For a student who doesn’t want to swing by the reference desk, there are plenty of other ways to ask a librarian a question—instant messaging, e-mail, a phone call. And now, on a growing number of campuses, students can ask questions with text messages.
Oregon State University is among the institutions that have recently added “text a librarian” services. Though the university just implemented its service this month and has not advertised it much yet, librarians there say that they can already tell it will be well used.
Students text a question to an advertised number during library hours, and an alert appears on the computer screen of any librarian who is signed into the library’s instant-messaging service. The librarian uses the computer to send a text message back to the student’s cellphone.
Margaret Mellinger, an assistant professor and engineering librarian at Oregon State, said the library staff expected that students would ask only questions with quick, simple answers. But they were wrong; one of the very first questions was: “What is the function of interneurons?”
“We weren’t thinking that they were going to ask serious research questions,” Ms. Mellinger said. “But they apparently are going to.”
Students have also asked about checking out laptop computers and locating library books. If a question warrants more than a short reply, the librarian will send the student a message back to explain that the question is too in-depth for text messaging and ask for the student’s e-mail address.
Though many libraries use a computer service to respond to texts, librarians at Yale University’s Kline Science Library have been using a shared iPhone to respond to texts since 2007. Joseph Murphy, the library’s coordinator of instruction and technology, said that that librarians use the phone to text back so they’ll follow the same communication norms that students do and stay “on the same level.” Mr. Murphy said that the service is not very popular. But, like Oregon State students, Yale students text more complex questions than he had anticipated.
8 Responses to Librarians Answer Reference Questions With Text Messages
rwiringa - March 25, 2010 at 6:48 pm
What’ll you all be doing next?!
tenorclef - March 25, 2010 at 7:45 pm
They probably texted “Wut th funct ov intrneurns?”. How can we train students to use correct spelling and standard vocabulary in a text environment?
arrive2__net - March 25, 2010 at 11:36 pm
This type of development that definitely makes library services more useful, and adds value to the libraries. It seems like if the stacks mostly go away and are replaced by electronic print media, the place of librarians and libraries in providing services to the public (or to students) will be there. Perhaps with the vast proliferation of information, the role of information source expert (reference librarians) with take on even more importance.Bernard SchusterArrive2.net
dr_redrum - March 26, 2010 at 11:51 am
Gosh! Some of those academic librarians are sure a wild, crazy and reckless bunch with their latest trends in information technology. What’s next – carbon paper? 16 mm films? Phonorecordings?
mbelvadi - March 26, 2010 at 11:57 am
This sounds like a great service for sincere honest patrons. However, there is rampant use of texting during exams in very large classes to cheat. It was bad enough for the students to text each other for answers – imagine if they can text a librarian (with the full weight of the staff and collections behind her) during an exam?! And the poor librarian would have no idea they’re helping a student cheat, undermining the integrity of their own institution. I’m not saying this is an argument sufficient to justify not offering the service at all, but the teaching faculty and the librarians need to communicate with each other, maybe even plan things like to turn off the service during mid-term and exam week. Has Oregon State’s librarians done anything to reach out to faculty in some way like this?
kbarrick - March 29, 2010 at 9:03 am
While the Yale Science Library’s text reference service was not very popular, the central service of the Yale University Library, which uses Text a Librarian by Mosio, has been very successful. The library has been offering this service for almost a year now to complement their existing instant messaging service. We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the reception and the use by undergraduates, graduate students and non-Yale patrons asking questions about Yale Library collections. And like Oregon State University, we’ve received questions ranging from information about our hours to more sophisticated research questions that are then referred to subject specialists.
simslibrary - March 29, 2010 at 10:40 am
Perhaps the first text a librarian program in the U.S. was started at Southeastern Louisiana Universitys Sims Memorial Library in spring 2005, and it continues to be a significant service point for students and reference librarians. I cannot imagine our work without it. See the program gateway here: http://www.selu.edu/library/askref/index.html.Dayne Sherman, Associate Professor of Library Science
vheiduschke - March 30, 2010 at 4:21 pm
In response to mbelvadi’s question, OSU librarians are encouraged to reach out to faculty to let them know about the service and can remind faculty about OSU’s academic dishonesty prevention tips, which includes prohibiting cell phones during testing sessions. The tips are located at http://oregonstate.edu/studentconduct/faculty/facprevent.php.Victoria Heiduschke, Learning Commons Coordinator, Oregon State University Valley Library