WebJunction - Group: IL

AskAwayIllinois

Virtual Reference Service Standards

_{Revised January 2009}

I. Mission

To deliver professional research and reference services to Illinois library patrons from member organizations by providing them with digital access to librarians and information resources 24/7/365.

II. Administration

AskAwayIllinois is funded voluntarily through a fee structure from a variety of Illinois libraries. Some funding provided by the Illinois State Library allows coordination of services through a designated statewide coordinator. The service is guided by a steering committee composed of librarians who represent a cross section of library types in Illinois including public, academic, school, special libraries and library systems.

III. Scope of Service

Professional library services are provided to patrons who access the AskAway Illinois service through their library websites. Illinois librarians provide services with back-up assistance from contract (OCLC) librarians in exchange for contributing service to a global cooperative. The range of services provided includes reference and research assistance, circulation and borrowing assistance, general library information, information literacy instruction, and follow-up services for complete patron satisfaction.

Most queries may be submitted by email or through online chat sessions. Follow-up contacts will be made if the query involves consultation with a subject expert, the patron’s local library, or an extended in-depth reply. AskAwayIllinois librarians adhere to the basic service protocols of the profession as established by the

American Library Association Division of Reference & User Services http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/referenceguidelines.htm and by OCLC QuestionPoint: http://wiki.questionpoint.org/247-Policies , http://wiki.questionpoint.org/247-Best-Practices. Librarians do not offer personal, medical, or legal advice, recommendations, or counseling. Patrons requesting such services will be referred to appropriate resources. Further, patrons requesting tutoring services are referred to online tutoring services provided by their libraries or to websites appropriate to the subject matter.

IV. Patron Privacy

The AskAwayIllinois cooperative respects patron privacy. Personal information will be used only to the extent necessary to fulfill requests for information. It may be necessary to refer a question to a librarian in the network, who will have access to patron information in order to respond. Patron information is not given, rented, lent, or sold to advertisers.

V. Performance Standards

All library personnel who provide online services through AskAwayIllinois are trained in the use of chat software and procedures for follow-up. Refresher training will be conducted periodically as needed with additional training for software upgrades and quality control.

Individual providers commit to a service level of at least one hour per week in order to retain their skills. Each library is expected to honor their regularly scheduled chat shifts and to communicate to the cooperative when that is not possible in order to ensure continuous service for customers.

Service providers use best practices that have been developed in other virtual reference cooperatives.

Libraries that offer the AskAway service to their library patrons must have, at a minimum, a regularly maintained website. Libraries must send a representative to at least one User’s Group meeting per year – whether by teleconference, telephone, preconference, or otherwise.

VI. Quality of Service

Administrators within each library system may provide quality control along with the virtual reference coordinator or designated trained quality control participants. Response times and transcript reviews are the primary source of information used in order to gauge the quality of services provided to patrons. AskAwayIllinois participating libraries will respond to quality control measures in the spirit of improving services to library patrons.

Secondary quality control measures will be implemented in the follow-up process. Member libraries that cannot or will not, on a consistent basis, perform the necessary procedures for responding to their local patrons within a reasonable amount of time may not be invited to renew and continue their participation in the next calendar year. The Illinois State Library and the steering committee reserve the right to allow a library denied renewal in one calendar year to be offered renewal in the following calendar year. Since the reputation for quality service in the cooperative rests equally on each member library, timely and sufficient answers to patrons’ questions are common goals.

VII. Evaluation of the Statewide Service

Patron satisfaction surveys may be used to evaluate the demographics of patrons, the perceived level of expertise of the providing librarian, and how the patron attained their awareness of the service. Additional evaluative measures can include patron ratings of their satisfaction level and whether they are repeat users. Patron satisfaction surveys will be the primary source of guidance to alter staffing levels, adjust training components, and to target marketing. Efforts to conduct a statewide evaluation will be made once a year with a sample of patrons who agree to in-depth survey.

Statistical reports will also be used to gauge the increase or decrease in question flow. Evaluation measures will be used to adjust staffing levels, to design marketing efforts and to improve services to patrons.