Collaborative Text Reference Opportunity!

Good Day SCRLC Libraries!

South Central Regional Library Council members have an opportunity to participate in a pilot project, InfoQuest, to explore the feasibility of collaborative multi-type text-based reference service, in partnership with the Alliance Library System of East Peoria, the School of Library & Information Science of San Jose State University, TAP Information Services (the organization offering OPAL—Online Programming for All Libraries), and Altarama.
Altarama (http://www.altarama.com) will provide technology and training for project participants and will assist evaluators with non-standard data access and extraction. “Libraries of all types – and the reference services community in particular-stand to benefit greatly from the outcomes of this unique and timely project, “said Arthur Brady, President of Altarama, “and we’re delighted to be an active partner.”

Participating libraries will agree to staff the collaborative service for two hours a week; attend online training sessions and planning meetings; market the service within their communities, and provide feedback about the service. Customizable training and promotional materials will be provided. Librarians will not be using a cell phone to provide service; they will log into a project website or project email address to receive and provide answers to questions.

There are no charges to participate during the first six months of the project. The partnership seeks funding to host the service for a full year. If funding is not secured at six months, participants may choose to drop the service or share the costs of the software with other members, which is expected to be $100-200 per library depending on how many libraries participate.

The deadline for participation is April 15, 2009. Partnership agreement forms will be made available at the meeting and through email for anyone unable to attend. Online training sessions will be held in May and June at a variety of times for the convenience of participants. During June, participants can practice, copy promotional materials provided for the project and begin to promote the service. The service is expected to kick off on July 1 and run through the end of December for the first six months of activity.

If this is of interest to you, please join us for an informational meeting on March 25, 2009, 11AM-1PM EST. The meeting will take place by conference call. If you cannot attend on the 25th, there will be another informational meeting on April 3 from 3-5PM. Contact Diane Capalongo at dcapalongo@scrlc.org or me at mclindbloom@scrlc.org 607-273-9106 for the conference call login details.

Lori Bell, of the Alliance Library System, is the project director, and you may contact her at Lori Bell at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com.

Why text reference? An increasing number of libraries accept information queries in the form of text messages from users’ cell phones and other mobile devices. According to a 2005 Pew and American Life Project report, Teens and Technology, “Today’s American teens live in a world enveloped by communications technologies; the internet and cell phones have become a central force that fuels the rhythm of daily life.” 85% of teens reported owning at least one of the following devices: blackberry, cell phone, laptop, and desktop computer. In 2005 45% of teens owned cell phones and many owned more than one device that could connect to the Internet. 75% used text messaging. http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/289/press_coverageitem.asp; It is not just teens: The 2005 Pew press release, 34 Million American Adults Send Text Messages on their Cell Phones, reported that 31% of those between the ages of 28-39 used text, 18% between 40-49, 13% of between 50-59, and 7% of those over 60. http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2005/34-million-American-adults-send-text-messages-on-their-cell-phones.aspx . Four years later, I would think that the number of texters has increased among all generations.

Best regards,