The library reference desk may now be going the way of the card catalogue, as University librarians are increasingly taking their expertise online.
The University recently announced a service that allows students, faculty and staff to chat with a reference librarian from the comfort of their rooms. Any member of the University community who has AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger or ICQ can chat live with a librarian under the screenname "libchatpul."
One online reference librarian said that few people have used the service, but that it can be a valuable resource for students who need help with assignments.
"They can ask about citing sources, for help finding books and journals and even help getting started on a research paper," libchatpul said in an instant message. "Helping with research can get a bit complicated and then we might arrange an appointment when we could meet with the student."
Initially, there were some concerns about whether students would take the service seriously. The librarian said, however, that there haven't been any pranks.
"When someone first contacts us we usually ask for their name and Princeton ID, so we can at least know we are dealing with a Princeton student," libchatpul said.
The service also allows librarians to answer questions even when they are away from the reference desk. Librarian Susan White said she often answers reference questions from home.
"I was monitoring the electronic reference service over Christmas and New Year's, and people still ask questions," White said.
Should the service experience heavy use, with multiple people asking a question at a time, a "first-come-first-served" policy will be in place.
Students are also encouraged to email, phone or visit the reference desk in person.
Audrey Wright, a reference librarian, said the library is keeping logs of all its online conversations.
"The logs are for internal library use only, and if we excerpt parts of a transaction for training purposes, we do not include any identifying information about the patron," Wright said in an email.
"We plan to keep them only for a short time, again, just for analysis/improvement of the service, and then delete them permanently."
The service is available from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays.
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