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Online with Live Help
Posted 9/6/2002
MADISON, Wis. --Imagine having a librarian guide you through the UW-Madison's vast collection of books, magazines, and expansive databases - all from your home computer. This fall, Libraries Live Help, a new real-time service, puts library users online in direct contact with reference librarians on campus.
With Libraries
Live Help, students and faculty can send and receive messages in real
time with alibrarian while they are on the UW-Madison Libraries Web
site. The chat software from Convey Systems appears on all UW-Madison
Library workstations and can be downloaded from the libraries' Web
site to use with Internet Explorer at home or in the office.
Once downloaded, a Libraries Live Help button appears in the upper right hand corner of the patron's IE taskbar. Users launch Live Help by clicking on the button. A text dialogue box with a greeting from a reference librarian appears after the service is launched. From here, patrons can ask their questions.
The UW-Madison is now among four major library systems in the United States using this software for real-time online reference service. With the start of the pilot early this year, it was the first. The key features offered by Live Help include:
- Two-way text chat. The librarian and caller text chat back and forth.
- Co-browsing. The librarian and caller browse the Web together.
- Screen sharing. The librarian can see the caller's browser screen and direct him or her through a search.
UW-Libraries Director Kenneth Frazier says the new service helps distance education students, as well as off-site dissertators. "In a digital age, we must recognize that library service can be independent of place and time."
According to John Wanserski, deputy director at Wendt Library, the application of new technology to an evolving user population puts UW-Madison Libraries at the forefront of information providers.
"We are jumping ahead of the curve in education technology by meeting the remote, real-time interactive needs of our students," he says. "It is a more efficient way to serve library users who are becoming less inclined to seek in-person assistance."
Early incarnations of Libraries Live Help appeared at Steenbock and Wendt libraries about two years ago. There, librarians experimented with free chat software to meet the needs of patrons. Computer-based assistance seemed like the most practical way to serve university students and faculty, due to their heavy reliance on computers to find information.
"Because most of our databases are available to UW-Madison students, faculty and staff from their homes and offices, our reference librarians need to be available online as well," says Ed Van Gemert, associate director for public services.
More than 60 librarians have volunteered to respond to questions through Libraries Live Help. They will staff the service from offices around campus by logging onto the system.
"Live Help augments the other types of reference services we already offer: in-person, telephone and e-mail," says Eunice Graupner, reference and instruction coordinator at the Business Library and chair of the committee that developed the new service.
"We think Live Help will be a significant addition to our other services," Van Gemert says. "We will be monitoring usage statistics and conducting surveys for evaluation."
The fall 2002 semester hours for Libraries Live Help are Sunday evenings from 9 p.m. to midnight; Monday through Wednesday, 1-6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight; Thursdays, 1-6 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.; and Friday afternoons 1-5. Download Live Help by visiting http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/reference/livehelp/.
