The document describes Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries' implementation of a text messaging reference service. They had previously implemented a chat reference service which was staffed by librarians and paraprofessionals. In January and February 2013, usage of their new texting reference service was low, averaging under 1 text per day. In March 2013, they expanded the texting service hours to be available 24/7 and saw a dramatic 1400% increase in usage, now averaging over 6 questions per day. The expansion of texting reference hours was deemed successful as 67% of questions were received outside typical chat reference hours.

1. FEAST
THIRTEEN

2. Teresa Doherty
&
Bettina Peacemaker
Virginia Commonwealth
University

4. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries
Chat reference
• Implemented in-house chat reference
service in July 2012
• Staffed by librarians and paraprofessionals
in Research and Instructional Services
• Platform: LibraryH3lp
• Typical hours (M-T 11-10, F 11-6, Sun 6-10)
• Pretty successful

5. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries
Y not txt 2?
• Texting is wildly popular with college
students
• Same staffing, hours and platform as for our
chat service
• January and February usage stats: average
under 1 text message a day :-(
• Why not expand? It shouldn't be too difficult
(famous last words?)

6. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries
One secret ingredient
Staff in Circulation and Information
Services
• Have plenty of experience answering patron
questions
• Complex research questions could be
directed to librarians
• What's there to lose? (again, famous last
words)

7. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries
Secret ingredient #2
Promotional strategy
• No restrictions on the kind of questions
which could be asked and answered
• Advertised as a service for patrons inside
the library as well as outside
• PR campaign-apalooza

8. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries
Success! Look at our #s
• Started 24-hour text March 11, 2013
• 1400% increase
• Now average over 6 questions per day
• Worth it? Definitely -- 67% of questions are
sent outside our (more restricted) chat hours

9. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries

10. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries

11. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries

12. #ALA13 #ALAFeast #VCULibraries
kthxbai :o)
Teresa Doherty
mtdohert@vcu.edu
&
Bettina Peacemaker
bjpeacemaker@vcu.edu

13. Sara Bryant
University of Missouri - Columbia

14. Preparing for the Future:
Succession Planning
FEAST 2013
Sara Bryant
Assistant Head of Access Services
University of Missouri-Columbia

15. Statistics at a Glance
• 45% of librarians reaching the age of 65 between
2010-2020 (Davis, 2009)
• Median librarian age
▫ Women:52 (2005) vs. 41 (1980)
▫ Men: 51 (2005) vs. 39 (1980)
• By 2020, only 32% of the workforce will have a
college degree (Singer, 2010)
• 91% of “Millennials” expect to stay in a position
for less than three years (Meister, 2012)

16. Why the need for a succession plan?
• Wave of retirements between 2015 and
2020
• Future is always uncertain
• The cost of turnover is high
• Continuity is critical
• Knowledge and productivity will be lost
with departure of long-term employees

17. Steps to a successful plan
• Identify key positions and competencies
• Review position duties
• Assess potential of current employees and
evaluate performance
• Consider bringing in someone new
• Organize formal leadership development
programs and workshops
• Create timeline and consistently evaluate
progress

18. Contact me:
Sara Bryant
bryantsar@missouri.edu
References:
Davis, D. M. Office for Research and Statistics, (2009). Planning for 2015: The
recent history and future supply of librarians. Retrieved from American
Library Association website: http://www.ala.org/research/sites/
ala.org.research/files/content/librarystaffstats/recruitment/
Librarians_supply_demog_analys.pdf
Meister, J. (2012, 08 14). Job hopping is the 'new normal' for millennials: Three
ways to prevent a human resources nightmare. Forbes, Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/08/14/job-hopping-is-
the-new-normal-for-millennials-three-ways-to-prevent-a-human-resource-
nightmare/
Singer, P., & Grifith, G. (2010). Succession planning in the library: Developing
leaders, managing change. Chicago: American Library Association.

19. Krista Higham
Millersville University

20. Rapid Book Chapter Pod for
Consortia
Krista Higham
Access Services Librarian
Millersville University
FEAST @ ALA Annual
June 29, 2013

21. RapidILL
• RapidILL.org
• 24 hour turn-around time
• Articles and book chapters
• Organized into pods
• Reciprocal agreements for books

22. Book Chapters
• Currently only one pod
• Approximately 40 libraries
• Can be physical items or ebooks

23. PALCI’s Plans
(Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortia, Inc)
• Beginning a DDA (demand driven acquisitions)
program for ebooks
• Has an active Rapid pod for articles
• How to get greater use of ebooks?
• How to get greater use of physical books,
without always shipping them around the
state?
– Especially reference works

24. PALCI’s concerns
• If DDA titles are in the library catalog, how to
avoid triggering an ebook purchase with non-
PALCI libraries?
• Is it ok to trigger a group purchase of an
ebook with a book chapter request?

25. Next Steps
• In talks with Rapid (slightly on hold) to
develop a pod setup for book chapters
• Integrate the request function with PALCI’s
E-ZBorrow system (by Relais)
– Add Table of Contents to DDA ebook records
• Need to make sure requests flow into ILLiad as
book chapters or articles, not books/loans
• Workflow for non-ILLiad libraries

26. Questions?
• krista.higham@millersville.edu

27. Li Fu
&
Lorelei Sterling
University of San Diego

28. Li Fu
Head of Access & Outreach
Lorelei Sterling
Evening Access/Reference Librarian
June 2013 ALA Chicago

29. New Services
Outreach
Workshops

30. Staffing FTE – 9
New Services – Traditional/Minimal
Workshops Taught - None
Outreach Activities - None
Staff Awards – None
Student Worker Graduation Rate – Not tracked
Missing Items – 1000s
Un-shelved Items – 100s
Policies – Out of date and incomplete
Reserves – Not tracked
Circulation – On the decline
ILL – Not tracked
Our Beginning 2011

31. •Copyright Clearance
•Express Books
•Get It Now
•RapidILL
•And much more…
The Beginning
2011
New Services
•Amazing Library Race
•Copyright for Staff/Faculty
•ILL and RapidILL
•Research Skills for Int’l
Students
•Mobile Apps
Workshops
•Alcala Bazaar
•Changemakers
•Access Services Desk
•Student Retention
Outreach
Our Results
2013

32. Staffing FTE - <50%
Workshops Taught - 9
Outreach Activities - over 30 on-campus visits
New Services - 5 new offerings
Staff Awards - USD Employee of the Year 2012
Student Worker Graduation Rate – 100%
Missing Items - 100% searched
Un-shelved Items - 100% shelved
Policies - Up to date and comprehensive
Reserves - 19,305 items
Circulation - 9.9% increase
ILL - Shorter turn around/Greater Circulation
Our Results 2013

33. Li Fu
lif@sandiego.edu
Lorelei Sterling
loreleis@sandiego.edu
June 2013 ALA Chicago

34. Robin Milford
University of California - Merced

35. Robin Milford
Access Services Librarian
University of California Merced

36. “We define customer journey maps as documents that
visually illustrate customers’ processes, needs, and
perceptions throughout their relationships with a
company. The journey mapping process helps firms align
around a shared vision of target customers, identify broken
moments of truth, and get the insights they need to
improve.”
Andrew McInness, Forrester Research
Customer Journey Maps Defined…

43. 2. Identify
participant
(patron)
3. Patron maps
journey using
data sheet
4. Create
inventory of touch
points
5. Identify pain
points or service
“gaps”
6. Code the data
sheet (Post Its!)
7. Analyze data 8. Make service
modifications as
necessary (i.e.,
improved signage,
better instructions on
copier)