The future of digital reference services

Lecture at the Biblioteca Centrala Universitara, Bucharest, Friday April 22, 1000.

Digital reference services are services that use digital tools (e-mail, web forms, chat, SMS) to communicate with users that search for information. In a wider sense the concept also includes digital systems - such as user-oriented web pages, interactive data bases, sites with advanced language technology - that allow users to carry out more advanced information searches on their own.

The lecture covers - briefly - the following topics:

1. Important trends in the development of digital reference services, illustrated with concrete cases: time line, Finland, Norway.
2. The growth of reference services beyond the library sector: homework support (Ask Dr. Math), expert services (Ask a philosopher), open market (Google answers).
3. How to manage and safeguard the quality of digital reference services: communication with customers (Slavic Reference Service), internal organisation (VRD quality points 6-11), resource basis (business models).

The main conclusion is: reference services are developing into a competitive - and complex - information market. Since libraries do not charge for their services, they face a dilemma:

1. Should they announce their reference services to the world - like Trondheim Public Library
2. Or should they hide them?

For further exploration

1. List of topics
2. Web and print resources
3. Statistics: Tord Hoivik (2003) Why do you ask? Reference statistics for library planning, Performance measurement and metrics, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 28-37.
4. Questia ...

The invitation

BCU Bucuresti si CIMEC organizeaza vineri, 22 aprilie 2003, 10:00 in sala Dan Simonescu de la BCU Bucuresti, seminarul cu tema: "The future of digital reference services", in prezenta prof. Tord Hoivik (Universitatea din Oslo) - il puteti vedea la: http://home.hio.no/~tord/.

Seminarul care se va desfasura in limba engleza, dar - pentru cei mai timizi - intrebarile in romana vor fi traduse in engleza.

Va avea, in mare, urmatorul format:

• a) circa 30 min. expunerea prof Hoivik;
• b) circa 15 min. demonstratii pe web;
• c) circa 15 min. discutii;
• pauza
• d) discutii libere.

Sunt invitati nu doar bibliotecarii specializati in referinte! Dar: fiindca numarul de locuri in sala este limitat, cei interesati sunt rugati sa-si anunte intentia de participare la d-na Cristina Stoica (cristef@bcub.ro).

Pentru a va face - anticipat - o idee despre ceea ce prof. Hoivik va expune, vedeti: http://home.hio.no/~tord/06und/engdr/index.htm