Virtual Reference Training: The Complete Guide to Providing Anytime, Anywhere Answers

Citation

Sayers, R. (2005), "Virtual Reference Training: The Complete Guide to Providing Anytime, Anywhere Answers", Library Management, Vol. 26 No. 8/9, pp. 547-548. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120510631972

Virtual or online reference is now an increasingly familiar feature of library services across all sectors – from large multi‐type library systems through to commercial after‐hours “homework help” services. Through collaborative efforts sometimes spanning the globe, even relatively small public libraries are able to offer some measure of virtual reference service. The challenge, however, has been to prepare staff properly for what Buff Hirko and Mary Bucher Ross accurately call the “faceless, fast‐paced world of web‐based reference” where customers are truly anonymous and the rules of engagement are totally different. Without adequate training appropriate to the technology, there is a real and immediate risk that both staff and customers will find virtual services wanting and disengage, possibly never to return.

In Virtual Reference Training, Hirko and Ross provide a welcome blueprint for developing an effective training programme for virtual reference librarians. Although the rapid adoption of virtual reference services in recent years has given rise to a substantial body of literature about their technology and management, relatively little has been written about the new skill sets needed to deliver services successfully. Hirko and Ross address this challenge based on the Washington State Library's “Anytime, Anywhere Answers” training programme; implemented in 2002. In developing this programme, the authors note that it was necessary to challenge some common assumptions about virtual reference work, including the fear that marketing would lead to overwhelming demand! Another common misconception is that customers require immediate answers, leading to reference first‐aid using Google as the first (and only) finding tool.

The authors begin by describing a useful set of 14 core competencies, noting that the online environment “with its lack of visual cues and its perception of immediacy” challenges traditional reference techniques. Although the competencies are generally common sense and a bit repetitive, those such as “keyboarding proficiency” and “internet searching” remind us that deficits in even the most basic skills can impact dramatically on the successful delivery of virtual reference. Of particular interest to managers is the development and application of transaction policies relating to obscene enquiries and resulting harassment of staff – issues not adequately addressed by many virtual reference services and yet comprising a significant “duty of care” for most organisations. Also of great value are the learning activities and assignments for training staff provided in chapter 7, model virtual reference behaviours detailed in chapter 8, and assessment tools to measure the effectiveness of training reproduced in chapter 9. The authors also refer readers to additional downloadable handouts and forms at http://vrstrain.spl.org/

A timely publication, Virtual Reference Training covers the preparation of staff for virtual reference comprehensively and well. Although limited in context to the Washington State Library experience, the book provides practical guidelines and solutions in a manner that is easily scanned and understood by busy library managers and trainers. Virtual Reference Training is recommended for all libraries currently delivering or considering virtual reference services.