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Digital versus Non-Digital Reference
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Digital versus Non-Digital Reference

Ask a Librarian Online and Offline

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference

Ask a Librarian Online and Offline

ByLinda S Katz
Edition 1st Edition
First Published 2004
eBook Published 13 May 2013
Pub. location New York
Imprint Routledge
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4324/9780203050507
Pages 176 pages
eBook ISBN 9781136423246
SubjectsInformation Science
Get Citation

Get Citation

Katz, L. (2005). Digital versus Non-Digital Reference. New York: Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203050507
ABOUT THIS BOOK

Compare and contrast library reference models and more consumer-oriented models!

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline analyzes the quality of commercial Ask A Librarian (AskA) and tutorial services and how they compare to traditional library services. Edited by Jessamyn West—proprietor of librarian.net and the “hippest ex-librarian on the Web” according to Wired magazine—the book looks at library models and more consumer-oriented models, examining a variety of services that range from Ask Jeeves® and Google Answers™ to your own reference desk and Web e-mail reference forms. Academic librarians and information specialists share their experiences—good and bad—in starting, assessing, or ending AskA services and in working with collaborative reference tools and outsourcing reference services, and discuss the highs and lows of dealing with individual online services.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline chronicles the experiences and interactions of librarians with digital reference, including case studies, how-to guides, and philosophical essays. The book’s contributors discuss their concerns about using the Internet as not only a reference tool but as a reference medium that most libraries find inevitable to some degree. Topics include the political ramifications of offsite or outsourced reference, the truth behind the assertion that “it’s all available online,” cultural and/or language barriers to text-based reference services, and patrons’ experiences with reference tools, from a librarian’s perspective.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline addresses:

  • policy, staffing and technology for telephone reference services
  • e-mail reference in public libraries
  • the University of Michigan’s Internet Public Library
  • archivists and remote users in the digital age
  • success and failure with commercial AskA programs
  • the history of Q and A NJ, New Jersey’s virtual reference service
  • multilingual chat reference systems
  • the ongoing debate over the value of digital reference
  • the case for nonintrusive reference
Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline is an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics on the appropriate assessment, technologies, and methods for successfully creating and operating human-mediated, Internet-based information services.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |18 pages
Have(n’t) We Been Here Before? Lessons from Telephone Reference
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist
BySusan M. Braxton Maureen Brunsdale
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
The Internet Public Library as a Teaching Tool for Shockingly Traditional Reference Skills
View abstract
chapter |8 pages
“Contact Us”: Archivists and Remote Users in the Digital Age
ByKatharine A. Salzmann
View abstract
chapter |30 pages
Characteristics of E-Mail Reference Services in Selected Public Libraries, Victoria, Australia
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Predicting the Success of Commercial AskA Services in the United States and Abroad
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Wired New Jersey: Q and A NJ
ByCarol Van Houten
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
Library LAWLINE: Collaborative Virtual Reference in a Special Library Consortium
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
Planning for Multilingual Chat Reference Service in a Suburban Public Library System
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology Affords
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Case for Non-Intrusive Research: A Virtual Reference Librarian’s Perspective
View abstract

Compare and contrast library reference models and more consumer-oriented models!

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline analyzes the quality of commercial Ask A Librarian (AskA) and tutorial services and how they compare to traditional library services. Edited by Jessamyn West—proprietor of librarian.net and the “hippest ex-librarian on the Web” according to Wired magazine—the book looks at library models and more consumer-oriented models, examining a variety of services that range from Ask Jeeves® and Google Answers™ to your own reference desk and Web e-mail reference forms. Academic librarians and information specialists share their experiences—good and bad—in starting, assessing, or ending AskA services and in working with collaborative reference tools and outsourcing reference services, and discuss the highs and lows of dealing with individual online services.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline chronicles the experiences and interactions of librarians with digital reference, including case studies, how-to guides, and philosophical essays. The book’s contributors discuss their concerns about using the Internet as not only a reference tool but as a reference medium that most libraries find inevitable to some degree. Topics include the political ramifications of offsite or outsourced reference, the truth behind the assertion that “it’s all available online,” cultural and/or language barriers to text-based reference services, and patrons’ experiences with reference tools, from a librarian’s perspective.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline addresses:

