I presented this at Reference Renaissance 2008 with colleagues Lorrie Evans and Nina McHale. Wanna know the verdict? Watch the presentation. :) And feel free to contact me with questions.

1. KAREN SOBEL, LORRIE EVANS & NINA MCHALE AURARIA LIBRARY DENVER, COLORADO Apples and Oranges: A Comparison of Proprietary Chat Reference Software Versus Free Instant Messaging Services

9. Auraria Library Participation in AskColorado

10. AskColorado Use Statistics 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 Number of questions answered for Auraria Campus students 297 341 486

12. Interface Comparison AskColorado AskAuraria! Great functionality and high level of detail User view is very simple; slightly more cluttered for the librarian, but still a simple box Screen sharing (co-browsing) is possible URLs can be pasted and shared

13. Access/Integration into Library Web Space AskColorado AskAuraria! Access point is down one or more levels from the Library home page Access point is a box on the home page Students must fill out a form prior to asking a question No information to fill out; user is anonymous 24/7 access thanks to consortial staffing agreement Access available only during times we can staff the service; currently, no set hours

14. Policies and Behavior AskColorado AskAuraria! Separate queue for academic users Anyone can post a question Acceptable behavior and policies are posted No posted policies; any behavioral issues must be addressed at the time of a transgression

15. Psychological Aspects AskColorado AskAuraria! The demographic information and the navigation required to reach the chat box may inhibit spontaneous questions Simple screen and high visibility appeals to spontaneous questions Demographic information can be a help to the librarian in answering the questions Some students will quickly write in a chat box that’s in front of them, but not want to click through a page and fill out a form

16. Display: AskColorado Login Screen

17. AskColorado Chat Interface

18. AskAuraria! Patron View: Chat On

19. AskAuraria! Patron View: Chat Off

20. AskAuraria! Librarian View: Pidgin Client

23. Technical Support AskColorado AskAuraria! Excellent tech support and training (in person, webinars, etc.) through the Colorado State Library Excellent support through the libraryh3lp Google Group; some tech support required in-house to set up and maintain service Established best practices for providing and branding service (magnets, posters, etc.) libraryh3lp still in b3ta, but very promising; any branding is done in-house