VLOP VLA

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ASERL Virtual Reference Time To Change John
Burger, ASERL John Ulmschneider, VCU Libraries
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Challenges to collaboration virtual reference

• Question profile changes
• Design profile high question volume, low number
  of questions specific to participating
  institutions
• Actual question profile steadily departed from
  design profile
• Tool set changes
• V-ref tools built to satisfy librarians
  delivering the service
• Users prefer different tools simple chat
  software, used for many purposes, integrated with
  other aspects of cyberlife
• Special v-ref toolsets never performed
  acceptably
• Emergence of cyber diversity for reaching users
• Social networking environments
• Instructional tools like Camtasia, podcasts,
  wikis, blogs
• Instructional environments BlackBoard and its
  built-in support tools
• Progress in self-help environments from vendors

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Tangible successes of collaboration virtual
reference

• Financial and service hour goals
• Exceeded initial cost and service hour goals
• Inexpensive a real bargain for participants on a
  per-hour basis
• A weakness? Designed for financial and service
  hours, not the user?
• Exploration of new models
• Regional-scale, virtual reference service model
  across diverse academic research institutions
• Use of contracts to expand hours at low cost
• Operated with minimal central staffing
• Service promotion it works
• Successful in its time and place
• Environmental changes mandate service change
• Declining participation eroded business model

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Less tangible benefits from the project

• Skill in collaboration
• Steering group developed superb networking
• Initial reticence grew into strongly trusting,
  cooperative relationships
• Skill in exploiting online tools
• Acquired deep understanding of online reference
  tool sets
• Developed extensive knowledge of content and
  online services, both their own and beyond their
  own institutions
• Professional development for new SLIS graduate
  students
• SLIS students under contract developed respect
  for librarians in research libraries across the
  Southeast
• Research librarians came to a new appreciation
  for skill sets of new graduates.
• Result stronger pipeline for recruitment