Blogs for Library Virtual Reference

(Via bibliolatry) I think this is a brilliant idea. Libraries have long conducted virtual reference using e-mail and, more recently, online chat. The missing piece has been some sort of interactive knowledgebase. Why not use blogs?

Blogs for virtual reference? Why not? Pomerantz & Stutzman offer a few compelling arguments for using blogs to provide virtual reference in a collaborative environment. Much of this makes a lot of sense. For starters, institutions are already providing collaborative VR service, only they're doing it using expensive, proprietary software. A collaborative blogging model could almost open up VR services to smaller institutions who don't have the capital to invest in the software. Additionally, many of the advantages of using blogs in general are transferable in the VR context as well - searchability, permanent links and archives, and as the authors note, a database that stores the complete reference transaction, essentially making it an "information resource" itself which is, most notably, freely available on the Web.

Addendum: After cogitating overnight, I am going to ramp my initial enthusiasm down a notch. I think the idea is very viable in some settings: the STUMPERS listserv example given in the paper would translate seemlessly to a blog. However, it would be harder to implement within a small consortium and would probably not really be doable (at least as the authors have conceptualized it) within a single institution - just not enough librarians to create the necessary synergy. But this idea remains something to keep an eye on.

Posted by Tom on April 15, 2004