Virtual Reference Desk _VRD__ _sk a Health Sciences Librarian in ..

Virtual Reference Desk (VRD): @sk a Health Sciences Librarian in the region Hakim Bishawi Medical Librarian Tawam Hospital UAE Email: hakim@tawam-hosp.gov.ae VRD  a project dedicated to the advancement of digital reference and the successful creation and operation of humanmediated, Internet-based information services.  is sponsored by the United States Department of Education Digital Reference or “AskA”  are Internet-based question-andanswer services that connect users with experts and subject expertise.  Digital reference services use the Internet to connect people with people who can answer questions and support the development of skills. Why VRD?  No time to access the collections or space constraints.  Users continue to need assistance.  To have 24/7 access to high-quality digital reference service from anywhere.  This service must be a key component of the digital Library.  Use of “high-tech and high-touch” To be considered  Before initiating this service, librarians need to consider how digital reference service fits into the library mission statement and institutional culture, whether there is acceptance from administration and staff, and whether the appropriate technology infrastructure exists. Survey at MEDLIB-L  Of the 37 responses”  32 libraries offer this service. 14 Hospital Libraries.  40 (questions/day).  It should contain the phone numbers and other contact info for people who may want to talk to a live person. Requirements  Increasing levels of computer skills.  Technical expertise.  Training.  Software.  Budget.  Staff or volunteers. Staffing  Is it collaboration?  How many hours?  How many computers will have the software?  Budget.  Level and experience.  The ability to be trained. Training  Software training i.e. LSSI, 24/7, QuestionPoint, Groopz.  Basics of the software: clearing the cache, logging on, receiving a patron, sending text messages, pushing web pages, co-browsing and exiting the session. Training  Depends on Types of libraries, staff level & experience.  face-to-face and virtual meetings, synchronous and asynchronous learning, & individual and collaborative experiences.  a trust-building experience for those who will later collaborate in virtual reference services. http://medlib.med.utah.edu/or/asklibr arian.php How does it work?  We use software provided by a company called 24/7 Reference: http://www.247ref.org/.  The software allows us to chat with anyone who accesses the appropriate URL from our homepage: http://uchsc.247ref.org/wcscgi/CDM.exe?S S_COMMAND=CUST_SUP&Category=U UHSC. Software  The software also gives us the capability to send web pages to the patron as well as document files and presentations. The only requirement for the patron is the usage of Internet Explorer or Netscape 4.79. The software records the conversation and all of the web sites visited which is then sent as a transcript to the patron. Consortium  we are part of a consortium that includes four other health sciences libraries: University of Colorado, University of Missouri, University of North Dakota and Hawaii Medical Library. We share the cost of our three seats as well as the monitoring times which are 8 am 8pm MDT. Cost??  Cost of installing this software?  We pay for $4500 for one seat for one year. Is the service limited to US?  24/7 Reference currently has libraries in Australia and Canada who use the software. VRD  It's a great resource that is very helpful to all involved in health sciences: students, researchers, clinicians, professors and the general public. We get a lot of consumer health questions in addition to our student questions. We feel that it's a great way to extend our service to the entire state as well as the surrounding region. http://vrd.askvrd.org/index.asp? Collaboration  To provide professional reference service to users anywhere, anytime, through an international, digital network of libraries.  An end-user may ask a question and receive an answer from a librarian working through a participating member organization.  Agreements to describe the scope of services & software for tracking and managing the routing of Q & A. Chasing the Sun  a co-operative free virtual reference project between SAHSLC (South Australian Human Services Libraries Consortium) & SWICE (South West Information for Clinical Effectiveness) in the UK.  Sue Rockliff & Mary Peterson. Chasing the Sun  a consortium of 20 libraries in the United Kingdom and Australia, will use QuestionPoint to further support the urgent, after-hours information needs of health care professionals. The new virtual reference service will launch end of 2004 and provide assistance with database searching and information retrieval related to critical patient care that cannot wait until the library is open. Aim of CTS  To put health/medical practitioners in contact with a professional Librarian when urgent help is required and it is after hours.  CTS will make use of the time zone differences between Australia and the UK. Software  3 types of Virtual Reference Software:  1. Remote Control software  2. Web contact Centre Software  3. Chat / Instant Messenger Cost – An assessment of commercial VR Chat software indicated many potential problems for our 2 groups – Price - mostly very expensive LISSI - US$8,000 + $6,000 annual service fee NetAgent - US$20,000 + $2,000 per month service fee) 24x7 (around $10,000 US per seat) Reports  Reports can be generated and exported by Institution, group and librarian at daily, monthly and hourly increments – Types of reports include: – questions received via patron/chat form – answers sent – average length of chat sessions – average chat response time – number of patron logons Learn how the Washington State Library established a regional reference consortium  Serves as a model to other state-wide groups springing up across the country.  Each Library has distinctive resources that can answer specific questions the others cannot. Current QPWA Participating Libraries         • City University, Bellevue www.cityu.edu/library/home.asp Ellensburg Public Library http://epl.eburg.com Jefferson County Library, Port Hadlock www.jcl.lib.wa.us King County Law Library, Seattle and Kent www.kcll.org  Seattle Public Library  www.spl.org  Timberland Regional Library, southwest Washington  www.timberland.lib.wa.us  University of Washington, Seattle  www.lib.washington.edu  Washington State Library, Tumwater  www.statelib.wa.gov Evaluation  to know how effective this service is.  to measure success.  Is it “good” or “excellent”?  challenges Evaluation  Through Email.  Questions related to satisfaction: use again, find answer, time, satisfied, difficulties, suggestions.  Marketing: How did you hear about us?  Results sent to Email.  Other questions. http://vrd.org/StarterKit/ Why Librarians don’t like VRD?  The human element will be lost.  Automation of answers.  Level of knowledge required by the requester.  Public relations and Psychology. Keep Yourself Current  Subscribe to Listservs.  Read articles.  Chat with a Reference Librarian.  VRD annual conference.  Purchase VRD books. DIG_REF listserv  To subscribe to DIG_REF, just do this: 1. Send an e-mail message to: LISTSERV@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU 2. In the first line of the message, type: SUBSCRIBE DIG_REF Firstname Lastname http://www.dlib.org/ http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/lectures/ A Virtual Future  Health Libraries to be part of the way of the virtual future.  Virtual reference goes with virtual diagnosis, virtual surgery, virtual teaching, telemedicine, Robotics  Virtual world imposes no distance or size restrictions. Question?  Who will support us to establish a VRD in the region?     In terms of: Fund. Staff. Training. The End  Thank You for your time.