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KAREN SOBEL, LORRIE EVANS & NINA MCHALE
AURARIA LIBRARY DENVER, COLORADO
Apples and Oranges: A Comparison of Proprietary Chat Reference Software
Versus Free Instant Messaging Services
Proprietary Chat vs. IM
Definitions: Proprietary chat software products/services:
Tutor.com, LivePerson, QuestionPoint, etc. Regional consortia such as AskColorado and the
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities that typically use this software
Free IM products/services: libraryh3lp, meebo, AIM, Yahoo!, etc.
Are they mutually exclusive?Should libraries offer both?
What We’ll Cover
Karen: user/provider perspectives and concerns Student users Staff providers
Lorrie: the public services perspective History of both proprietary and IM services at Auraria Detailed comparison of AskColorado and AskAuraria!
(libraryh3lp)Nina: the technical stuff
Display, implementation, tech support
Two User Populations
Students using the chat servicesLibrary faculty and staff operating the
services
…each with different needs and concerns
Students at Auraria
Auraria Library serves a student body of 40,000, comprised of three populations: Community College of Denver: two-year community college Metropolitan State College of Denver: four-year college University of Colorado Denver: university
Many students are from other nations and cultures
Mostly commuting populationMany low incomeSplit between traditional and non-traditional
Average student age: 28
Faculty and Staff Concerns
“But I’ve never used IM or other chat…”“What if I can’t keep up with the students?
Will they get impatient with me?”“Will we ever get prank chats or time
wasters?”“Would our patrons be comfortable with
this?”“We already have so much to do…”
Staffing Questions
Should we provide chat/IM service the entire time the desk is staffed?
Is it appropriate to have paraprofessionals staff a chat/IM service?
Should the person on back-up provide chat/IM reference service?
What is the “triage” procedure when the desk/phone/chat are all busy?
AskColorado at Auraria Library
AskColorado began in 2003 as a regional and consortial program offering chat reference service to Colorado residents.
With our large and diverse student population, we felt the need to provide a flexible form of reference service.
AskColorado would provide just that, with excellent support from the Colorado State Library
Proprietary software used is Tutor.com
Auraria Library Participation in AskColorado
2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/080
2
4
6
8
10
12
Auraria Library Staff Hours
AskColorado Use Statistics
2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008
Number of questions answered for Auraria Campus students
297 341 486
History of IM Chat at Auraria Library
2006/2007: started experimenting with chat boxes in class pages (Meebo) Very little activity and participation
Spring 2008: Services Task Group recommended investigating possibilities for adding IM chat service
Summer 2008: Testing and use of IM from the Library’s home page, branded AskAuraria! (libraryh3lp) Extremely active 16 chat sessions in the first 6 hours
Interface Comparison
AskColorado AskAuraria!
Great functionality and high level of detail
User view is very simple; slightly more cluttered for the librarian, but still a simple box
Screen sharing (co-browsing) is possible
URLs can be pasted and shared
Access/Integration into Library Web Space
AskColorado AskAuraria!
Access point is down one or more levels from the Library home page
Access point is a box on the home page
Students must fill out a form prior to asking a question
No information to fill out; user is anonymous
24/7 access thanks to consortial staffing agreement
Access available only during times we can staff the service; currently, no set hours
Policies and Behavior
AskColorado AskAuraria!
Separate queue for academic users
Anyone can post a question
Acceptable behavior and policies are posted
No posted policies; any behavioral issues must be addressed at the time of a transgression
Psychological Aspects
AskColorado AskAuraria!
The demographic information and the navigation required to reach the chat box may inhibit spontaneous questions
Simple screen and high visibility appeals to spontaneous questions
Demographic information can be a help to the librarian in answering the questions
Some students will quickly write in a chat box that’s in front of them, but not want to click through a page and fill out a form
Display: AskColorado Login Screen
AskColorado Chat Interface
AskAuraria! Patron View: Chat On
AskAuraria! Patron View: Chat Off
AskAuraria! Librarian View: Pidgin Client
Implementation: AskColorado
Tutor.com software needs to be installed with extensive configurations on staff workstations to support all features
Day-long training sessions are offered at library sites throughout the state through the State Library AskColorado coordinator We heart Kris Johnson!
Minimum staffing commitment: 2-10 hours/week
Cost: $300-$1500 annuallyEasy to integrate (link) to; no customization
Implementation Process: AskAuraria!
Create account, queues, and operators on libraryh3lp server (libraryh3lp.com)
Integrate code into Library’s web site Web Librarian set up account, queues, operators, and code on
Library home page in one eveningInstall Pidgin chat client on staff workstationsTraining approach has been more piecemeal: “Hey, do
you guys want to try this?”Four staff members volunteered to monitor the queues
initially; seven others have since volunteered to joinInternal training is being offered and plannedNew web page templates will include chat on all pagesFree!!!
Technical Support
AskColorado AskAuraria!
Excellent tech support and training (in person, webinars, etc.) through the Colorado State Library
Excellent support through the libraryh3lp Google Group; some tech support required in-house to set up and maintain service
Established best practices for providing and branding service (magnets, posters, etc.)
libraryh3lp still in b3ta, but very promising; any branding is done in-house
The Benefits of Both
Including chat box on the Library’s home page provides immediate access to Auraria Library staff
When a staff member is online, chat box with simple instructions is displayed
When no one is monitoring the queue, a list of all other reference options is displayed
For the most part, the pros and cons of both kinds of chat service are cancelled out when implementing both
Questions? AskAuraria!
Karen Sobel: Reference & Instruction Librarian [email protected]
Lorrie Evans: Head of Library Instruction [email protected]
Nina McHale: Web Librarian [email protected]
Slides available: http://library.auraria.edu/~nmchale/presentations/refren2008/