Is Skype Viable as a Virtual Reference Tool in Academic

Libraries?

Darcy Gervasio & Emilie Steinmann, UW-Madison SLIS

Virginia Bryan, Librarian, Madison College

WLA.  November 4, 2010

What's the hype about Skype?

*It's a free way to communicate through video chat, audio chat, and instant messaging.

*HOT TOPIC in public and school libraries

*Not studied enough from a user-needs perspective  

Oprah Skypes.... Shouldn't librarians?

How is Skype being used in libraries?

*Video conferencing among faculty/library staff=                                                  the original use for Skype!

*Language learning = well-researched, very viable use

*Video reference  = less well-researched...                                       perhaps the wave of the future??

Advantage #1: Bringing visual and nonverbal cues back to virtual reference

Advantage #2 : Simultaneous Instant Messaging Send links, pdf files, articles or jing videos via IM while  video chatting

 

Advantage #3: Co-Browsing!  Share your screen with the patron

Disadvantages of Skype Reference

 Need special equipment (webcam, speakers, microphone) 

 Limits librarian multi-tasking 

 "The Freak Factor"(Awkwardness/Shyness)

Research Questions:

1.  How are academic libraries in Madison using Skype?

2.  Is Skype viable as a virtual reference tool in academic libraries?

Interviews:

We interviewed librarians at six large libraries on the UW-Madison campus  including:

College LibraryEbling LibraryMemorial Library Steenbock LibraryVan Hise Language LabWendt Library

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

Skype and Guerrilla Reference!

Photo from  http://abcnews.go.com/widgets/mediaViewer

1. Guerrilla Reference: A librarian at Memorial Library Skyped an individual patron from her personal account to clarify a long email correspondence.

2. Conferencing: At Wendt and Ebling, librarians have used Skype to meet virtually with colleagues across campus and as far away as Prague.

3. Installing Skype in Labs:  College Library and Van Hise Language lab downloaded Skype to all computers in their labs for students' personal use.

Three Ways UW Librarians Use Skype:

 "One of the reasons Ask A Librarian is so successful is because the underlying technology has nearly universal buy-in among students: everyone chats.... I believe VoIP isn't ubiquitous enough yet for virtual reference."                          -Ian Benton, College Library, 10.26.09  

 

Survey Disclaimer:

Our survey of undergrads at University of Wisconsin was conducted as a classroom project for UW-SLIS in Fall 2009.  This survey was not originally intended for publication. The results reflect the opinions of students in one class at UW-Madison. We don't necessarily recommend our survey,  but we do suggest any library considering a Skype-a-Librarian program survey its users to gauge interest in the service.

Skype User-Needs Survey

Surveyed 115  students in LIS 201 at UW-Madison using Survey Monkey; results were usable for 111 students

 

66% male, 34% female 

Most respondents (52%) were second-year undergrads

Campus Library Usage

48% of students use College Library. With a cafe and social/non-quiet areas, it's a cool place to study!

Results of Survey

Most common use: 63 of 111 participants use Skype for chatting with friends/family more than once per monthMost common potential use:  chatting with family/friends Home most frequent place to use Skype

66% of survey respondents said they currently use Skype.

Most students (81%) used Skype at home, but 31% said they have Skyped from a library18% have Skyped from other academic buildings (hallways and open classrooms perhaps?)

Choosing Where to Skype

Students look for the following factors when choosing a location to Skype, in the order of importance: 1. Privacy (reason why most

students Skype from home?)2. Volume3. Comfortableness4. Good internet connection

http://photos.news.wisc.edu/photos/6949/view

Preferred Method of Contacting a Reference Librarian

51% would NOT use Skype to contact a librarian35% said "maybe"14% said "yes"

Contacting a Reference Librarian

Students prefer to talk to a librarian either in-person or via e-mail Of existing methods, IM/chat least popularNot a great deal of interest in using Skype to contact a librarian

Discussion Students use Skype, so why the lack of interest in Skyping a librarian? 

  

 

Is Skype too...Intimate?

Will Skyping on smart phones change attitudes?

So is Skype a viablevirtual reference tool???

1. Technologically:  Yes!

2. Financially: Probably (minimal set-up costs) 3. Socially:  It depends...

 on your libraryon your students' needson comfort levels with video chat