Margie Ruppel, Boise State University
Amy Vecchione, Boise State University
Abstract
Boise State University's text reference service is growing in popularity among students. BSU librarians chose SMS software and started the service during Summer 2010. Join BSU librarians Amy Vecchione and Margie Ruppel for this session to learn what types of questions are asked through SMS, students' opinions of the service, as well as helpful guidelines for starting your own text referencing service.
13. Why are freshmen required to take a
library oreintation?
To help acquaint students with the
resources available at an academic
library which is different than public or
high school libraries.
15. on average how many slices of bacon are
in a package...
Cooks Illustrated says that regular sliced
1/16th of an inch usually contains 18-22
slices per pck per lb, & thick-cut aka
country has 12-16 slices per pck per lb.
Thick cut is 1/8 inch slices.
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/tastetes
ts/overview.asp?docid=9874
17. How late is the library open? [BSU
Broncos]
until midnight! w00t!
18. Do you have any books about
constucting poems?
19. Do you have any books about
constucting poems?
Lots! 3rd floor PN1042-PN1064.
20. Who was the first US President to meet
the Pope?
21. Who was the first U.S. President to meet
the Pope?
The first U.S. president to visit the Vatican was
Woodrow Wilson, who met with Pope Benedict XV
in 1919 after WWI.
32. How much did you
like using the SMS
Reference service?
90% POSITIVE
8 loved it
10 liked it a lot
12 liked it
6% NEUTRAL
2
4% NEGATIVE
2 disliked it
1 disliked it a lot
0 hated it
33. Rate the quality of
the help you got
from the librarian.
94% Positive
9 loved it
12 liked it a lot
9 liked it
6% Neutral
2
0% Negative
0 disliked it
0 disliked it a lot
0 hated it
34. 76% 24%
When you use Text Messaging
Reference, do you want library
staff to tell you about both print
and online sources or just
online sources?
36. •Don’t want to bother going to the
library building
•9% = SMS problem58%
•Desk person does not look like
they want to help or look too busy
•9% = SMS problem
54%
•Don’t want to get up from their
computer
•6% = SMS problem
45%
•Feel stupid for not already
knowing
•9% = SMS problem56%
•Desk person does not look like
they will know the answer
•21% = SMS problem21%
37. Now that you've used Text
Messaging Reference, do you think
you will increase or decrease the
number of questions you will ask at
the traditional reference desk?
55% will
increase
21% will
decrease
24% will not
change
38. “I would say using this
method can help students
who rely heavily on their cell
phone usage.”
“If you feel like your question
is silly, it doesn't matter
because the texting makes
it confidential in a way.”
“I don't have to worry about
situational factors, like is that
person looking at me, do i
smell ok, did I word that
question correctly, etc.”
“Don't have to wait
for help.”
SMS
Advantages
39. “Sometimes it's easier for
the librarian to physically
show me where something
is.”
“Limited answers. The
answers are short and to
the point, no elaboration
of suggestions.”
“might be hard to explain
exactly what you need”
“there really isn't any. “
SMS
Disadvantages
40. “I do not like asking for help in
a library. I have had people
make me feel dumb before
and now will not ask. So for
me there is no advantage.”
“they can show
you books“
“You can get
better details”
“Social interaction, more
elaboration on answers and
suggestions, no wait time.”
Ref Desk
Advantages
41. “there could be long lines,
the librarian may not be
competent .”
“Sometimes I don't trust their
knowledge or expertise or it is
hard to tell if someone is a
worker, or a credible enough
worker, to offer advice.”
