Encountering virtual users: A qualitative investigation of interpersonal communication in chat reference

Synchronous chat reference services have emerged as viable alternatives to the traditional face‐to‐face (FtF) library reference encounter. Research in virtual reference service (VRS) and client–librarian behavior is just beginning with a primary focus on task issues of accuracy and efficiency. This study is among the first to apply communication theory to an exploration of relational (socioemotional) aspects of VRS. It reports results from a pilot study that analyzed 44 transcripts nominated for the LSSI Samuel Swett Green Award (Library Systems and Services, Germantown, MD) for Exemplary Virtual Reference followed by an analysis of 245 randomly selected anonymous transcripts from Maryland AskUsNow! statewide chat reference service. Transcripts underwent in‐depth qualitative content analysis. Results revealed that interpersonal skills important to FtF reference success are present (although modified) in VRS. These include techniques for rapport building, compensation for lack of nonverbal cues, strategies for relationship development, evidence of deference and respect, face‐saving tactics, greeting and closing rituals. Results also identified interpersonal communication dynamics present in the chat reference environment, differences in client versus librarian patterns, and compensation strategies for lack of nonverbal communication.

[1]  Marianne Foley,et al.  Instant Messaging Reference in an Academic Library: A Case Study , 2002 .

[2]  J. Walther,et al.  Information-Seeking Strategies, Uncertainty, and Computer-Mediated Communication toward a Conceptual Model , 2002 .

[3]  Lynn Kasner Morgan.  The Virtual Reference Librarian's Handbook. , 2003 .

[4]  R. David Lankes.  The Virtual Reference Desk: Creating a Reference Future , 2006 .

[5]  Charles R. McClure,et al.  Assessing Quality in Digital Reference Services: Overview of Key Literature on Digital Reference , 2007 .

[6]  Marilyn Domas White,et al.  Evaluation of Chat Reference Service Quality: Pilot Study , 2003, D Lib Mag..

[7]  Glenn L. Brudvig.  The Measurement and Evaluation of Library Services , 1978 .

[8]  Marie L. Radford.  Relational aspects of reference interactions : a qualitative investigation of the perceptions of users and librarians in the academic library , 1993 .

[9]  Anne J. Mathews.  Communicate! : a librarian's guide to interpersonal relations , 1983 .

[10]  E. Goffman.  Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order , 1971 .

[11]  Catherine Sheldrick Ross,et al.  Flying a light aircraft: reference service evaluation from a user's viewpoint. , 1994 .

[12]  Erving Goffman,et al.  The Nature of Deference and Demeanor , 1956 .

[13]  Laura K. Guerrero,et al.  Handbook of communication and emotion : research, theory, applications, and contexts , 1998 .

[14]  Eric Novotny.  Evaluating Electronic Reference Services , 2001 .

[15]  Corey M. Johnson.  Online Chat Reference: Survey Results from Affiliates of Two Universities , 2004 .

[16]  Kirsti Nilsen,et al.  The Library Visit Study: user experiences at the virtual reference desk , 2003, Inf. Res..

[17]  David S. Carter,et al.  Unobtrusive Data Analysis of Digital Reference Questions and Service at the Internet Public Library: An Exploratory Study , 2000, Libr. Trends.

[18]  R. David Lankes,et al.  Quality Standards for Digital Reference Consortia , 2000 .

[19]  Jody Condit Fagan,et al.  Instant messaging reference: users’ evaluation of library chat , 2002 .

[20]  J. Walther.  Anticipated Ongoing Interaction Versus Channel Effects on Relational Communication in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1994 .

[21]  R. Rice,et al.  Electronic Emotion , 1987 .

[22]  Mary K. Chelton,et al.  The “overdue kid”: A face-to-face library service encounter as ritual interaction☆ , 1997 .

[23]  J. Bavelas,et al.  "I show how you feel": Motor mimicry as a communicative act. , 1986 .

[24]  Brenda Danet,et al.  "HMMM...WHERE'S THAT SMOKE COMING FROM?" Writing, Play and Performance on Internet Relay Chat , 1998, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[25]  Marie L. Radford,et al.  Communication Theory Applied to the Reference Encounter: An Analysis of Critical Incidents , 1996, The Library Quarterly.

[26]  Marie L. Radford,et al.  Web Research: Selecting, Evaluating, and Citing , 2005 .

[27]  T. D. Wilson.  Review of: Charles R. McClure, R. David Lankes, Melissa Gross and Beverly Choltco-Devlin. Statistics, measures and quality standards for assessing digital reference library services: guidelines and procedures. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University, Information Institute of Syracuse, 104 pp , 2003, Inf. Res..

[28]  J. Walther.  Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1992 .

[29]  P. Andersen,et al.  Handbook of Communication and Emotion , 1998 .

[30]  Marie L. Radford,et al.  The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library , 1999 .

[31]  J. Walther.  Impression Development in Computer-Mediated Interaction. , 1993 .

[32]  W. Koops,et al.  IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) , 1985 .

[33]  R. David Lankes,et al.  Assessing Quality in Digital Reference Services. , 2001 .

[34]  Marie L. Radford,et al.  Approach or Avoidance? The Role of Nonverbal Communication in the Academic Library User's Decision to Initiate a Reference Encounter , 1998, Libr. Trends.

[35]  Jo Bell Whitlatch.  Evaluating Reference Services in the Electronic Age , 2001, Libr. Trends.

[36]  Gary P. Radford.  Libraries, Librarians, and the Discourse of Fear , 2001, The Library Quarterly.

[37]  Landra L. Rezabek,et al.  Visual Cues in Computer-Mediated Communication: Supplementing Text with Emoticons , 1998 .

[38]  Grant Mccracken.  The long interview , 1988 .

[39]  Joseph B. Walther,et al.  The Impacts of Emoticons on Message Interpretation in Computer-Mediated Communication , 2001 .

[40]  Kim Carter,et al.  Type Me How You Feel: Quasi-Nonverbal Cues in Computer-Mediated Communication. (an Internet Fieldtrip Report) , 2003 .

[41]  Benita J. Howell.  Fleeting Encounters--A Role Analysis of Reference Librarian-Patron Interaction. , 1976 .

[42]  C. S. Ross,et al.  Negative closure : Strategies and counter-strategies in the reference transaction , 1998 .

[43]  J. Walther,et al.  Relational communication in computer-mediated interaction , 1990 .

[44]  Linda S. Gottfredson,et al.  Appendix B , 1977, Annals of the ICRP.

[45]  Margaret Jay,et al.  The Virtual Reference Desk: Creating a Reference Future , 2006, Program.

[46]  Mary K. Chelton.  Behavior of librarians in school and public libraries with adolescents : Implications for practice and LIS education , 1999 .