  • policy, staffing and technology for telephone reference services
  • e-mail reference in public libraries
  • the University of Michigan’s Internet Public Library
  • archivists and remote users in the digital age
  • success and failure with commercial AskA programs
  • the history of Q and A NJ, New Jersey’s virtual reference service
  • multilingual chat reference systems
  • the ongoing debate over the value of digital reference
  • the case for nonintrusive reference
Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline is an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics on the appropriate assessment, technologies, and methods for successfully creating and operating human-mediated, Internet-based information services.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |18 pages
Have(n’t) We Been Here Before? Lessons from Telephone Reference
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist
BySusan M. Braxton Maureen Brunsdale
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
The Internet Public Library as a Teaching Tool for Shockingly Traditional Reference Skills
View abstract
chapter |8 pages
“Contact Us”: Archivists and Remote Users in the Digital Age
ByKatharine A. Salzmann
View abstract
chapter |30 pages
Characteristics of E-Mail Reference Services in Selected Public Libraries, Victoria, Australia
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Predicting the Success of Commercial AskA Services in the United States and Abroad
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Wired New Jersey: Q and A NJ
ByCarol Van Houten
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
Library LAWLINE: Collaborative Virtual Reference in a Special Library Consortium
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
Planning for Multilingual Chat Reference Service in a Suburban Public Library System
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology Affords
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Case for Non-Intrusive Research: A Virtual Reference Librarian’s Perspective
View abstract
CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS BOOK

Compare and contrast library reference models and more consumer-oriented models!

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline analyzes the quality of commercial Ask A Librarian (AskA) and tutorial services and how they compare to traditional library services. Edited by Jessamyn West—proprietor of librarian.net and the “hippest ex-librarian on the Web” according to Wired magazine—the book looks at library models and more consumer-oriented models, examining a variety of services that range from Ask Jeeves® and Google Answers™ to your own reference desk and Web e-mail reference forms. Academic librarians and information specialists share their experiences—good and bad—in starting, assessing, or ending AskA services and in working with collaborative reference tools and outsourcing reference services, and discuss the highs and lows of dealing with individual online services.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline chronicles the experiences and interactions of librarians with digital reference, including case studies, how-to guides, and philosophical essays. The book’s contributors discuss their concerns about using the Internet as not only a reference tool but as a reference medium that most libraries find inevitable to some degree. Topics include the political ramifications of offsite or outsourced reference, the truth behind the assertion that “it’s all available online,” cultural and/or language barriers to text-based reference services, and patrons’ experiences with reference tools, from a librarian’s perspective.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline addresses:

  • policy, staffing and technology for telephone reference services
  • e-mail reference in public libraries
  • the University of Michigan’s Internet Public Library
  • archivists and remote users in the digital age
  • success and failure with commercial AskA programs
  • the history of Q and A NJ, New Jersey’s virtual reference service
  • multilingual chat reference systems
  • the ongoing debate over the value of digital reference
  • the case for nonintrusive reference
Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline is an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics on the appropriate assessment, technologies, and methods for successfully creating and operating human-mediated, Internet-based information services.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |18 pages
Have(n’t) We Been Here Before? Lessons from Telephone Reference
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist
BySusan M. Braxton Maureen Brunsdale
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
The Internet Public Library as a Teaching Tool for Shockingly Traditional Reference Skills
View abstract
chapter |8 pages
“Contact Us”: Archivists and Remote Users in the Digital Age
ByKatharine A. Salzmann
View abstract
chapter |30 pages
Characteristics of E-Mail Reference Services in Selected Public Libraries, Victoria, Australia
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Predicting the Success of Commercial AskA Services in the United States and Abroad
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Wired New Jersey: Q and A NJ
ByCarol Van Houten
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
Library LAWLINE: Collaborative Virtual Reference in a Special Library Consortium
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
Planning for Multilingual Chat Reference Service in a Suburban Public Library System
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology Affords
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Case for Non-Intrusive Research: A Virtual Reference Librarian’s Perspective
View abstract

Compare and contrast library reference models and more consumer-oriented models!

