Web Reference: A Virtual Reality
Janet Foster, Contributing Editor
Public librarians have been answering esoteric reference queries using a variety of resources and formats for years. The difference in the digital era is the way in which reference questions are handled. The issue is not whether the Internet has the answers, but how to exploit the vast sea of information and when to rely upon traditional print standards like Statistical Abstracts and Books in Print. The dichotomy can be ambiguous at best. In some instances pursuing both print and electronic avenues presents a more definitive answer to the query than each alone. Knowing which path to follow becomes intuitive after a while. As when using print resources, librarians develop a sixth sense about where the answers lie and how to best retrieve them on the Net. In addition to using the major search engines like Hotbot and Infoseek to conduct cyber reference, librarians have developed virtual Ask A Librarian Forms and are using e-mail for interactive patron responses to Internet queries. Following are ideas and strategies that can be employed to enhance digital reference services in public libraries.
Web Watch @ LJ Digital and Booklist
Several library publications that review books and other materials for collection development now include Web reference columns. Two excellent examples of serials with Web reviews for librarians are Library Journal’s Web Watch and Booklist’s Reference on the Web. Both journals offer print and online versions of Internet site reviews. Library Journal Digital maintains a Web Watch archive which is accessible at www.bookwire.com/LJDigital/webwatch.articles/date=current. Articles on a variety of topics are reviewed monthly and can be bookmarked or printed out for future reference. Some topics covered in the Web Watch archive include: Online Demographic and Census Data, Travel Sites, Book Information Sources, and Best Reference Sites of the Year. Each citation includes a short abstract and link to the sites reviewed. All of the sites recommended have been checked for authority, governing body, and revision dates ensuring that accurate and timely information is being presented.
Booklist publishes a list of Web Reference sites in its periodical and duplicates the column on the Web. The Booklist site at www.ala.org/booklist includes reviews of current fiction and nonfiction titles as well as multimedia resources. Internet sites of interest to librarians are listed at www.ala.org/booklist/v94/rbb/45.html, which provides the data the site was last accessed. A sample Booklist annotation for the Britannica Internet Guide states:
Here is a new navigational service from Encyclopedia Britannica. The purpose of this free service, maintained by a staff of twenty-five editors, copy editors, and indexers, is to bring “context, structure, and a distinctive editorial voice to the Web” by identifying, reviewing, rating, and indexing more than 65,000 Web sites.
The Booklist Web Review includes a link to www.ebig.com and other sites it explores facilitating ease of use in addition to authoriative reference selection.
Reference on the Web at Booklist reviews Internet resources using a format similar to that at LJ Digital. Relevant topics reflecting current cultural trends are explored. For example, a compendium of Titanic Sites was featured last year following the movie hype and concommitant patron interest.
Subject Guides to Cyberspace
Public libraries across the USA have taken the quantum leap into cyberspace by developing unique resources to complement their own local collections. Before Yahoo! (Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle), the Internet was like a huge library of books jumbled in no particular order. Soon, Yahoo! and other sites developed Cyber Dewey types of subject lists creating order out of Web chaos. In light of the plethora of Web directories, librarians have been motivated to categorize Web topics.
The August 1996 issue of Internet World featured an article titled “Look to the Librarians” that spotlighted the efforts of Jenny Levine, Judi Wolinsky, and others who launched into cyberspace as Web pioneers.
Internet World no longer publishes a monthly journal but the “Look to Librarians” article can be accessed on the Web at http://www.internetworld.com/print/monthly/1996/08/cyberlib.html and is just as relevant today as it was in 1996. The Morton Grove (Ill.) Public Webrary© exemplifies virtual reference at its cyber best. The Webrary© has developed a subject guide to the Internet formatted by Dewey decimal number. Their rationale for doing so is stated in an introduction to the site that reads, “We’ve based this subject index on the durable legacy of Melvin Dewey (1851–1931), whose category system is followed by nearly every public library in the United States.” With the caveat that Web sites keep changing and that its listings, though ample, are not all inclusive, the Webrary© invites you to peruse the virtual stacks. Or visit the virtual Cyber Dewey to view the venerable classification system online.
