Farah Chung, Kate Restivo, and Nonna Volodina. Part of the iSchool Peer-Led Workshop Series.

1. Virtual
Reference
Workshop
Presented by:
Farah Chung, Kate Restivo, and Nonna Volodina

2. Agenda
• Common Issues and Suggested Solutions
• Our Tips to You
• Resources
• Demonstration of Liveperson (If time)

3. Issue: Language
• Most virtual reference service users are students in elementary
school, high school, college, and university
• Because virtual reference is a form of instant messaging, texting
language (e.g., BRB, wut, ty, tu, idc, ikr, etc.) is pretty common

4. Solution
• Avoid jargon or heavily academic language
• Try to match language use/level of the person you are chatting
with without sounding patronizing or insulting
• Embrace the use of texting language!

5. Issue: Tone
• In an instant messaging environment, it’s easy to come across as
patronizing or insulting
• Even if you have the best intentions, your tone can easily be
misconstrued as insulting or unhelpful
• Dry humour can also often be misconstrued as insulting
• The other person can not see facial expressions, or hear your
tone of voice

6. Solution
• Be careful with your wording – sometimes clarifying questions
can sound mean:
• So do you mean that you are looking for eBooks regarding
prostitution in Canada and why individuals choose/fall into
this profession?
• Try to soften up the tone as best you can through words or …
use emoticons:
• For example: That sounds like a really interesting topic! So
just to clarify I know what you’re looking for. . .

7. Issue: To Emoticon or Not…?
• Trying to balance professionalism with making users feel
comfortable
• Emoticons can be a great way to build a rapport with users and
to soften the tone in a conversation but not all users are
welcoming to their use
• Sometimes emoticons could make you sound unintelligent or
condescending
• Even with good intentions, emoticons could still give off the
wrong message

8. Solution
• Take your cues from the user!
• Emoticons can soften the tone, make conversation more casual
and friendly, or communicate sympathy if the user is frustrated
• If the user takes a formal tone, reciprocate
• Many successful conversations end with happy emoticons before
signing off!

9. Issue: Teaching vs. Doing too much
• It’s much more difficult to find “teaching moments” when doing
VR because there is a lot more steps and time involved
• When you have 10 minutes left in your shift and you get asked a
complex reference question where you are required to teach a
new database or search strategy, it’s easy just to “spoon feed” the
information
• Just because you’re working in an online environment, doesn’t
mean you can’t teach!

10. Solution
• Do not perform document delivery (this is even easier to fall into
when doing VR)
• While searching with them, have the user evaluate the results
and provide feedback about whether or not you’re on the right
track
• Some users are looking for the “perfect paper” which synthesizes
all of their research topics together – you will have to teach them
that part of research includes knowing when that “perfect
resource” doesn’t exist, and how to search in order to synthesize

11. Issue: Tech/Circulation/Writing Qs
• Out of scope questions:
• Many users assume we are in the library, or that we have full
access to their library information:
• “It’s really loud in the 3rd floor silent study area, can you
come and tell them to be quiet?” “Can you tell me what
books I have out right now?”
• Questions about complex technical issues with library
hardware and software
• Questions about writing style and structure

12. Solution
• Make referrals to appropriate departments whenever applicable
• For example: writing centre, technical support, circulation
desk
• Do not spend too much time trying to find answers if a referral
is more suitable
• Do provide the user with the contact information/website of
specific departments and explanation of why that department
will be better suited to help
• What are the borrowing policies for projectors at UofT?
(Refer to audio-visual/media commons at Robarts)

13. Our Tips to You
• Before applying for a VR position, consider the time
commitment – remember that you will need access to the chat
software, which many not be available on computers at school or
work!
• Before your interview, know a few databases by name that can be
accessed publicly or by the population you’ll be working with
(You will be asked this!)
• Familiarize yourself with other library websites, resources,
research guides, circulation policies, etc.

14. Our Tips to You
• Note that not all libraries have the abundant resources that UofT
has – this will affect the way you research with different users, but
familiarizing yourself with what is available will help
• Show users how to link Google Scholar to their academic library
(settings  library links) – many people are more comfortable
searching Google than their library website
• Do not send out any messages if you see that the user is typing,
in case the user is clarifying or asking something - this way, the
two of you will not be trying to carry on two conversations at
once.

15. Our Tips to You
• Main in-person reference skills still apply for VR:
• Conduct a thorough reference interview!
• Don’t assume:
• “I’m looking for information on China”
• Do they mean China the country or china the type of
ceramic (despite spelling – capitals can be misleading)?
• What type of resources do they need?
• Books, articles, peer-reviewed, only e-resources, etc.
• Subject area is important too – a question about the history of
cancer could come from a sociology or immunology perspective