ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 8 0 / C&RL News ■ A p ril 2002 College & Research Libraries news Ask a Librarian LIVE Specialist and broad-based reference capacities expanded by new software by Susan Patrick and Cathy Matthews N ew technology has enabled the devel­ o p m en t of the virtual reference desk, through w hich effective online, real-tim teractive com m unication b etw een librarian and patron can take place anyw here. In Septem ber 2001, the Ryerson Univer­ sity Library in Toronto becam e one of the first university libraries in Canada to launch a real-time chat reference service—Ask a Librar­ ian LIVE. This initiative is linked to the library’s overall strategy of acquiring resources and developing services to address the needs of students a n d faculty w ho access the library through lab, office, and hom e com puter sys­ tems connected to the Internet. The intro­ duction of this service will enable library us­ ers to com m unicate, via real-time chat, with a Ryerson librarian while engaged in research online. Funded in part through a grant proposal subm itted to the McConnell F oundation1 by a group of Ryerson librarians, Ask a Librarian LIVE uses software developed by eGain Com­ m u n ic a tio n s C o rp o ratio n a n d d istrib u te d through Library Systems and Services Virtual Reference Service. The cobrow sing capabilities of the soft­ w are enable users and librarians to follow each oth er’s progress through a database or Web site. Librarians are able to “p ush” screens, d o cu m en ts, a n d P ow erP oint instructional m odules to users in real time. e i If it's n ig h ttim e , it m u s t be A u s tr a lia n­The dom ination of the Internet in reference w ork and the proliferation of W eb-based aca­ demic databases have led to the developm ent of similar profiles for virtual reference collec­ tions in university libraries around the world. Anecdotal evidence suggests that academic reference librarians with a good know ledge of a range of international databases and other W eb-based resources w ould feel right at hom e slipping into the reference desk of other uni­ versity libraries, particularly w here there is a g ood institutional “fit.” The sam e co n cep t applies to the virtual reference desk. In m any university comm unities, there is not only a desire, but a dem and, for 24/7 virtual reference service to com plem ent the 24/7 catalog and database access offered by most university libraries. Most libraries do not have the staff to provide this service on their own. This dem and has led to the idea of in­ tern a tio n a l p a rtn e rsh ip s in d ifferent tim e zones. The time difference b etw een Toronto and Australia (Australia is 14 to 15 hours ahead) m akes Australian libraries ideal partners for the Ryerson Library in providing nighttim e reference in both countries. The Ryerson Library is currently investi­ gating the possibilities of partnerships with Australian university libraries for future phases About the authors Susan Patrick is arts and humanities librarian and Cathy M atthews is chief librarian a t Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, e-mail: spatrick@ryerson.ca and cmatthew@ryerson.ca mailto:spatrick@ryerson.ca mailto:cmatthew@ryerson.ca C&RL News ■ A p ril 2002 / 281 of the virtual reference project. In May 2001, Susan Patrick, distance education liaison li­ brarian, visited Australia as part of her pro­ fessional leave. Her mission was to dem on­ strate Ask a Librarian LIVE, in its trial stage, through interactive reference interviews with a librarian at Ryerson, and to discuss poten ­ tial partnerships. At RMIT University Library in M elbourne a n d U niversity o f Q u e e n sla n d Library in Brisbane, Patrick dem onstrated the service with Ryerson’s technical support and systems librarian, Bob Jackson, w ho w as online in Toronto. The sessions began with Jackson in the librarian’s seat and Patrick logged in as a p a ­ tron asking reference questions. Roles w ere then reversed so the audiences could see the software functioning from the librarian’s p er­ spective. A subsequent virtual dem onstration from Toronto w as done for the University of Southern Q ueensland Library in Toowoomba. The Australian librarians sh o w e d a strong interest in the potential of the service, and Ryerson Library will continue to com m uni­ cate with them as w e proceed through the trial and evaluation phases of this pilot project. S p e c ia lis t a p p lic a tio n s f o r g lo b a l n e tw o rk s While the objective of the Ryerson and Aus­ tralia partnership is to support broad-based, cross-disciplinary service, virtual reference software can also be used effectively by spe­ cialist netw orks. In May 2001, Ryerson’s chief librarian, Cathy Matthews, d em onstrated a real-time reference exchange (again w ith the help of Bob Jackson in Toronto) at the 6th M eeting o f the World Criminal Justice Libraries Net­ w ork (WCJLN) in Zutphen, the N etherlands. Specialist libraries and inform ation services, w hich serve academ ic com m unities or gov­ ern m en t agencies, share com m on platform s o f inform ation, an increasing a m o u n t of w hich is in public dom ain digital format, thus enabling specialist groups such as WCJLN to serve each o th e r’s constituents in true net­ w ork fashion. While m uch of the literature on virtual ref­ erence thus far has focused on broad appli­ cations across disciplines, a n d successful im plem entations have b e e n at universities or in public library consortia, it is possible that A n e c d o ta l e v id e n c e s u g g e s t s th a t a c a d e m ic re fe re n ce lib ra ria n s w ith a g o o d k n o w le d g e o f a ra n g e o f in te rn a tio n a l d a ta b a s e s a n d o th e r W eb -b ase d re so u rce s w o u ld fe e l r ig h t a t h o m e s lip p in g in to th e re fe re n ce d e sk o f o th e r u n iv e rs ity lib ra rie s, p a rtic u la rly w h e re th e re is a g o o d in s titu t io n a l " fit ." The sa m e co n c e p t a p p lie s to th e v irtu a l re fe re n ce d e sk. m any specialized netw orks can benefit from this new software. N ote 1. Librarians are w elcom e to contact Diane G ranfield, e-mail: dgranfie@ ryerson.ca, at Ryerson University Library, regarding the M cConnell-funded pilot project. A report on the project will be published in the library literature and on o u r Web site in late 2002. ■ C&RL News column editor wanted C&RL News is looking for an editor for a new column on the theme of “Do You Want this Job?,” w hich will feature interviews with librarians in unusual positions and highlight areas of the profession that are off the beaten track. The editor may con­ duct interviews him- or herself or coordi­ nate interviews of librarians by colleagues and associates. The colum n is expected to run every other m onth (five times a year), b e 1,000 w ords in length, and in­ clude a photograph of the interviewee. If you w ould like to apply, send an e- mail o r letter outlining your interest and experience and a sample interview by May 10 to: Stephanie O rphan, editor-in-chief, C&RL News, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL 6 0 6 ll, e-mail: sorphan@ ala.org. S elected ap p lic an ts will b e invited to m e e t w ith th e C&RL N ew s E d ito ria l B oard at th e ALA A nnual C o n feren ce in Atlanta. mailto:dgranfie@ryerson.ca mailto:sorphan@ala.org