Librarians might wonder why using the comprehensive subject guides at Yahoo! or any of the multitude of Web directories would not suffice for patron needs. Online directories are certainly plentiful and seem to keep changing, updating, and deleting files, and contain substantial amounts of data, much more than the typical virtual public library could maintain. One reason for developing selective Web guides is self-evident and is dictated by the geographical locale in which the library resides, the address referred to by cyber techies as the snail mail location. When developing collections for a specific community, the collection criteria varies. A perfect example on the Webrary© site is the inclusion of a Russian Webrary that reflects the local ethnic population. While your own public library might not require Russian resources, consider creating Web pathfinders to help patrons navigate through the aisles of virtual stacks.
Ask a Virtual Librarian
The Internet Public Library (IPL) is in a class of its own. The first virtual library without a physical counterpart, IPL exists solely in cyberspace and ranks high in organization, site selection, and interactivity. The site, which is maintained by staff at the University of Michigan, has a Virtual Reference Desk consisting of an image map with text alternativies to guide you in your cyber journey. Click on the desk to “Ask a Reference Question” or to browse a book in a specific section of the Ready Reference Collection. A list of Frequently Asked Reference Questions and the IPL Pathfinders serve as guides to getting started on research in numerous subject areas, both in print and online. The Internet Public Library maintains an interactive reference desk where patrons can submit questions via e-mail or an online form. Many public libraries have adopted similar formats or created their own unique questionnaires.
If your library is considering a virtual reference desk, visit the IPL for ideas on how to set up and cyber-staff the desk. Other good examples of virtual reference desks include: The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (N.C.) and the Houston (Tex.) Public Library-Interactive-Ask A Librarian . Encouraging patrons to use Internet resources will undoubtedly lead to questions about how to cite electronic resources. The PLCMC provides several links to formats for cyber citations and is located at www.plcmc.lib.nc.us/online/links/citation.htm. At Danbury (Conn.) Public Library, Information Services Staff use a printout of the format for citing cyber citations as part of the Ready reference collection.
Forward to the Cyber Future
Virtual reference desk services are proving to be as useful as their physical counterparts. Questions that require extensive research can be shared by the entire library staff. A response to each inquiry should inform the patron that the question was received as well as the approximate time needed to gather the necesary information. The print reference collection should include at least one Web Directory—preferably a general resource such as Henry Hahn’s Internet & Web Yellow Pages.
Monthly Internet publications like Yahoo Internet Life and Web Guide Monthly provide reviews of new Web sites and lists of current topics in cyberspace. Both are available via subscription and online. The print copies are great for patron and staff use and in training classes. And the online versions offer quick links to the sites reviewed. Both publications are used extensively at Danbury Public Library where a new Technology Center that opened in 1998 now conducts an average of ten hands-on classes each month. The best way to stay current in cyberspace is to log on every day and encourage staff to use the Internet. The Web is a dynamic and interactive vehicle for reference work in public libraries along with traditional research methodes and materials.
Sources
Booklist, Reference on the Web, www.ala.org/booklist/v94/rbb/45.html
Britannica Internet Guide, www.ebig.com
Citing Electronic Resources, www.plcmc.lib.nc.us/online/links/citation.htm
Encyclopedia Titanica, www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/phind
Harley Hahn, Harley Hahn’s Internet & Web Yellow Pages, 5th ed. (Osborne Mcgraw-Hill, 1998). $34.99; ISBN:0078-82387-0
Hotbot, www.hotbot.com
Houston (Tex.) Public Library-Interactive-Ask A Libraria,. www.hpl.lib.tx.us/hpl/interactive/answers.html
Infoseek, www.infoseek.com
Internet Public Library, www.ipl.org
Internet Public Library Ready Reference, www.ipl.org/ref
Internet World, ”Look to the Librarians,” www.internetworld.com/print/monthly/1996/08/cyberlib.html
Morton Grove (Ill.) Public Library’s Webrary(r), www.webrary.org
Morton Grove (Ill.) Public Library’s Reference Menu, www.webrary.org/ref/refmenu.html
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (N.C.)—Ask A Librarian, www.plcmc.lib.nc.us/online/asklib/question.asp
Yahoo!, www.yahoo.com
Yahoo! Internet Life, www.webguidemag.com/features.html
Web guide Monthly, www.webguidemag.com/features.html
Web Watch @ LJ Digital, www.bookwire.com/LJDigital/webwatch.articles