1. Main Page

2. Virtual Reference at Western Libraries
Staff Sessions August 28-29, 2012

3. Group Members Jennifer Robinson – Chair Bridget Morant
Debbie Meert-Williston Dolly Borsato-Vassal Liz Mantz Rob Graves

4. Timeline Virtual Reference Forum held in May 2012
Virtual Reference Working Group formed June 2012
Interim report and recommendations submitted July 2012
Implementation phase July – September 2012

5. What we were asked to do….
Find a way to serve our students, staff and faculty in a manner which would resonate with our evolving patron base.
Communicate with them using the formats with which they are comfortable and at the time of day they typically seek us out
If we build it they will come.
27% of website visits occur between 5-9 p.m.
50% of website visits occur between noon and 8 p.m

6. Why we were asked to do this
We surveyed 205 students in 2 separate surveys about Taylor, Weldon, and Johnston Library virtual reference services
50% were undergraduates 28% were graduates
11% were faculty
5% were PhDs

7. “Expanded hours would be great (but I realize it may not be feasible)”
“Really helpful, they made sure it was exactly what I was looking for and if not, they tried again.”
What did they say to us?
“maybe later hours?”
“Expanded hours would be great (but I realize it may not be feasible)”
“I’ve never experienced any problems but if there were extended hours that would help many others”

8. What we did Explored in-house provision of chat service
Explored consortial provision of chat
Explored various software for chat service and discovered text possibilities
Weighed the pros and cons of each

11. What is Ask a Librarian?
Virtual reference consortium service from OCUL Scholars Portal
9 participating university libraries from across Ontario (including Western)
Librarians, library staff & interns

12. EQUALS 66 hours of service to our patrons for a
Ask a Librarian Service Hours
Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Friday - Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
*With the potential to expand hours as more libraries join*
EQUALS 66 hours of service to our patrons for a
commitment of approximately 30 hours from
Western Libraries staff . Each WL chat provider will provide service for a minimum of 1 hour to a maximum of 4 hours in a week. Our students will have reference service at the times they need it most. Their voices have been heard!

13. Chat
Texting
Phone
In-person

16. Goodbye Hello Dolly!!!
Hello Ask a Librarian