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Julie's Notes from the Reference Renaissance 2010
I had the pleasure and privledge of being part of the Planning Committee for the 2010 Reference Renaissance in Denver, Colorado. The conference was this past Sun-Tues and it was a fantastic time. In the interest of expediency i wanted to share my notes with you in raw form- i will probably digest them into deeper posts at a later date.
You'll be able to find videos and presentations at http://www.bcr.org/referencerenaissance/2010/schedule_details.html
Find RefRen10 on Facebook and search the conversation on twitter with the hashtag RefRen10
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the notes or ideas you'd like to discuss!
opening session & keynote
Setting Reference Free – Andrew Walsh- university of huddersfield
in the next five years- more ppl will access the web via mobile devices than “desktop” computers
“all those that didn't put your hands up... why not” (who uses text ref at lib)
FIRST CHALLENGE
if you don't accept sms to your reference service, start doing so now
[orkneylibrary tweet – dear twitter. Why have you started telling us who to follow? We don't tell you which books to read. Oh well. We do sort of. As you were.]
audioboo – podcasting (“quick and dirty”)
some people learn better audibly... instead of listening to you on the phone they can listen to you over and over
qr codes – strted in japan at toyota for component stickers... made open standard
---> try using qr code on the website to prompt customers to send a textmsg to their lib... to point their phone to the mobile site... (qwidget)
a few pages of text on paper- use qr code to link to additional info, links
link to slides to andrews talk are in a tip on foursquare for refren10
lemontree- for huddersfield, using rewards and social media to learn about the library and whatnot
SECOND CHALLENGE
Be radical. Think how AR could change your reference service and do something about it now
edwards, s. 2009 panning for gold- information literacy and the new lenses model. Auslib press: adelaide.
What you first use to search depends on convenience and personal preference.
Are you holding your customers back from becoming information literate? - are you using these technolgies and helping them through them or are you using old skool tech that aren'thelping your customers become 21st century information literate citizens. Digital citzens
LAST CHALLENGE
go from “no mobiles allowed” to “please switch to silent”
@andywalsh999
q&a
how do we use these to our benefit? Push the envelope.
Technologies are user-driven. If we don't do it, someone else will.
Find something that your customers wll find benefit in.. ASK THEM WHAT THEY MIGHT WANT!
Serving Users with IM and Chat
Checking in with a customer bought you 25 seconds before they dropped the call. They'd hang around for 2 minutes if nothing was said and they weren't checked in with.
Assumption was made that custmers were talking to the librarians. Sometimes students did identify for the customers.
Caleb, Juggling Patrons: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Multi-tasking in Chat Reference
Assumption that we can do a “good enough” job with multple people versus one at a time.
Multi-tasking study- academy of sciences => Those who say they're good at multi tasking actually aren't... they're also more distractable when they aren't mult tasking.
Isolated sessions or simutanious sessions – patrons sent 10 mgs and librarians 12msgs – same number of messages, just took longer.
“makes me think that chat reference isn't all that challengng... and that's challenging to say” - caleb
was it a resonable expectation to ask librarians to take more than one customer at a time?
Q&A
do you think that the software you use is a contributing factor as to the similarities that you found with serving multiple customers?
Yes. IM-based software makes a difference due to ease of switching, etc.
the evolution of chat reference question- ryan ohnson, uni of mississippi (ole miss)
assumptions made- more complex questions which would take longer. assumptions were wrong..
Collaborative Virtual Reference Really Does Work, But It Takes a Tribe, Kris Johnson + crew
people make a collaborative successful. keep the focus on the people.
colorado- 5 million people. 8th largest state in geographic size.
since december 2008- university of north texas is a partner in askacademic (the academic side of colorado)
steering committee, policies committee and quality assurance comittee- meet quarterly- kris doesn't make the final decisions about the direction of the service
[book] Seth Godin: Tribes: we need you to lead us. connected to each other, a leader, and an idea.
A tribe needs leadership. A group or one person. Couldn't run the org without the subcommittees.
You need to want connection and growth and change.
avoid tribes that embrace the status quo- encourage change. "If it isn't broken make it better. if it is broken, do something to change it"
a movement is thrilling… making something better.
amy
you don't have to led from the front… you can contribute and lead from your little corner.
partrick
doesn't staff regular ref desk so uses his ref skills on vr. can be surprised by the questions which can be a crash corse in that particular resource or seeking method.
is on quality assurance committee - selects a day of the month and reads transcripts at random.
participation in AskCOlorado gives people a chance to try their hand at being a leader.