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline analyzes the quality of commercial Ask A Librarian (AskA) and tutorial services and how they compare to traditional library services. Edited by Jessamyn West—proprietor of librarian.net and the “hippest ex-librarian on the Web” according to Wired magazine—the book looks at library models and more consumer-oriented models, examining a variety of services that range from Ask Jeeves® and Google Answers™ to your own reference desk and Web e-mail reference forms. Academic librarians and information specialists share their experiences—good and bad—in starting, assessing, or ending AskA services and in working with collaborative reference tools and outsourcing reference services, and discuss the highs and lows of dealing with individual online services.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline chronicles the experiences and interactions of librarians with digital reference, including case studies, how-to guides, and philosophical essays. The book’s contributors discuss their concerns about using the Internet as not only a reference tool but as a reference medium that most libraries find inevitable to some degree. Topics include the political ramifications of offsite or outsourced reference, the truth behind the assertion that “it’s all available online,” cultural and/or language barriers to text-based reference services, and patrons’ experiences with reference tools, from a librarian’s perspective.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline addresses:

  • policy, staffing and technology for telephone reference services
  • e-mail reference in public libraries
  • the University of Michigan’s Internet Public Library
  • archivists and remote users in the digital age
  • success and failure with commercial AskA programs
  • the history of Q and A NJ, New Jersey’s virtual reference service
  • multilingual chat reference systems
  • the ongoing debate over the value of digital reference
  • the case for nonintrusive reference
Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline is an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics on the appropriate assessment, technologies, and methods for successfully creating and operating human-mediated, Internet-based information services.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |18 pages
Have(n’t) We Been Here Before? Lessons from Telephone Reference
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist
BySusan M. Braxton Maureen Brunsdale
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
The Internet Public Library as a Teaching Tool for Shockingly Traditional Reference Skills
View abstract
chapter |8 pages
“Contact Us”: Archivists and Remote Users in the Digital Age
ByKatharine A. Salzmann
View abstract
chapter |30 pages
Characteristics of E-Mail Reference Services in Selected Public Libraries, Victoria, Australia
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Predicting the Success of Commercial AskA Services in the United States and Abroad
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Wired New Jersey: Q and A NJ
ByCarol Van Houten
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
Library LAWLINE: Collaborative Virtual Reference in a Special Library Consortium
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
Planning for Multilingual Chat Reference Service in a Suburban Public Library System
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology Affords
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Case for Non-Intrusive Research: A Virtual Reference Librarian’s Perspective
View abstract
ABOUT THIS BOOK
ABOUT THIS BOOK

Compare and contrast library reference models and more consumer-oriented models!

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline analyzes the quality of commercial Ask A Librarian (AskA) and tutorial services and how they compare to traditional library services. Edited by Jessamyn West—proprietor of librarian.net and the “hippest ex-librarian on the Web” according to Wired magazine—the book looks at library models and more consumer-oriented models, examining a variety of services that range from Ask Jeeves® and Google Answers™ to your own reference desk and Web e-mail reference forms. Academic librarians and information specialists share their experiences—good and bad—in starting, assessing, or ending AskA services and in working with collaborative reference tools and outsourcing reference services, and discuss the highs and lows of dealing with individual online services.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline chronicles the experiences and interactions of librarians with digital reference, including case studies, how-to guides, and philosophical essays. The book’s contributors discuss their concerns about using the Internet as not only a reference tool but as a reference medium that most libraries find inevitable to some degree. Topics include the political ramifications of offsite or outsourced reference, the truth behind the assertion that “it’s all available online,” cultural and/or language barriers to text-based reference services, and patrons’ experiences with reference tools, from a librarian’s perspective.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline addresses:

