Reasons we started project
Cellphone access higher than broadband Internet via computer
Number of text messages sent has increased more than 250 percent over last two years
In June 2008, more than 75 billion text messages sent compared to 18 billion in December 2006
2nd quarter 2008 – typical mobile subscriber sends or receives 357 text messages a month compared to sending or receiving 204 phone calls
The Library Landscape
Several vendors – Altarama and TextaLibrarian
A few libraries offering the service – no collaborative services
Service not offered very many hours
Why collaborate?
Offer service more hoursShared expertiseShared coverageLess cost/shared costShared development timeShared promotionShared risk
Project timeline
March and April – online informational meetings
April – ongoing – Libraries sign up for service
April – ongoing – development of project website – http://www.myinfoquest.info
July 20, 2009 – soft launch of programSeptember 2009 – larger launch of
program
Participants & Expectations
Over 60 libraries and individuals from all over the US
Agree to staff the reference desk two hours per week
Agree to attend online advisory monthly meetings
Agree to promote the serviceAttend training sessionsParticipate in google discussion group
Subcommittees
Advisory committeePolicies and proceduresPR & website/ 2.0 tools usedEvaluation committeeBest practices workgroupTraining committee
Vendor contributions
Altarama donated 6 months of free use of software
Peoplewhere donated 6 months of free use of scheduling software
With proceeds from the Handheld Librarian conference held in July, we can pay both vendors through December 2010
Hours of service
Monday –Thursday 8 am central – 10 pm central
Saturday 9 am central – 6 pm centralSunday 2-4 pm centralOur goal is a 24/7 service
How the service works
Patrons text a question to Infoquest number, including home library’s 3 letter library code
The question comes to the Altarama SMS software and is forwarded to a shared gmail account manned by participating librarians
They answer the question and send the answer back via gmail – it goes through Altarama to the patron’s phone
Guidelines
Try to answer questions in 10 minutes or less
Try to answer questions within 2 text messages (360 characters)
No legal or medical reference questionsNo questions that require in depth researchNo personal information about anyone
other than public figuresNo tax advice
Sample questions
Who are Michael Jackson’s brothers?What was Brad Pitt’s character’s name in
Legends of the Fall?How much is a hectar?When was the last time the Yankees and
the Dodgers played one another in the World Series?
When did the Civil War start?
Best practices
“Silly” questions – assume that all are serious and respond accordingly
Citing sources – whenever possible cite one source
Should urls be included when space is limited? Whenever possible, include these and use tiny urls
How can we prevent unanswered questions? We will look at patterns and why there might be unanswered questions
Best practices cont.
How should duplicate questions from one patron be handled? We should answer the question again.
Is it necessary to send messages like “let me check” ? If it appears the question may take longer than 10 minutes
Project Evaluation by San Jose State University SLIS/ Lili Luo
Identify the types of information needs that can be fulfilled by offering text
message reference servicesIdentify the issues and potential obstacles that need
to be addressedbefore implementing text message reference servicesIdentify the important features to consider when
choosing a vendor for textmessage reference servicesIdentify the cost and benefits of offering text message
reference services
Evaluation continued
User Perspective What types of individuals used the service? What types of questions did users ask (e.g., consumer health, job
search, or school-related)? When did users ask questions? What are users. perceptions of the service they received? Does offering this service reach out to individuals who have not
previously used library services? What outreach methods are most effective in promoting the service? What was the length of time for responding to users. questions
(transaction turnaround time)?
Evaluation continued
Library Perspective What are the core skill sets required in providing text message reference services? What are the obstacles, if any, in providing text message reference
services? What aspect(s) of the training was most helpful? What information was missing from the training that should have been included? Is there any difference in librarian satisfaction (or product satisfaction)
based on the type of library s/he works for? To what extent does the service performance uphold the professional guidelines established by the Reference and User Services Association?
Evaluation continued
Administrative Perspective What are the advantages and disadvantages to offering text
message reference services through a collaboration of libraries? What are the challenges when scheduling librarians to staff
the service? What service learning benefits did SLIS graduate students
realize through their involvement? How can successful service learning opportunities be created
for graduate students in a collaborative reference service? What is the level of cost-effectiveness of offering the service?
Evaluation continued
Measurements for Evaluation Statistics logged by the text messaging softwareTranscripts of questions/answers logged by the
software User surveys (published on the project Website;
distributed in participatinglibraries physically or electronically)Interviews or focus groups (electronically)
conducted among participatinglibrariansInterviews conducted with project administrators
Stats for first full month: August
282 transactions189 – ready reference – questions that request a
single, uncomplicated and straightforward answer49 – about local libraries – questions that inquire
about patrons’ local libraries ‘ resources, services, policies, etc.
16 – specific search questions – request answers in the form of giving the user a document, list of citations, etc.
14 – questions about Infoquest9 – Unclear questions5 – Inappropriate questions
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