Paul
to be a part of something bigger. having a shared interest and a way to communicate. low investment with huge returns.
Sylvia
being an advocate and being passionate and communicating what the movement is about.
SXSW is great example of tribe.. need to have the passion and belief in something. we're all leaders because we can all so something, we can all be passionate about something, we can all make change happen.
Enthusiasm is hard to keep but uber important to keep in mind why we're doing this…. you have to take some risks and be fearless to step outside of yourself. challenge the status quo who aren't obedient fearful following the rules. "We don't graduate any sheep."
what do you love about the service?
- unique position to help customers improve their skills… they may be adept at web2.0 and social media but maybe not evaluating sources or refining search strategies.
- micro leadership and contributions… learning from each other. everyone can contribute something great.
- commitment to customer service, internal and external.
what skills do you need to do vr?
- nimble and flexible and keep up with the communication of the group. be okay with any kind of question.-
- comfortable with software. f2f ref skills are applied.
- paths not walls. willing to problem solve on the spot. being personable and welcoming (HUMAN).
- be careful to do a proper ref interview (moreso than f2f interview). be aware of how your words are coming across.
- flexibility. FEARLESSNESS> no one wants to look stupid but you have to try new things or talk to other people. See what something sticks.
the really good librarians go the extra mile. Move the QUESTION not the customer.
one secret people don't know about vr or askcol / dispel one myth about vr
- you really do make a difference. you really do help a lot of people. you're not just working in a bubble. anonymity and intimacy of questions
- myth- you have to have access to the institutions databases in order to be effective. direct them to the reouseces that they have access to. don't erect walls or barriers that don't exist.
- we're not staffed by a computer! :-)
- myth- that we have bad or worse customers in vr than f2f that there's an element. greatly exaggerated. depends on the librarian.. "searius/real" ref questions can be turned around into a successful interaction. "what american girl doll should i buy?" outcome depends largely on how thec customer is treated.
- THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO! teachable moment, BI… works out that we can't just always hand them things, we have to explsin things… a little BI goes a long way.
"chatvangelists" (vince)… not too far from you is someone who may not be promoting or even know about the service. how do we get more buy-in from the staff?
the quality booklets and workshops. its not enough to hand them their shifts and be on your way. there needs to be a support system. promote the positive publiclky as much as possible. offering incentives…
invite people to log in as a customer and experience it
tribe within a tribe- cultivate who needs cultivating. try to meet the individual needs of the whole- try to bring the resident to the dark side.
directing people back to their library's services - if they're outside maryland
Collaborating for Quality
reaffirmation of reference: the role of "your' intellectual capital in marketing your campus to prospective students- michele maloney and emily chan
be more explicit about the work that you do. roi
"discipline specific experiences"
MAKE SURE YOU"RE BEING PROMOTED DURING NEW STUDENT ORIENTATIONS AS PART OF THE LIBRARY - WHAT ARE YOU ACADEMIC PARTNERS DOING ABOUT MARKETING THEIR OWN LIBRARY? DO THEY HAVE APPTs with LIBRARIANS?
"personalized support"
"I will be your librarian if you come to xx and are in the xx program"
we're too modest about what we do. modesty not an attribute you want to cultivate in librarians. we're part of the college and community "package" - sell your community…
IS THE LIBRARY PART OF THE BENEFITS OF MOVING TO A SPECIFIC COUNTY!?
promise to be brief.
Software, Service and Synergy: The Ohio -Oregon Virtual Reference Collaboration and What It Can Mean For You
trainings took all day- spent most time using complicated software - why looked to move to simpler software.
intergovernmental agreements between ohio and oregon - split everything 25/75 (based on population)
customizable reports since your data is all in a database you control.
can preserve the local flavor of their service
caleb designed their web form to look just like their chat - instant widget.
budgeting for the software developments as the base software changes and security updates.
transcripts are kept for a month in the database and then deleted…
can use it as a true local im - caleb gives it away to any oregon library so they can use it- they might not even participate in the statewide service. when they aren't online it can go to the statewide service or the after hours service.
provider.knowitnow.org/content/ref-ren-2010
NC LIVE, Working for North Carolina: A Statewide Awareness Campaign Supporting Economic Development and Quality of Life Through NC Libraries, Jill Robinson-Morris
first thing people saw when coming to the old website was a login screen - BARRIER!
Task-based portals (photo of business.nclive.org - reference-usa isn't prominent "get market research, create mailing lists" IS highlighted.
