On Being a Virtual Reference Librarian 1

This article was downloaded by: [Thompson, Samantha] On: 1 April 2009 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 910066955] Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK The Reference Librarian Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t792306953 On Being a Virtual World Librarian: Experiences in Offering Live Reference Services in a Virtual World Samantha Thompson Column Editor a a New York Public Library, New York, NY Online Publication Date: 01 April 2009 To cite this Article Thompson Column Editor, Samantha(2009)'On Being a Virtual World Librarian: Experiences in Offering Live Reference Services in a Virtual World',The Reference Librarian,50:2,219 — 223 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/02763870902755999 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763870902755999 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Librarian Vol. NY DISCLOSURE My name is Samantha Thompson. LLC ISSN: 0276-3877 print/1541-1117 online DOI: 10. WHERE It may be a worthwhile to briefly pause and discuss what makes a virtual world such as Second Life different from the more heavily used virtual worlds. or avatar (the latter is used in Second Life). Senior Librarian. The online part allows users with Internet access to logon to the virtual world from any location while the persistent part means Address correspondence to Samantha Thompson. REAL PATRONS: LOOKING AT LIBRARY SERVICE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD On Being a Virtual World Librarian: Experiences in Offering Live Reference Services in a Virtual World Downloaded By: [Thompson. New York Public Library. this isn’t a matter of having a hidden identity in some part of my life. but sometimes I’m also Hypatia Dejavu. 1–7 VIRTUAL LIBRARIES. with these differences in mind. 2009 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group. 469 W.1080/02763870902755999 1541-1117 0276-3877 WREF The Reference Librarian. 50. Column Editor New York Public Library. 141st St. E-mail: samantha. Samantha] At: 21:20 1 April 2009 Being S. A virtual world is a persistent online environment that allows users to interact with one another and an artificial world through an agent in that world. In my day-to-day life. I’m a senior librarian at the New York Public Library. we can more readily discuss the role of library reference services in some specific forms of virtual worlds. Thompson a Virtual World Librarian SAMANTHA THOMPSON. toon. it’s just a normal part of being a user of the virtual world called Second Life. New York. 2. NY 10031.com 219 . such as World of Warcraft or Eve. but many nights I put on my virtual identity and a trim virtual outfit to work as the Reference Coordinator for the Alliance Virtual Library. February 2009: pp.h. New York.thompson@gmail. This agent is referred to as a character. No.. Then. 50:219–223.The Reference Librarian. or a library. In fact. the population we serve is large and composed of 499. The majority of users are from the United States (40. Second Life and its competitors are a hybrid between the growing field of online gaming and the well-established world of online chatrooms. town square. Home. or Eve Online.13%). The question of gameplay is how Second Life and its competitors (There. be it a mall. the largest library project in Second Life is the Info Island Archipelago. This is to say that these virtual worlds present a persistent virtual world that users interact with using a graphical client and a representative avatar but there are no game-based conflicts or advancements available. At the hub of this growing service is the reference desk and welcome area.Downloaded By: [Thompson. librarians have two common questions: “Who are your patrons?” and “Who are your volunteers?” The Alliance Virtual Library reference desk serves the general population of that virtual world in the same way that a public library provides services to its local area. how can we help you today?” WHO When hearing about the virtual reference service we offer. Such a combination allows users from all over the world the ability to interact and communicate with each other. a virtual world like Second Life becomes far more like a place than a service in the perception of some users. In a certain sense. the first real applications of virtual worlds being used in any number were in text-based virtual games known as multi-user dungeons. with significant . To a large extent. The vast majority of virtual worlds are used for multiplayer online roleplaying games such as World of Warcraft. According to the demographic statistics provided by Linden Labs (the company which runs Second Life). Currently. a group of 43 allied and connected virtual regions working to provide information and library services within the context of the virtual world.57% were male and 40. where an incoming patron can find a live presence waiting to say “Hello.43% female (Linden Labs 2008). The places within the virtual world of Second Life are user defined. In this part of its presentation. and Sims Online) vary from the majority of virtual worlds. beachfront home. This isn’t a surprise because a virtual world is a wonderful tool to use in building games that allow for player interaction. regardless of the barriers of distance. Worlds like Second Life use the metaphors common to game-based virtual worlds but strip away the game element. users can create the specific experience they are looking for. Thompson that the world continues to exist as a single instance whether a specific individual is logged on to the system. without knowing each other in advance.896 users logged on within a 7-day period (Linden Labs 2008). Of these users. Everquest. dance club. Samantha] At: 21:20 1 April 2009 220 S. 59. 2008). The majority of the professional librarians work as academic librarians. In a typical virtual reference interaction. HOW Most reference librarians are familiar with traditional reference interactions with patrons and have at least a passing familiarity with online reference formats as provided using e-mail or Internet chat clients. 26 present as female and another 10 present as male (Thompson.82%).Downloaded By: [Thompson.28%).53%). Assuming that the person has questions. and 45+ (20. there are 36 recognized reference volunteers. the United Kingdom (6. According to the Linden Labs Terms of service agreement. In the case of gender. 35–44 (28. What this means is that the population served by the Alliance Virtual Library’s reference desk is more diverse than one would expect to see outside of a university with an international population.09%). the librarian does her best to .37%) (Linden Labs 2008). In fact. and Japan (6. The adult population is as follows: 18–24 (15.77%). The reference volunteers have not been subjected to a demographic study to determine their statistical makeup. we are including only presentation for the listing of gender because a user may present as the opposite sex and this author has no wish to attempt to tease apart the question of gender identity versus biological gender. this is the population served by the Alliance Virtual Library and its virtual reference service. experience with them has resulted in being able to make some broad generalizations. of these volunteers. however. 