Digital Reference Committee Meeting Minutes
April 14, 2005

Attended: Jenny Hatleberg, Travis Johnson, Neal Kaske, Niyati Pandya, Kari Schmidt, Joan Stahl, Cindy Todd, Laura Wrubel

Facilitator: Cindy/Joan; Notetaker: Jenny

Research Project: Focus Groups
Leaders: Travis & Neal

  • Travis Johnson, Neal Kaske, and Gerri Foudy received a library research grant to study how students conduct basic-level research. They will conduct 12 focus group interviews with students. Neal’s class at CLIS will be doing individual interviews with students; individual responses will be compared with information from focus groups. The data hasn’t been analyzed yet, but they plan to share their findings in Library Matters articles, with informal information-sharing sessions, and also through more formal avenues.

    • Evaluation of recent programs (“The Future of Reference” and “Teaching with Technology”)
    Leader: Joan

  • Future of Reference Panel Discussion The publicity was excellent, and more people than expected attended. In evaluations, attendees mentioned physical discomfort. We did not receive much formal feedback from UM Library staff. For next year, look into co-sponsorship with the College of Information Studies (perhaps they can provide auditorium/large classroom space that accommodates more people). Thanks to Mary Dalto for bringing so many chairs!

    • Follow-up:
  • Joan will send thank-you notes to participants
  • Neal will check into converting the audio tapes of the program to cds
  • Kari will post Dr. Abels’ presentation, photos, and Library Matters article to DigRef web page
  • Travis will see about entering presentations into DRUM and follow-up with Hayes, Mattlage, and Abels
  • Article written by Lucy Smith (Art & Architecture GA) will appear in the April 22 issue

  • Teaching with Technology Poster Session
    The poster turned out beautifully, thanks to Travis, Kim, Niyati, and Rebecca Wilson. Ours was the only poster session at the conference. Brought up the issue of keeping data for our HumanClick chat transactions—transcripts are only available in the system for 13 months. Ask Us Now statistics can be collected in two ways: questions that students asked from UM servers, and questions that were answered by UM librarians.

    • Upcoming IRS-T hearing on proposed reference model
    Leader: Cindy

  • Joan presented the proposed reference model to IRS-T, which recommended that the proposal go to Open Forum (April 26, 2005; 10:00-11:30; MCK 7121). The focus is meant to be on the reference model rather than on the value of chat reference. Maggie Saponaro and Heidi Hansen will facilitate the discussion. Information and feedback will be gathered at the Open Forum, discussed in IRS-T, and then presented to CPL and the Leaders group. The forum is an IRS-T responsibility; DigRef committee members should attend if interested but will not have a formal role. Neal shared a diagram of a reference librarian’s roles/responsibilities, which Cindy will share with the Open Forum facilitators. Travis will bring statistics about digital reference and McKeldin desk reference, to help in answering potential questions.

    • Maryland AskUsNow Liaison Report
    Leader: Joan

  • Joan will send the committee the most recent Maryland AskUsNow (AUN) liaison report and a viewlet tutorial for QuestionPoint. There is a 24/7 users group meeting next week. AUN is still working on shifting to the new software.

    • Redirection of Effort: Part 2
    Leader: Joan

  • Redirection of Effort Part 2 dealt with combining current chat services. Joan and Travis will look at costs and benefits of different software options, and being part of a consortium. Factors to consider: price, services provided by software, backup coverage for hours of service we cannot provide.

    • Round Robin

  • Joan shared Eileen Abels’ concern that she could not attend DigRef committee meetings and wondered if she should be considered a full member. Everyone agreed that we would like Eileen to remain a member if she can.