Digital reference services

* Preface * INTRODUCTION TO PART I * Digital Reference: An Overview * POINTS OF VIEW * Virtually Yours: Thoughts on Where We Have Been and Where We Are Going with Virtual Reference Services in Libraries * The Digital Reference Fallacy * Bad Moon Rising: A Candid Examination of Digital Reference and What It Means to the Profession * OPERATION PRINCIPLES AND AIDS * Mediated Online Searching and Digital Reference * Stocking the Virtual Ready Reference Collection * A Checklist for Starting and Operating a Digital Reference Desk * CHAT SERVICES * Hurry Up and Wait: Observations and Tips About the Practice of Chat Reference * Communication Strategies for Instant Messaging and Chat Reference Services * Real-Time Chat Reference and the Importance of Text-Chat * INTRODUCTION TO PART II * Opportunities For Real-Time Digital Reference Services * ACADEMIC LIBRARIES * Usage and User Analysis of a Real-Time Digital Reference Service * Going Where The Students Are: Live/Web Reference At Cal Poly Pomona * Virtual Reference at Duke: An Informal History * Evaluating Online Real-Time Reference in an Academic Library: Obstacles and Recommendations * Our Experience with Two Virtual Reference Services at IUPUI University Library * KANAnswer: A Collaborative Statewide Virtual Reference Pilot Project * Virtual Reference Services: The LSU Libraries Experience * Ask a Penn State Librarian, Live: Virtual Reference Service at Penn State * Chat Reference: One University's Experience * PUBLIC LIBRARY * Going It Alone: Can a Small/Medium-Sized Library Manage Live Online Reference? * Index * Reference Notes Included