Making Chat Widgets Work for Online Reference
Linda BedwellReference & Instruction LibrarianDalhousie UniversityHalifax, Nova Scotia([email protected])
Internet Librarian 2009
Here a Widget, There a Widget
Novanet Live Help
• consists of 10 post-secondary institutions
•*serving 41,914 FTE students
•up until 2008, operated on a licensed VR platform
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
* Source: AAU 2008-09 Preliminary Enrolments, plus NSCC self-reporting
image: http://www.oddessey2000.com/uploads/2009/August/frustrated.jpg
Winter 2008 Pilot Project•Chat widgets & IM, in tandem with VR software•Pidgin as our back-end•Open-source stats database
(UNLV)•Wiki
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Pilot Project Results - Winter 08 compared with Winter 07
• 44% increase in total questions
• 55% received by IM
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Pilot Project Results - Patron Preferences
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
f2f phone email IM Acct IM Widget
QP
Undergraduate
Graduate
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Source: Bedwell, L., Rodrigues, D., Duggan, L., & Orlov, S.. (2008). IM a Librarian: Extending Virtual Reference Services through Instant Messaging and Chat Widgets. Partnership : the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, 3(2), 1-17.
Post-trialStrategic & Ubiquitous Placement of Widgets
• Library contact pages
•Database “Ask a Librarian” links
•Subject guides
•OPAC
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Results of Strategic and Ubiquitous Placement•Pandemonium! (unexpected busy-ness)•Technical issues▫OPAC widget status going “offline”
•Solutions▫Drop the IM accounts (no questions)▫Dynamic icon for OPAC
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Live Help dynamic icon, 2008-09 – online image
Live Help static icon, prior to 2008
Live Help Icons
Live Help dynamic icon, 2008-09 – offline image
Comparison of Stats - Fall 2008 & Fall 2007
Total Sessions Total Service Hours Avg/Hour
Fall 2007 340 674 0.50
Fall 2008 1,885 722 2.61
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
WOW!A five-fold increase!
More important than stats & graphs
•Appreciative students
•More faculty and students got the help they needed (extra 1,545 in Fall 08)
•Better library experience (student engagement)
• Improved scholastic achievement (immeasurable)
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Update•Winter 2009 – formally supported service•Fall 2009 – switch to LibraryH3lp•WorldCat Local integration • Increasing presence elsewhere▫online courses (BLS)▫ library home pages▫ link resolver results menu
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Looking Back, BCW (Before Chat Widgets)
•Onerous log-in forms
• Lacklustre response to VR
•OCLC, 2005 – only 2% of college students used online reference service as a primary source of help*
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
* Source: College Students’ Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources, OCLC, 2005
Tips•Place chat widgets at point of need•Be aware of online environment of widget placement•Experiment. Share results. Share failures.•Refresh Meebo accounts by logging in to native
interface•Separate accounts for tracking purposes•Free is great, for-small-fee might be even better
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009
Thanks!Linda BedwellReference & Instruction LibrarianDalhousie UniversityHalifax, Nova Scotia([email protected])
Making Chat Widgets Work L.Bedwell Internet Librarian 2009