1. Digital Reference in Germany An Overview and Experiences on the Need for Qualifications Hermann Rösch Institut for Information Science University of Applied Sciences Cologne IFLA – Reference Work Section Berlin - Aug. 6th 2003 Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 1 of 17

2. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 2 of 17 Structure/Outline 1. Reference in German Libraries 2. Digital Reference in Germany 3. Communicative Competencies of Digital Reference Librarians 4. Proposal on Next Steps

3. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 3 of 17 Reference in German libraries (1) Reference Service appeared as topic in the late 1960s In practice little changed till the end of the 1990s Apart from few exceptions German libraries remained collection centered

4. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 4 of 17 Reference in German libraries (2) Dale Askey put down the superiority of American libraries to the following two facts: „...American libraries are service-oriented, while German libraries are collection-centered.” „The first of these is the lack, in Germany, of reference librarians of the type commonly found in the United States.“

5. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 5 of 17 Digital Reference in Germany (1) Forms of Digital Reference: E-Mail-Reference Web Forms Chat/Live-Reference Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Video Conferencing Web Contact Center

6. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 6 of 17 Digital Reference in Germany (2) Development in short: a. German libraries began using e-mail in the mid 90s, finding that it was useful not only for improving communication among librarians, but also to facilitate contact between librarians and patrons. b. Public libraries in cities and university libraries gradually created Web sites and provided e-mail as contact addresses. But the potential for an e-mail service wasn’t exploited. c. E-Mail-Reference: Some public libraries, mainly in big cities, and some university libraries now offer organized and well- planned digital reference services via e-mail. That is, the library publicizes an e-mail address that is dedicated to reference purposes only.

7. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 7 of 17 Digital Reference in Germany (3) d. Web forms: Some libraries added service via Web form, in which users are invited to phrase their questions in a more structured way and to give additional information.

8. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 8 of 17 Digital Reference in Germany (4) e. Chat Services: Chat service is still in its early development. Six university libraries have launched chat services within the last 2 years: Dortmund TU Hamburg-Harburg Bundeswehr Hamburg BIS Oldenburg Trier Wuppertal

9. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 9 of 17 Digital Reference in Germany (5) Two projects related to the development of digital reference in Germany have to be mentioned: the discussion list RABE German Internet Library (Deutsche Internetbibliothek)

10. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 10 of 17 Digital Reference in Germany (6) RABE Acronym for “Search and Reference in Libraries” Discussion list for reference librarians only Established in 1998 Modeled after the American Stumpers- List  Plays an important role in improving the quality of reference services in German Libraries

11. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 11 of 17 Digital Reference in Germany (7) German Internet Library Initiated by the Bertelsmann Foundation in cooperation with the German Library Association Began operations in early 2002 and is aimed exclusively at Public Libraries Member libraries work cooperatively in two ways: They create and maintain a Web catalogue that is tailored to the specific information needs of public library users They form an e-mail reference consortium with more than 70 public libraries involved

12. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 12 of 17

13. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 13 of 17 New competencies required Digital Reference Librarians Competencies Knowledge of electronic resources Skilled in searching the complex landscape of information resources Ability to communicate clearly and effectively Proficient in use of language(s) Comfortable using a variety of computer applications Competent manager

14. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 14 of 17 Communicative Competencies (1) 1.E-mail and web forms aggravate the reference interview; only certain questions factual ones in particular can actually be answered by this complex method. 2.To conduct a reference interview by chat the typical jargon and chat behaviour must be mastered. 3.People using chat are impatient; to avoid the phenomenon of disappearing questioners reference librarians have to keep their chat patrons active and interested. 4.Reference librarians must be able to prepare themselves for new user groups with little or no library experience at all.

15. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 15 of 17 Communicative Competencies (2) 5.Reference librarians must be flexible and able to decide when the communication channel chosen by the user is overtaxed and a change is to be recommended 6.Reference librarians have to know which communication channels are particularly suitable for which question types 7.Reference librarians must recognize whether the first question asked by a patron is a so-called probe query. Users often ask an initial simple, vague query at first, and upon receiving a response then proceed to ask much more detailed questions

16. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 16 of 17 Proposal on Next Steps Establishment of a discussion list modelled after DigRef or LiveReference Organization of conferences in which those who are already providing reference in any of the digital forms could exchange experiences Statistical evaluation of all reference sessions Enumeration of benefits and shortcomings of the various digital reference modes and technologies Analysis of the competencies required

17. Hermann Rösch: Digital Reference in Germany Slide 17 of 17 Thank you very much for your Time and Patience! Contact: hermann.roesch@fh-koeln.de