“I feel dumb and like I am
bothering them.” “none”
Ref Desk
Disadvantages
45. Attract a new user base
and make us attractive to
those who use SMS as their
primary communication
tool
46. Attract a new user base
and make us attractive to
those who use SMS as their
primary communication
tool
Convenience to
the patron, using
technology most
students prefer
47. Attract a new user base
and make us attractive to
those who use SMS as their
primary communication
tool
It’s
another
form of
reference
Convenience to
the patron, using
technology most
students prefer
48. Attract a new user base
and make us attractive to
those who use SMS as their
primary communication
tool
It’s
another
form of
reference
It is easily
implemented
Convenience to
the patron, using
technology most
students prefer
49. Attract a new user base
and make us attractive to
those who use SMS as their
primary communication
tool
It’s
another
form of
reference
It is easily
implemented
Provide
patrons with
as many
ways to
reach us as
we can
Convenience to
the patron, using
technology most
students prefer
50. Attract a new user base
and make us attractive to
those who use SMS as their
primary communication
tool
It’s
another
form of
reference
It is easily
implemented
Provide
patrons with
as many
ways to
reach us as
we can
Easy way to provide quick
answers
Convenience to
the patron, using
technology most
students prefer
showcase the available toolsdiscuss pros and cons of some tools describe how it worksdemonstrate how LibAnswers & Google Voice worksstate the research regarding the most common questionsshare our policies, suggest best practices & brainstorm more best practices as a group all questions are treated like real questionsrespond as quickly as possiblesend more than one text? ask if they want online resources, or links, and provide them if yesask if they have any more questionssay “You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with?” if they “Thank you”Show a slide with actual questions that were asked hereActivity for texting with BSU & Ada Community Amy will ask Dylan Baker for permissionQuestions & Answers:
So libraries have stepped up to the plate offering their own version of this text messaging answers service, because that’s our business, and we do it best.
It makes sense, too, because a lot of people are texting. According to the most recent study from Pew, from September 2010, 87% of all teen cell users are texting.
Teens text 50 message a day on average, five times more than the ten that adults send and receive. So you can reach out to your teens by offering this service, yes. However….
You’re also reaching out to your adult populations too because 72% of adults with cell phones send and receive text messages.
So you probably want to know what kinds of questions people would ask on SMS reference. When we first implemented this last year, our library staff had that very same question. Margie and I decided to investigate. Here is a well rounded sample of some of the questions.
In one of our two studies, we asked other libraries what kinds of tools they were using. Mosio text a librarian, and Google Voice were the top two, with Library H3lp and LibAnswers products close behind. We evaluated Google Voice and LibAnswers. All of these services are good. Google Voice is free to implement, but LibAnswers has a more robust statistical system, and also will send out after hours messages automatically, so we went with LibAnswers.
My recommendation for you to also consider is this consortium. A significant number of people responded that they were in a consortium. There are a few statewide consortiums, but there is also one that is country-wide called InfoQuest, which is a great option for smaller libraries. Libraries that participated in the pilot project were free, and had to contribute just one hour per week of answering questions – but they were answering questions from all over the country. Now that they are exiting the pilot project stage, they are considering a nominal fee. This sytem is powered by Google Voice.
So if you would like to participate in the consortium – where people from other libraries would answer your SMS questions for you, as well as you contributing just one hour – check out their website and email Lori Bell or Mary Carol Lindbloom.
Google voice looks like this.
Live demo: Amy will text the number with TEST: What
We started a soft roll out in Summer 2010, and a hard roll out in Fall 2010. We started using it in instruction, and only minimally advertised it using flyers and the research studies. We conducted two separate studies because we had so many questions when we were training on how to use the SMS platform, LibAnswers, that Amy and Margie decided to investigate to help other libraries get started with SMS Reference. Not only did we not know the answers, but when we searched the literature, we found that there was very little written about this, and what was written was conflicting. I should also say that in January we just made it to 100 text messages/month for the first time, so it is continuing to grow. As of yesterday, Feb. 8, 2011, we received 56 text messages since Feb. 1, 2011 – that’s a lot!
When they introduced the platform, they trained on how to use it. Only a very few trained on how to type in LOL speak. We also polled them about the ways that they deal with complex answers – if they SMS question requires a lengthier answer. Those ranged from sending the patron an email, to asking them to come in the desk, to assuming they have unlimited text messages, and therefore can get several text messages explaining the whole thing.
We asked the libraries using SMS reference to rank the types of questions according to which questions they receive the most. The categories were: Ready reference – answerable within 1-3 texts, Complex reference questions, Jokes, Hours and Location, Directional, Do you have x book, and Other. 81% put Ready Reference in the top three, 79% put Do you have x book in the top three, and hours and location was 49% of respondents put that in their top three most asked questions. People who responded with Other said they also get reader’s advisory questions, citation style, policy, library accounts, complaints about noise, bees, or broken things, is my hold in, what is my password, help with a database, genealogy, how to access a database, etc. For complex reference questions respondents suggested follow up through email, phone, or in person service, to continue texting, to send a link, write the answer as short as possible (like the bacon answer).