This Yahoo! Approved by the RUSA Board of Directors, June 2006. Burke, John. Instant Messaging Reference: A Practical Guide. A virtual reference station is an imaginary, unoccupied reference station which is only a few meters from the RTK user. Similarly, as data systems grow and require curation, preservation, and development of user interfaces, librarians can work to assist technologists. Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki A user will enter into a personalized platform automatically when accessing a digital reference system and can browse there under a username when entering the system; the user can retrieve FAQ, visit information communities, and communicate with reference personnel, registered users, visitors, and so on. Different terms are used to describe these developments: principally electronic library, virtual library and digital library. For more information on this or other fact sheets, contact the ALA Library Reference Desk by telephone: 800-545-2433, extension 2153; fax: 312-280-3255; e-mail: library@ala.org; or regular mail: ALA Library, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795. Virtual functions are member functions whose behavior can be overridden in derived classes. In his 2006 article already cited above, Jerry Campbell predicted we had about a decade in which to sort ourselves out, which leaves us about six more years. As opposed to non-virtual functions, the overridden behavior is preserved even if there is no compile-time information about the actual type of the class. We discussed the documents I produced at departmental meetings, at which the Associate Dean was present. Virtual reference service tools. Guidelines for Implementing and Maintaining Virtual Reference Services (PDF). Virtual definition, being such in power, force, or effect, though not actually or expressly such: a virtual dependence on charity. Figure 3.8. Virtual reference services had previously been something of a hodgepodge organizationally, with those interested in providing these services attempting to lead along the slightly mystified majority of the group as best they could. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, and the companies/products are named only for informational purposes. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2007. Introduction to Reference Work in the Digital Age. Carlson, Scott. The Electronic Library. Berkeley, [Calif.]:Library Solutions Press, 2003. This bridge function is a critical one now, but as the professions and organizations continue to evolve, it is likely to become more and more integrated over time. Digital versus Non-Digital Reference: Ask a Librarian Online and Offline. It offers a complete reference management system, integrating chat, e-mail, and chat widget (Qwidget), live help 24/7 through membership in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative and work with colleagues locally or globally with cooperative staffing and referral networks. On the other hand, librarians aren’t ready to tackle the technical side of that challenge.” But, “Having the group already merged, we’re ready when challenges like this pop up. There are many examples of collaborative services and of state-wide services providing information for local library users, but there are few examples of large, open-to-all virtual reference services that are comparable to Enquire. However, some of the faculty rightly felt that, since they were being treated as if they were interchangeable with a student, their time was being undervalued. The initial semester’s experiment led us to reduce the number of hours we offered this service to the busy hours around midday, but it has been an ongoing service of our department ever since. On the other hand, the majority of the faculty did not favor moving to a rigid tiered reference model either. Internet Reference Services Quarterly. Exploration of administrative issues through the lens of the Kano Model and discussion of balancing customer service with the limited resources available to academic libraries introducing a new service. In Australia, the National Library of Australia's Preserving Access to Digital Information (PADI) initiative is also supported by a number of agencies and organisation, such as the National Archives of Australia, the Australian Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts, ScreenSound Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the National Museum of Australia. Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) Virtual Reference Project: Service Policies and Guidelines. What works in one library won't necessarily work in another. Digital reference (more commonly called virtual reference) is a service by which a library reference service is conducted online, and the reference transaction is a computer-mediated communication. Some libraries provide a real-time virtual reference service and design a form, so that readers can inquire online using this.