Management Issues in Digital Reference Alice K. Kawakami Program Director for Digital Reference University of California, Los Angeles

2 Policies and guidelines Who will be the clientele? What level of service to provide? Give answers or teach strategies? Document delivery? What resources are to be used? Electronic sources only?

3 Other considerations… Where should this service be staffed? When should the service be open? Who should staff the service? Who is the service geared towards?

4 Staffing issues Shift length Split shifts Working from home Technical needs: computer, internet access (DSL or cable modem)

5 Selecting hours Hours the in-person desk is most busy Hours users say they would use it Based on times questions are received Based on when users are trying to access help

6 Training staff Vendor sessions, online training Training within libraries Weekly/monthly meetings Listserv for reporting and discussion Special sessions to highlight resources Digital reference resources web page

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8 Publicity and visibility Public relations vs marketing Promoting a new service Logo, tag line, icon Icon placement

9 Assessment and evaluation User surveys Transcripts Competencies Listserv and weekly discussion Sampling, focus groups

10 Statistics

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14 Role of Project Coordinator Liaison between librarians and developers Create training materials Convene meetings Analyze data for scheduling and consistency of service Identify training issues Shape the overall program

15 Challenges Librarian fears Isolating librarian-error, user-error, software problems, network problems Equipment considerations Publicizing the service Coordinating coverage

16 Solutions Emphasize similarities to traditional reference Value known skills and experience Work with local webmaster technical staff public relations department

17 Discussion Session 2 Representative Groups Hospital Libraries Medical School Libraries Pharmaceutical or Biotech Libraries Consumer Health Organizations Regional Center for Rural Libraries

18 Discussion Topics Who will you serve? What level of service will you provide? What hours will you be open? How will you staff the service? Will you join a cooperative? Who will be the ideal partners? What will be your role? What issues do you have to work out?

19 Resources Alice Kawakami University of California, Los Angeles Shirley David Sacramento County Public Law Library Kay Deeney NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region

20 Questions Comments, responses, etc. Evaluation forms Certificates