Servicio de V

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Still navigating across the Atlantic a view of a
Virtual Reference Service for Academic Libraries
University of Cádiz, Spain Rosario Gestido del
Olmo Ricardo Carrero Galofré Leonor Fernández
Alfaro Ricardo Chamorro Rodríguez Carmen Franco
Barroso
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1. Background

• Universities are in the process of implementing a
  new model of European Higher Education following
  the Bologna Declaration
• Traditional reference services have benefited
  from the new technologies of information and
  communication
• Via Virtual is a virtual reference service
  designed by the University of Cadiz Library as a
  strategy in response to the new European
  educational model.

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(No Transcript)
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University of Cadiz campuses
The University of Cadiz Campuses
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2. Via Virtual Project Phases

• Software evaluation and acquisition
• Setting of parameters
• Training of the reference staff
• Development of procedures
• Launch and diffusion

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Evaluation and acquisition of the software
Convey System by OCLC
Virtual Reference Toolkit by Tutor. Com (before
LSSI)
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Setting of parameters
Virtual Reference Service
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Reference staff training

• LSSI delivered distance training (software
  handling)
• Staff had to know the resources well, possess a
  capacity for sythesis and keep up-to-date with
  information resources
• Staff were volunteers and highly motivated
• Staff had to be able to orientate and direct the
  user in searching for and locating information

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Procedures for the use of the service

• Instructions for the Librarian
• Manual for Virtual Reference Librarians
• Recommendations for Communication via Chat

• Instructions for the user
• What kind of questions can you ask?
• How do you use it?
• Technical Problems

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3. Service in Operation
Access from the librarys web page - UCA
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UNM Vía virtual access (Ask a Librarian)
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Service in operationStarting a Via Virtual
session
Librarian 1
User
Librarian 2
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User interface
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Frequently-Asked Questions
If the service is not operative, users have the
possibility of communication via email.
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Librarian Interface
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Via Virtual makes it possible to
co-browse web pages
send presentations
send documents
search the catalogue
save a transcript of the session
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Co-browsing web pages
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Sending documents in PDF
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Searching the catalogue
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Receiving a transcript of the session
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4. Statistics and Evaluation Data
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Evaluation of the Queries

• Users have queries of the following types
• Circulation Service loans, renewals,
  reservations and their user details.
• Problems connecting to the resources.
• Queries regarding information, book and reference
  resource searches
• Queries from other institutions interested in how
  the service works.

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THE NEW MEXICO TEAM
THE CADIZ TEAM
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• Thank you for your attention