  • policy, staffing and technology for telephone reference services
  • e-mail reference in public libraries
  • the University of Michigan’s Internet Public Library
  • archivists and remote users in the digital age
  • success and failure with commercial AskA programs
  • the history of Q and A NJ, New Jersey’s virtual reference service
  • multilingual chat reference systems
  • the ongoing debate over the value of digital reference
  • the case for nonintrusive reference
Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline is an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics on the appropriate assessment, technologies, and methods for successfully creating and operating human-mediated, Internet-based information services.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |18 pages
Have(n’t) We Been Here Before? Lessons from Telephone Reference
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist
BySusan M. Braxton Maureen Brunsdale
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
The Internet Public Library as a Teaching Tool for Shockingly Traditional Reference Skills
View abstract
chapter |8 pages
“Contact Us”: Archivists and Remote Users in the Digital Age
ByKatharine A. Salzmann
View abstract
chapter |30 pages
Characteristics of E-Mail Reference Services in Selected Public Libraries, Victoria, Australia
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Predicting the Success of Commercial AskA Services in the United States and Abroad
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Wired New Jersey: Q and A NJ
ByCarol Van Houten
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
Library LAWLINE: Collaborative Virtual Reference in a Special Library Consortium
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
Planning for Multilingual Chat Reference Service in a Suburban Public Library System
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology Affords
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Case for Non-Intrusive Research: A Virtual Reference Librarian’s Perspective
View abstract

Compare and contrast library reference models and more consumer-oriented models!

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline analyzes the quality of commercial Ask A Librarian (AskA) and tutorial services and how they compare to traditional library services. Edited by Jessamyn West—proprietor of librarian.net and the “hippest ex-librarian on the Web” according to Wired magazine—the book looks at library models and more consumer-oriented models, examining a variety of services that range from Ask Jeeves® and Google Answers™ to your own reference desk and Web e-mail reference forms. Academic librarians and information specialists share their experiences—good and bad—in starting, assessing, or ending AskA services and in working with collaborative reference tools and outsourcing reference services, and discuss the highs and lows of dealing with individual online services.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline chronicles the experiences and interactions of librarians with digital reference, including case studies, how-to guides, and philosophical essays. The book’s contributors discuss their concerns about using the Internet as not only a reference tool but as a reference medium that most libraries find inevitable to some degree. Topics include the political ramifications of offsite or outsourced reference, the truth behind the assertion that “it’s all available online,” cultural and/or language barriers to text-based reference services, and patrons’ experiences with reference tools, from a librarian’s perspective.

Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline addresses:

  • policy, staffing and technology for telephone reference services
  • e-mail reference in public libraries
  • the University of Michigan’s Internet Public Library
  • archivists and remote users in the digital age
  • success and failure with commercial AskA programs
  • the history of Q and A NJ, New Jersey’s virtual reference service
  • multilingual chat reference systems
  • the ongoing debate over the value of digital reference
  • the case for nonintrusive reference
Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask A Librarian Online and Offline is an invaluable resource for practitioners and academics on the appropriate assessment, technologies, and methods for successfully creating and operating human-mediated, Internet-based information services.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |18 pages
Have(n’t) We Been Here Before? Lessons from Telephone Reference
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist
BySusan M. Braxton Maureen Brunsdale
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
The Internet Public Library as a Teaching Tool for Shockingly Traditional Reference Skills
View abstract
chapter |8 pages
“Contact Us”: Archivists and Remote Users in the Digital Age
ByKatharine A. Salzmann
View abstract
chapter |30 pages
Characteristics of E-Mail Reference Services in Selected Public Libraries, Victoria, Australia
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Predicting the Success of Commercial AskA Services in the United States and Abroad
View abstract
chapter |10 pages
Wired New Jersey: Q and A NJ
ByCarol Van Houten
View abstract
chapter |14 pages
Library LAWLINE: Collaborative Virtual Reference in a Special Library Consortium
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
Planning for Multilingual Chat Reference Service in a Suburban Public Library System
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology Affords
View abstract
chapter |12 pages
The Case for Non-Intrusive Research: A Virtual Reference Librarian’s Perspective
View abstract
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