Electronic Outreach Services for Library Users HELP from afar: Electronic Outreach Services for Library Users Kathrine Montgomery January 31, 2001

The Changing Face of Libraries: Proliferation of electronic resources Home/office computers allow for increased remote access Distance - convenience Time constraints (age of 24/7 stores, why not 24/7 access to resources)

What is outreach? Extending of services or assistance beyond current or usual limits; the extent of such services or assistance (MW) Any service or method that provides added access to library resources

Why bother with outreach? Countless new resources Difficult to know where to search All online sources are not equal Web and electronic resources - broad but not deep Don’t forget the paper! Librarians have difficulty keeping up with new products and services - so is it any wonder that our patrons are having difficulty there are so many places to look for information on the same topic - multiple science databases, how to search, where to look Proquest isn’t enough? Many students are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of places to look for information and many don’t understand that searching the web is not the same as searching FirstSearch. (But my professor said I couldn’t use anything from the web.) Academic sources vs. web sources Full text vs. citation only (but it says it’s online) timed out while most are internet savvy, some don’t know how to use a browser, which means that many resources are not available to them Important to help students and faculty determine what is available what are different resources used for how do you use the resource itself

Varieties of outreach Reference Instruction Informative Combination

Reference Aid with choosing appropriate sources Aid with search terms/techniques Allows contact with a librarian Way of introducing face-to-face time

Reference HOW? Phone reference Email reference Video reference Chat reference Combination Can start to gather FAQs and pathfinders - but these need to be tested as well phone - synchronous, but only available during library hours Some non-verbal communication (tone, inflection) but still lacking, if using phone line, they must hang up and log on in order to access resources email - asynchronous, more time to think, formulate response More work? - might miss question, etc. Sent directly to one person, subject specialist assigned, or claimed Eileen Abels RQ “the e-mail reference interview - forms used during interview were most effective These forms can be used after initial request or for the actual request Can also be used to collect statistics on use video? - U of M, UCI Chat? on line reference at a specific time - chat reference MOO - multi user object oriented environment Combination - email w/phone, face-to-face HOW?

Form vs. Function Materials sought Clarification of purpose Form of materials sought Clarification of purpose Background information Sources already used Use statistics

Instruction What resources are available - and when to use them What kind of information can be found in each resource How to conduct a search What to do with the results There are several ways to affect instruction to outside library users First - combination with reference - instead of giving answer - teach users about the resource while doing it. IPL example, never just give the answer - explain thought process to come up with the answer - search strategies, etc. instruction - what resources, when, how, why

Instruction In combination with reference services Guides/pathfinders/help sheets Test effectiveness of the guides Are they being used? Are they written for users or by information scientists? Diane Nahl Reference Services Review “Creating user-centered instructions for novice end-users” Language objective teach what they need to know Help pages guides/FAQs/pathfinders provide answers to FAQs survey/focus groups

Informative Email notices of interest to groups Web bulletin board New products Services - Electronic and on-site Web bulletin board Library web site

Combination Work with faculty to integrate reference, instruction, and informational updates with relevant courses Course web pages Blackboard

Recommendations Survey or other evaluation methods What do users want? What do users need? What is the most effective way to provide products/services? Start with test programs to gauge effectiveness Coming from the School of information at the University of Michigan one things was emphasized - user needs and user needs assessments - it is a very user oriented environment Read lit - try new programs out start small and consistently re-evaluate

Conclusions Vital to know what your user group wants and needs - especially since it can change Important to stay abreast of new technology Be creative - try out new techniques as well as new technology Be flexible - be willing and able to adapt to the changing environment Stay abreast of emerging technology - both in the library community as well as in the computer science and Information technology department - often the “techies’ won’t realize what implications newly instituted technology might have for the library community The most important thing that I have learned is to be flexible - be willing and able to adapt to a changing environment - not only is technology changing, but the knowledge of our user group as well as their expectations are also changing - being willing to adapt and function with these changes is extremely important in order for the library to remain a vital part of the university repeated surveys, interviews, focus groups - what ever method is the most useful to evaluate present services and to gauge the need for new/additional services

Kate Montgomery kmontgo@umich.edu HELP From Afar Kate Montgomery kmontgo@umich.edu

Example: IPL

Example: IPL

IPL Reference Form

IPL Reference Form

IPL Reference Form