include in CourseInfo
• Links to database-specific guides in database
  OPAC record / from e-Reference Collection
  

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Guides in the Future (that is now)

• Enhanced role of statistics
• Cross-unit collaborations
• Help from student workers?
• Web guides collection in ENCompass
• Ivies synthetic guides project
  (cross-institutional opportunity)
  
• Centralized system for creation and
  administrative upkeep
  

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Technological Tools

• ResearchGuide
• Open source
• U Michigan
• Resources housed in searchable, central database
• Guides can be edited and saved by creator or
  others
  
• researchguide.sourceforge.net

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2003 CUL Internal Grant Proposal for Web Guides
Project

• Centralized tool for creation of web guides
• Potential for standardized interface and basic
  content parameters
  
• Customized views
• Increase of guides available
• Decrease creation / revision time

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Just for Fun
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And now over to you
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• Should we be pointing
• to vendor guides / tutorials /
• tips (more)?

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• Should database-specific guides be available from
  the OPAC?

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• Should we automate guide creation?
• If so, what is lost / gained?

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• Is the creation / availability of web guides a
  priority?  Some types and not others?  What role
  do we see them playing in the future?

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• How can we share the work?