Digital reference: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:30, 7 March 2016

Revision as of 01:18, 20 August 2016

Line 2:

'''Digital reference''' (or '''virtual reference''') is a service by which a [[library]] reference service is conducted online, and the reference transaction is a [[computer-mediated communication]]. It is the remote, NextNextcomputer-mediated delivery of reference information provided by library professionals to users who cannot access or do not want face-to-face communication. Virtual reference service is most often an extension of a library's existing reference service program. The word "[[reference]]" in this context refers to the task of providing assistance to library users in finding information, answering questions, and otherwise fulfilling users’ information needs. Reference work often but not always involves using [[reference work]]s, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. This form of reference work expands reference services from the physical reference desk to a "virtual" reference desk where the patron could be writing from home, work or a variety of other locations.

The terminology surrounding virtual reference services may involve multiple terms used for the same definition.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pace |first=A. |title=Virtual Reference: What's in a Name? |journal=Computers in Libraries |date=April 2003 |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=55–56}}</ref> The preferred term for remotely delivered, computer-mediated reference services is "virtual reference", with the secondary non-preferred term "digital reference" having gone out of use in recent years. "Chat reference" is often used interchangeably with virtual reference, although it represents only one aspect of virtual reference. Virtual reference includes the use of both synchronous (i.e., IM, videoconferencing) and asynchronous communication (i.e., texting and email). Here, "synchronous virtual reference" refers to any real-time computer-mediated communication between patron and information professional. Asynchronous virtual reference is all computer-mediated communication that is sent and received at different times.<ref name="Kern">{{cite book |last=Kern |first=M.K. |title=Virtual Reference Best Practices: Tailoring Services to Your Library |place=Chicago |publisher=ALA |year=2009}} ISBN 978-0-8389-0975-1</ref>

==History==

Line 26:

*A return email address to send the answer to the question

*The question being asked

*The type of question

*What sources have been consulted by the patron

*How the patron is planning to use the information

Line 32:

*A name to personalize the interaction

*A date by which the information is needed

*The type of sources being requested (print or electronic) <ref>Janes, Joseph. "Introduction to Reference Work in the Digital Age", pages 64-65. Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc., 2005.</ref>

===Chat using commercial applications===

Line 124:

===Providers===

;Egypt

;* [http://www.questionmart.org QuestionMART,], published by: Cybrarians: the Arabic Portal for Librarianship and Information.

;United States

* [[Ask a Librarian]], Florida state's virtual reference service, provides live chat with co-browsing and email functions.