Virtual Reference Realities

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Virtual Reference Realities

• Current Research and Customer Feedback

Karen Hyman Peter Bromberg South Jersey
Regional Library Cooperative Public Library
Association Conference February 26, 2004
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QandANJ what is it?

• An LSTA-funded project staffed by 37 libraries of
  all types in the NJ Library Network.
• Free, interactive, search assistance on the Web.
• Available 24/7.
• Live since October 1, 2001.
• 1500 live answers weekly and growing.

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Libraries currently staffing QandANJ include
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QandANJWhy are we doing it?

• Market libraries and library services
• Meet needs and expectations of 21st century
  customer
• Immediacy
• Shock value
• Go where the people are

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QandANJ use
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QandANJLSTA Funding history
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QandANJ Sessions 2002/2003
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Collecting Customer Feedback

• We used two surveys
• Pop-up survey captured immediate reaction
• Follow-up survey filled out demographic picture,
  quality of experience and user behavior.

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Collecting Customer Feedback

• High response rate to feedback form (15-33)
• Quantity and Quality of data
• 8500 responses to pop-up, reaction survey
• 250 responses to follow-up survey
• We have satisfaction and demographic information
  AND thousands of free-text comments.

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• Keeping it simple!
• Radio buttons for quick answers
• Comment boxes for more detail

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4 point, color-coded, scale.
Optional email for follow- up survey
Privacy statement
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What are they telling us?

• Results from pop-up customer feedback form,
  June 2002 Oct 2003.
• Total responses 8745

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What are they telling us?
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What are they telling us?
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What are they telling us?
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What are they telling us?
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What are they telling us?
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What are they telling us?
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What are they telling us?
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What are they telling us?
Combined 80.2Satisfied
Approximate grade equiv 3.25
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Our pop-up survey respondents were...

• Often students
• More female
• Younger
• Satisfied with service
• Likely to use again

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Follow-up Survey

• We wanted more detail on customer demographics
  and satisfaction.
• And to correlate with
• Library behaviors past and future
• Opinion of libraries
• Demographics
• 691 Customers provided emails
• 251 Responded

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Rating of Service a solid B

• Overall Service 3.62
• Quality of Help 3.69
• Consistency 3.55
• Courteousness 3.82
• Convenience 3.84
• Ease of Use 3.79
• No tech. problems 3.56
• Accuracy 3.46

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Follow-up Survey

• Demographics
• Female/male ratio (67/33)
• Respondents tended to be older (only 13
  under 18)
• Ethnically diverse by heritage and languages
  spoken in the home (just like N.J.)

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Follow-up Survey

• Fairly educated (41 had attained more than a 4
  year degree)
• Computer literate.
• 97 have a pc in their home
• 88 use for word processing
• 41 use for banking
• 67 use for shopping
• 43 used other chat-based services

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Follow-up Survey

• Mostly Library Users, but not all...
• 12 visit library yearly or less often
• 4.2 NEVER seek help from a library when they
  have an information need.

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Follow-up Survey

• Why do they visit the library?
• 75 Check out materials
• 73 Research/Find Information
• 59 Browse
• 40 Get assistance from librarian
• 25 Study
• 23 Use library computers
• 18 Attend library programs
• 10 Attend non-library programs

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Follow-up Survey

• QandANJ Why do customers use us?
• Expertise of librarian was cited as often as
  convenience and speed as reasons for using Q and
  A NJ. (66)
• Like having a transcript rated fairly low.
  (23.8)

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Follow-up Survey

• QandANJ Usage Devoted Users!
• 16 used service more than 10 times.
• 27 used service more than 6 times.
• 67 were repeat users.
• We must be doing something right!

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Follow-up Survey

• QandANJ How do customers find us?
• 35 Link on library webpage
• 27 Word of Mouth (friends, family, teacher)
• 13 Article in paper or magazine
• 13 Search Engine
• 9 Posters/Bookmarks
• 7 Link on non-library webpage
• 2 Television

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"How has your experience with QandANJ affected
your opinion of libraries?

• Improved 66
• Not affected 32.5
• Worsened 1.5

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Our follow-up survey respondents were...

• Educated
• Female
• Older
• Computer savvy
• Library card holders
• Satisfied

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QandANJ Real feedback from real users
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QandANJ Real feedback from real users

• Interaction with a live person I was talking
  to a real person not a computer!
• Interaction with a nice person I liked that
  someone came on and didnt make fun of me or
  anything about my question.
• Expertise of the librarian The librarian found
  information that my Mom and I had been looking
  for and could not find no matter where we
  looked.
• Always open I got the answers I needed,
  especially when the library was closed. My
  first contact was at 2 am Sunday morning.

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QandANJ Real feedback from real users

• The library came to me I am house-bound this
  opportunity is greatly appreciated. I didnt
  have to go out in the rain.
• Fast I like the fact that you get an immediate
  answer to your question instead of having to
  click on a hundred different links and still not
  find the information you need.
• Awesome I am continually astounded by this
  service and its results never cease to please.

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In other words

• The speed of getting precise information. The
  fact that it was free. The polite professionalism
  of the librarian. The fact that it is valuable
  information. The fact that you can access it 24
  hours a day. The fact that libraries are keeping
  up with the future of accessing information and
  sharing that with the public. It is quite a
  wonderful, helpful thing.

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Conclusions and surprises

• Our follow up survey people -- middle aged,
  educated, computer savvy, library users -- exist!
• Many QandANJ users may be library users or more
  likely to try us out.
• People still need help finding answers.
• Taking live reference service to the web 24/7
  makes this much difference!

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Contact Information
Karen Hyman, Executive Director Peter Bromberg,
Program Coordinator South Jersey Regional Library
Cooperative 10 Foster Avenue, Suite
F-3 Gibbsboro, NJ 08026 856 346-1222 FAX 856
346-2839 Email hyman_at_sjrlc.org and
bromberg_at_sjrlc.org
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is administered by the South Jersey Regional
Library Cooperative (SJRLC), a state tax-funded
service of the New Jersey Library Network, and
supported by Federal Library Services and
Technology Act funds administered by the New
Jersey State Library. Headquartered in
Gibbsboro, SJRLC is an organization of over 600
academic, public, school and special libraries in
the southern seven counties and is one of four
library cooperatives in New Jersey.
A copy of this presentation and supporting
materials can be found at www.sjrlc.org/pla