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Virtual Reference Basics
- When conducting virtual reference, your priority should be virtual reference.
- Ideally, you should be working away from the public and on projects that can easily be stopped so that you are able to help to answer questions as they arrive.
- Pick up questions as quickly as possible—even the ones you’d rather not answer.
- Even if you “see” a lot of other librarians online, that doesn’t mean they are staffing the same reference queues/services as you.
- Be welcoming and personable when you’re chatting.
- Make sure you say hello, and if you’re chatting on behalf of a cooperative, be sure to let your user know that.
- Use the patron’s/student’s name, when appropriate.
- Be sure to reply to their specific question, using the canned messages thoughtfully.
- Remember to type like you would talk.
- Try to match the conversational tone of your user’s posts, but avoid using too much slang or shorthand.
- Use bold, italic, underline, and emojis to flavor up your text.
- It’s okay to use short phrases and informal language.
- Again, type like you would talk.
- Don’t get hung up on grammar and punctation – the occasional typo will actually help reinforce the idea that you’re a real person and not a robot.
- Avoid using library jargon or uncommon abbreviations.
- If your answer involves terms or abbreviations your user is not likely to understand, spell them out and be sure to explain what they mean.
- Be sure to verify the user’s question before diving into the research.
- You might not be understanding what the user is asking and/or they might not be articulating their question well.
- If needed, conduct a full reference interview to clarify what is being asked.
- Break up long responses into shorter blocks.
- Try to make each post only two to three sentences long.
- For longer posts, type the first few sentences and then make your last word “more” or use an ellipsis ( … ) and continue the message in your next post.
- Avoid using the Caps Lock key.
- Typing in all capitals can be considered yelling, and it can be difficult to read.
- Be as clear and concise as possible, without being abrupt.
- Be careful to word your messages in a way that communicates helpfulness, not shortness or lack of interest.
- Keep the conversation flowing.
- Thirty seconds of dead air can be a long time for a patron, so try to establish a rhythm of sending a message every 30-45 seconds or less.
- If it’s taking a while to find an answer, let the user know what you’re doing.
- Sending regular messages helps fills the silence and, if nothing else, your patron may learn something if you explain your steps.
- Send results as you find them—you can continue to look for more resources while they start checking out what you’ve already found.
- Confirm that the user can access the information you’re providing them.
- Remember, school students can’t always access outside links or your user might not have the same database access as you.
- Don’t overwhelm the user with information.
- Allow them enough time to read through, think over, and respond to you before you send them too many responses.
- Consider asking the user to let you know when they are ready for more.
- You don’t have to have all the answers—nor are you expected to!!!
- If a student is asking you to do their homework, consider finding them a website that shows them how to do their work, or offer to see if their library offers individual tutoring, rather than just giving them the answers.
- If a user is asking a question you just can’t answer, offer to create a ticket and/or have someone follow up with them.
- Once you’ve given an answer, check in with your user.
- Ask if they have enough to get started with—and give them time to respond.
- If they do have enough to start with, ask if they have any additional questions.
- Remember, chat users are still patrons/students.
- Silliness is common in younger users—remember to have a little patience (and possibly, a little fun) when dealing with them.
- Don’t take impatience or abruptness personally.
- Chat users are essentially anonymous—users can enter any name they choose when using the service—which may reduce inhibitions; if you have a user who engages in extreme silliness or abusive/offensive language, simply let them know that they’re being inappropriate and end the session.
- Always end a chat session with a goodbye message.
- Sending a goodbye message will thank a user for using the service and will invite them to visit again.
