Fundamentals of Reference

70 REFERENCE SERVICES

“Guidelines for Implementing and Maintaining Virtual Reference Services”

(see the appendix) includes this definition:

Virtual reference is reference service initiated electronically where

patrons employ computers or other technology to communicate

with public services staff without being physically present. Com-

munication channels used frequently in virtual reference include

chat, videoconferencing, Voice-over-IP, co-browsing, e-mail, and

instant messaging. (2.1)

So instead of asking a question in person at the library or on the telephone,

the patron is usually somewhere else (but sometimes actually in the library!)

using some form of electronic communication. As you might imagine, these

methods of communication have their own particular challenges as well as

benefits when used to provide reference service.

For the purpose of this discussion I’d like to focus on the three most widely

used forms of online reference: e-mail, chat, and instant messaging (IM).

e-mail reference

E-mail reference is one of those rare services

that seem to provide very satisfying results for a

relatively small commitment of time and labor.

—Karen G. Schneider, “My Patron Wrote Me a Letter”

E-mail reference is a service that has been offered by most libraries since the

1990s. Using a form on a library’s website, a patron submits a question and

an e-mail address to which the response can be sent. Other details such as the

patron’s location, reason for the question (e.g., school assignment, personal

interest, etc.), and sources already consulted are often requested on the form

as well. An example of an e-mail reference form can be found on ipl2 (www

.ipl2.org) by clicking on “Ask an ipl2 Librarian.” This form has been carefully

constructed to elicit as much information as possible from the patron (as in any

good reference interview), and even explains why each bit of information is

requested. For example, opposite the part of the form that asks “How will you

use this information?” there is the explanation that “Understanding the context

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