PUT things IN LANGUAGE THAT NORMAL HUMANS CAN UNDERSTAND.. "ebsco" isn't something that tells you what it is.
marketing is not advertising. remind people of the value.
all libraries in NC are members of NCLive except for k-12, for profit and special.
they're twittering to customers…
faceooks is more library-based in terms of audience
working on a social media strategy.
Plenary & closing session
stephen bell, the reference user experience: its up to you to design it
unique, engaging, fun (fish market) they're design that went into it
"wow your reference is better than a double rainbow"
it doesn't make sense to copy someone else's experience- it has to be relevant to your own unique org and customers
Five qualities of wow -slide in stephen's press
engagement
executing excellence
brand experience
expiditing
problem recovery
be different.
be memorable.
loyalty. repeat customers who tell others about their experience
don't show them what you know- use what you know to get them what they need.
anticipate their needs. (research guides for assignments)
no more anonymous librarians! personalize and create meaning.
accomplishment -way to create meaning
"having a genuine experience will stay with people"
motivate and empower staff to fix problems. - the power and the training to do so
build relationships and connections
think totality - reference experience isn't just that.. holistic experience - web, systems, circa, opac.
anywhere a customer interacts with your library or staff is part o the user experience and needs to be on board
we are the user: imagination, sympathy, the user experience - wayne bivens-tatum
we have an abundance of familiarity and complacency
we often lack imagination and sympathy
when we forget what its like to be a user with no idea- we often get a lot of the easy things wrong.
the user experience - virtual space and personal interactions.
Jamie LaRue - Douglas County Libs
reference stimulates and satisfies human….. (missing word)
the librarian is present in the "feel" of the place.
"skin in the game" - invested something of yourself.
libraries have to care about the community so that we can demonstrate our value to them - they shouldn't just automatically care about us.
grocery stores aren't sorted by the vendor! but by the type of item. - its not the "post" aisle but the cereal aisle.
the librarian gets deep enough into the customer's story of their life to find out why they want to know not just what they want to know.
the librarian did their job by making the systems easy enough for self service that they didn't need to be a barrier in the process - self checkout, etc.
we need to be so integrated into people's scenes that the scene can not exist without us. They are a vital piece of community decision making.
the library has to declare its value - to demonstrate their value.
jean costello - radicalpatron.com
isn't a user of the library because her expectations and needs have changed and her libraries haven't changed with them.
doing all you can to keep the current users and doesn't have any more to give to bring in the non-users.
public libraries do a really good job with children programming and teen and adult entertainment. but there isn't a lot of academic reouseces and programs. how can we help our customers actively engage with the world around them.
are "trusted sources" a thing of the past?
there's no model for "librarian" (models for doctors, etc) - we have an opportunity to build this
librarians will help us understand online privacy and net neutrality? - we need to be involved in this and
librarians will achieve and more prominent and accurate plisse in the public consciousness. - knowledge creation practices will improve as a result - who's inside and who's excluded.
Q&A
you don't have to ask for directions, you can figure it all out without mediation - transparent library is a welcoming discoverable place.
we lack brand identity as a profession.
we have different users and different experiences- no brand because we're doing it differently and everyone sees us differently
"the public library is a laboratory for your individual creativity" - not a cirriculum
reference librarians listen to the customer story and collaborate on the solution together.
customers don't always have language for themselves - our language should be intuitive and simple
put the links to the databases where they're going to be anyway - community site, course software site. make it about the people not the content. what is the connection between me and the thing - what the fuck is "ebsco" ?
crm and web developer! marriage made in heaven- a site that learns who i am and wha ti like and gives me an aggregate search so i can search it all with little effort and without looking at the ginormous list of databases, etc
in the databases - "do you need an appointment with a librarian to help you more with this? "
seven reasons why things are broken - seth godin.
i'm not a fish… but designing something for fish. i am designing something i don't use. of course its going to suck.
things that don't work is a shitty user experience.
how do you avoid staff feeling like an interchangeable piece instead of a professional? where does our personal identity appear? come back?
how people feel is always a difficult thing to unpack.
does all things to all people mean nothing to no one?
premium user experience for the people who really want us. totally focus our efforts on them….. nordstom premium customers.
no one thinks its of value because no one pays for it - that's a challenging conversation for us - stephen bell.
marie's closing remarks
318 registered attendees!
14 exhibitors
39 states and 5 canadian provinces
post conference planning committee meeting - debriefing to go over surveys, etc.
proceedings promised in less than a calendar year.