Guidelines for Oregon Statewide Digital Reference Service

Background

These guidelines were developed and adopted in August and September
of 2003. Further guidelines have been authored by RUSA,
IFLA and the Library
of Congress.
These guidelines pertain mostly to live chat (synchronous) service, but
should also be applied to email or RefTracker (asynchronous) service when
possible.
Contributors to these guidelines were Michael Bowman (Portland State University),
Barbara Jenkins (University of Oregon), Deborah Kaufman (Eugene Public Library)
and Ann Zeidman-Karpinski (University of Oregon).
Initial Call Interaction

Calls should be answered as quickly as possible.
Librarians should send a welcome message immediately to the patron.
Librarians should quickly review the patron's question and location.
If the patron's question indicates that they believe they have contacted
a local library, briefly explain that the service is staffed by librarians
from all over Oregon.

Reference Interview
Librarians should engage in a brief reference interview if the question
is not clear.

Librarians should use interpersonal communication practices that promote effective provision of reference service (RUSA Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Services).

General Interaction
The librarian should frequently let the user know what she is doing. If
the search takes time, keep the patron informed.
Answers for most quick factual information should be provided in approximately 15 minutes at the time of service.
Librarians should chat in a friendly and professional manner designed to
make the patron feel at ease.

Librarians should strive for a hybrid combination of instruction and "giving answers".
Librarian should encourage the development of the patron's information seeking
behavior by providing some instructional guidance.
Librarians should use chat communication techniques to keep the patron
engaged.
Information should be sent in small pieces, not large paragraphs.
Librarians should be familiar with and use the bookmarked sites and pre-written
scripts available to them whenever possible to facilitate an efficient transaction.
Appropriate use of spelling and grammar is expected while striking a balance between speed and professionalism.

Searching and Resources
Librarian should explain what they are planning to do before they execute
a search or visit a link.
Responses should include an explanation of the librarian's search process
or strategy for finding the information.
Librarian should conduct searches in a separate browser window in order
to limit patron confusion.

Librarians should seek to answer questions with quality Web sources.
Librarian should use the patron's "home" library to answer library-specific
questions or to acquaint the patron with local resources.

Resources quoted or used should be fully cited, unless the authority for the source is included in the resource. For example, if you copy text from a book or website and send it to the patron, the source should be cited. If you send the patron the website and explain the relevant text, the source does not need to be cited.
Legal, medical, and statistical information should not be interpreted. Librarians
should indicate that they are unable to provide an interpretation.

Referrals

Questions about local library services that are unable to be answered using
the library's web site should be referred to that library using the RefTracker
system.
Questions requiring specialized knowledge or resources that are not available
to the librarian should be referred to a specialist using the RefTracker
system.

Complications and Problems

Librarians should keep the user informed about any technical problems.
During busy service times, librarians should indicate that there may be
a delay in response and offer to respond to the question later.
During busy service times, librarians should seek help from other librarians
in Oregon through instant messaging software.
Librarians should expect appropriate behavior from the patron and respond
with the pre-written script provided
for dealing with inappropriate behavior. The Librarian should then disconnect
if the patron's behavior continues not to meet appropriate standards.

Feedback

Questions? Suggestions? Contact service coordinator Caleb Tucker-Raymond.