Library
online service guides students
By Yoshinori Okada
On-line Forty-Niner
This
semester Cal State Long Beach students,
faculty and staff can receive guidance or
an immediate answer regarding University
Library information thanks to a new online
service called 24/7 Reference.
24/7 Reference was originally developed
as a project of Metropolitan Cooperative
Library System, an association of libraries
in the greater Los Angeles area, to better
serve the needs of librarians and library
patrons, according to its Web site. The
project serves most of the public libraries
in the area, several college libraries and
out-of-state libraries.
Users can ask questions to librarians through
real time chat on the Internet. One type
of question frequently asked is regarding
a book reference, such as which terms to
use to find particular books and how to
gain access to remote databases, said Jose
Aguinaga, a social science/outreach librarian.
Another question commonly asked is about
general information for the Library, such
as the location of the reserve desk and
periodicals, and opening hours.
The librarian at the other end of the line
conducts a quick search for the question
asked and provides users with the answer,
the right direction for the search and even
text files to their computers, Aguinaga
said. On average, one session lasts about
10 to 15 minutes.
The service is available from computers
connected to Internet both on and off campus,
24 hours a day and seven days a week with
no cost to the users.
Soon users can get connected to the librarian
using the Library’s Web site and clicking
on the “Ask a Librarian” button, then typing
in required information and the question
on the browser window.
“This is the first time I used it, and I
like the accessibility and immediate response,”
said Marilyn Sweet, a graduate teaching
credential student. “I highly recommend
it to other students.”
Currently, the CSULB Library is participating
in a pilot program along with Cal State
Monterey Bay, Cal Poly Pomona and other
CSU campuses. Meanwhile, Cal State Fullerton
and other CSUs are using a similar service
to 24/7 Reference called Convey for their
pilot program.
“This is a pilot study for this academic
year to see which system is recommended
as a purchase for the entire CSU Library
system,” Aguinaga said. “All participating
schools will report at the end of spring
semester 2003 and let the overseer of the
project know what we experienced, what we
liked about it and what we would recommend
or change.
“The task force has already been created,
they will report back to CSU Library Deans
recommending which of the two to consider
or none of them to consider,” Aguinaga said.
This service was launched just three weeks
ago. User access was slow in the first week,
but the access number is steadily increasing
as days go by, Aguinaga said.
Aguinaga said he expects the service to
spread through the librarians’ great service.
He also said word of mouth, overall popularity
and the familiarity of people using chat
and e-mail programs would help in gaining
more interest in the service.
|