25–34 (34. this would be an incorrect assumption. Professional librarians with a Masters of Library Science (or equivalent from countries other than the United States) comprise the majority of the volunteer staff of diverse qualifications and background. In theory at least. its population demographics as a whole may be similar to the university environment due to the particularities of the population’s age demographic. This shows a distinctly older population than is stereotypically expected of users of a computer system. the remainder are from a variety of other developed countries with less than 5% of the population each (Linden Labs 2008). with public and special librarians having a small presence. one might assume that a reference session in a virtual world would be like other online reference situations.99%). As of September 2008. people arrive at the library location and are greeted by a well-dressed librarian who lets them know that should they have any questions the librarian is there to answer them. Samantha] At: 21:20 1 April 2009 Being a Virtual World Librarian 221 minorities coming from Germany (9. With this knowledge in mind. Thus. this population is different from the average population served by a public library in its age range. all users of its main system must be older than 18 years of age. However. On the other hand. This begs the obvious question of “Why bother?” After all. Providing the reference service takes 36 volunteers and 74 hours a week of desk time (Thompson. . Instead of writing to a text name. Roughly. It’s a fair question to ask and a useful one to discuss. Which is to say. Although this has the virtue of brevity. Traffic varies. so actual shifts may be busy or completely empty of patrons. One deficiency of the type of ready reference outline above is in the resources available. we ask them not to employ them in their work with the Alliance Virtual Library to protect the digital property rights of the database providers. 2008). At this point. the patron interacts with a graphical avatar that appears as a reasonably realistic person. several advantages to this form of interaction have been observed within the reference interviews. have single questions that they expect instant answers to. that sort of interaction tends to place a high burden on the librarian and makes it largely impossible to perform a reference interview. Although many of our volunteer librarians do have access to those though their employers. meaning that the virtual public is discovering the reference service and wishes to make use of that service. we are still a largely volunteer organization and lack the funding for subscription databases. The presence of library patrons is a good reason to provide library services in and of itself. Thompson answer them based on personal knowledge.Downloaded By: [Thompson. Our virtual librarian volunteers do not use proprietary database sources because the Alliance Virtual Library does not presently have subscriptions to any. In a virtual world reference interview. ready reference materials. It has also been noted that our statistics have slowly and steadily grown over the time we have provided this service within Second Life. and free resources that are available on the Internet. Any librarian who has worked in an online environment is familiar with the tendency to treat librarians working online as machines. Enabling this social interaction also puts the librarians in a position where they can ask clarifying questions that improve the patron’s final results. Samantha] At: 21:20 1 April 2009 222 S. this organization is operating without funding or meaningful institutional support and the statistics look like a slow week at a sleepy rural library. the pace is somewhat slower because of the client used and the patron’s perceptions. that means we see 3 patrons an hour and answer a question and a half in that time. This difference in presentation seems to cause the patron to treat the librarian more like a person and less like an automated service. WHY The average week at the virtual reference desk sees approximately 200 patrons with 125 questions. and logoff the system immediately after they have their answer. patrons logon. The most obvious reason to continue is that there is a community present in the virtual world that does seek library resources (including reference) in that context. As this series of columns continues. Economic statistics: Key metrics.php (accessed September 15. Alliance virtual library. especially if one does not have to travel to a library conference (with attendant time and cost barriers) to do so. SLLVR statistics. There are also a set of more compelling reasons to pursue virtual reference work than just the measurable statistics. http://spreadsheets. In doing so. it is only to be expected to be a problem in the virtual situation. IN CONCLUSION The field of virtual world reference is a new and developing one. google. above and beyond the mere statistics. thus expanding their network of professional contacts. 2008). Samantha] At: 21:20 1 April 2009 Being a Virtual World Librarian 223 Furthermore. The statistics are not as grim as they might appear on paper and. whereas others have a broader application. On balance. we will be looking more deeply into those issues. . 2008). Second Life.com/ whatis/economy_stats. Samantha. In our first 2 years. As an added benefit. they have the opportunity to improve their skills and try out new things without facing a risk in their professional lives. we have seen many developments and interesting issues. Thus. there is strong evidence that the statistics reported for the desk are inaccurate because only 16 of 36 volunteers make regular reports of their statistics. Some of these discoveries are isolated to virtual worlds (or even just Second Life). these benefits seem to make providing virtual reference worthwhile to both volunteers and patrons. Thompson. The greatest among these is the fact that librarians and other volunteers are being provided with an opportunity to meet their peers from across the country and the world. This low reporting is expected because the staff is mostly composed of volunteers staffing the desk on their own personal time. Such an opportunity to experiment allows for personal development while defusing some of the stress associated with trying new things at one’s normal place of work. REFERENCES Linden Labs.Downloaded By: [Thompson. One should never overlook the advantages of learning from other librarians.com/ccc?key=pyxcNekDm-Fjt8e2KFlXfMA&hl=en (accessed September 20. the answer to the “Why?” question is composed of many elements. librarians and other volunteers are being offered a chance to practice their reference and service skills in a context that does not generally impact their day-to-day lives. http://secondlife. 2008. volunteers have a chance to better themselves in ways which would not normally be open to them. Because low reporting is a continuing issue at traditional libraries with paid professional staff. 2008.