Text-A-Librarian

Email, chat, and text reference have a lot in common, but I think each is suited best to a different type of reference question. Email reference is better for a research-oriented question. If a patron is looking for general resources about a topic, an email can give the librarian a chance to find and cull resources and give the patron the benefit of more time and therefore it seems to me, a more thoughtful and comprehensive answer to their query.

In the situation of chat reference, the librarian is able to conduct a more thorough reference interview, and has the chance to get immediate feedback. They can clarify exactly what the patron wants and can hopefully gauge if what resources they are providing are being helpful (simply by asking, is this what you are looking for? Did I help you? might be all they need to do). This immediacy helps the patron, too. Although there may be lag times, where the patron is unsure what the librarian is doing, there are good librarians who will understand this and combat it by telling the patron what they are doing and continually acknowledging them. (As seen in some of our transcripts of chat sessions, notably transcript 4).

Text message reference is very good for simple questions. Ready reference questions that have definite answers or little need of explanation work best here. I thought of some of the questions on the Text-A-Librarian microboard almost as trivia questions, or clues you would find on a crossword puzzle. They mostly had very quick, simpler answers that did not require much space or even really much time to answer.

I can really see using the Text-A-Librarian service when I am out and about, whether it's for general knowledge, or for something very useful. What I am not sure about is if people will know about the service, if they will use it, (it's hard to remember a number if it's not in your contacts), and there is also a lot of direct competition with any phone that has internet capacity. A quick answer for a ready reference question can be found easily with google on your iphone. Again, this gets into issues of reliability of information and I'd personally trust a librarian and the resources she uses rather than simply typing it into a google search box. Text-A-Librarian is very easy to use, however, and that is a definite plus when it comes to getting users interested.

Ease of use, plus familiarity with the idea and practice of sending and receiving text messages is a good indicator of the audience that might use text message reference. I think for the younger crowd, those high schoolers and teens that are chained to their phones at all times, this is a very viable form of reference. But for anyone else, I think it may be difficult to really catch on.

IM or chat reference is ideal in a situation where the patron is already on the computer and needs a little step in the right direction. Email reference would work the same way, but generally has a longer lag time.