Let's Fix Virtual Reference

Virtual Reference (VR) is such a great idea—helping customers from afar, making it easier than ever to get information—that it's a shame how often it is badly executed in practice. Even though I love VR and am sure it's here to stay, I find myself regularly unsatisfied with the quality of VR sessions. Who am I to say such a thing? A 2005 library school graduate, I've worked in VR from the beginning of my professional career, formerly giving two hours a week to my local service. Currently I'm a trainer, creating and teaching workshops like "New Reference: Developing Reference Services in the 21st Century" and "Virtual Reference Best Practices." I'm also a user of VR, mostly of the collaborative type such as those services powered by QuestionPoint. So, with this article, I'm actually throwing bricks at my own glass house, but believe me, it's a house that I don't want to break—I actually hope someone catches the bricks, mortars them together, and strengthens the house.

I'm a frequent VR user. Any question that pops into my head is an excuse to go online and ask a librarian. But I do so as a customer, not a librarian, making sure that I don't supply answers to reference interview questions the librarian fails to ask. Sadly, I often don't get a reference interview, which begs the question: how can librarians help customers without understanding what the customer is talking about?

During one VR session, when I asked the librarian for information on how to make motions during meetings (information that Robert's Rules of Order would have supplied), I was sent a number of web sites on meeting etiquette. That was the librarian acting like a computer. Google-like matching got me frustrated, understanding would have gotten me results. Nearly every VR service I've seen signals in some way that customers can talk to real librarians. So the first step toward improving VR is for librarians to stop acting like computers.

Working on the quality of sources used will also make a difference. I've got a stack of transcripts I've received as a customer in which sources from the open Internet are the only ones suggested. I once asked a question about how to cite an online podcast properly in Harvard style. I presume that all libraries have style manuals at their disposal and that most librarians assume that their customers do not. So here I am, the customer, asking a style question of a librarian. Is a style manual consulted? No. The few guides suggested were all web sources, with no assurances of authority provided and even worse, no advice given when I asked where I should click to get the answer. I still don't know how to cite that podcast.

Another thing that will help improve VR is spending more time with the customer. I know what goes on at the average reference desk and that time isn't one of the things that we have to spare. Still, it's shocking to see some librarians acting more eager than these customers to end the transaction.

In the end, I'd like librarians to focus on customer service. After all, we are service providers—not gatekeepers or any other metaphor that makes librarians sound like we're keeping knowledge from people—and the experience of the end user is going to be our best marketing device at the end of the day. I'm worried that an increasing number of local VR services at academic institutions are for the exclusive use of students and staff, with services often facilitated by instant messaging programs like Meebo rather than robust software platforms like QuestionPoint. Does this signal a shift away from the collaborative VR model? Have some librarians noticed the issues I've cited and decided not to expose their customers to these frustrations? I don't know, but I'll certainly be watching.

One final note: I often have the opportunity to ask an audience of librarians if they've ever tried a collaborative VR service and despair somewhat at the low number of hands that go up. That tells me that not enough of us have tried these services, and I wonder how we can effectively promote something we've never used. It's easy to promote book circulation; I'll bet we've all checked out a book at least once in our lives. What if you find when you try virtual reference that you don't like it? Will you promote it? Will you think about what it was you didn't like and see if it happens a second time? Use these services. That's what I do. Then let's work on improving VR by slowing down, conducting real reference interviews, and focusing on our customers.