How does the 24/7 Reference service work?
| Web-Based Chat
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You will communicate with the librarian using chat software accessed using your internet browser. You will type in questions to the librarian, and read their responses. Chat combines the immediacy of the telephone with the preciseness of a written e-mail. As you get into this form of communication you will realize that the pace of a chat "conversation" is a bit different than you might expect. You will put in a question, and then go off and do something else on the computer while the librarian picks up and formulates a reply. There will follow periods of rapid interchange of messages interspersed with longer pauses. During the pauses it is best if you open a complete new browser window if you want to do other web-browsing. That way you will not inadvertently drop the 24/7 connection. |
| See what is on the Librarian's screen |
Using most browsers, the librarian will be able to show you what he or she brings up on screen. This ability to virtually "look over the librarian's shoulder" is the heart of the 24/7 Reference software. The librarian can call up pages that will help answer your question, and send them right to your computer. You can then navigate these pages and ask the librarian further questions. Some browsers also support an advanced "co-browsing" or "escort" mode where every time the librarian moves to another page, you see it, and every time you move to another page, the librarian sees it. This allows you and the librarian to review good internet sites and databases purchased by the library as if you were both standing together leafing through a book. |
| Transcript |
At the end of the session you will receive a transcript via e-mail. This will include the written record of the chat conversation plus the URL's of all sites visited. You will be able to re-visit all sites that did not require the
specific password authorization of the librarian. |
| Follow-up |
If you need additional help with your research, the librarian can either bring in another librarian that is currently logged on to answer questions, or forward your transcript to a follow-up questions folder. Over the next few days other librarians will review these follow-up requests and get back to you via e-mail with additional information. |
Connect Now!
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MassAnswers is a cooperative project of Massachusetts Regional Reference Center libraries and other cooperating libraries, who have joined with the nation-wide 24/7 Reference collaborative. MassAnswers is initially funded by federal grant funds
authorized by the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. |
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