Ask Us 24/7 - Virtual Reference Resources

Guidelines

• RUSA: Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers - Includes guidelines in three areas of reference work: in-person, remote, and general (which applies to both). Please make note of the remote and general guidelines.
• IFLA: Digital Reference Guidelines - The section titled The Practice of Digital Reference includes tips for online reference transactions.

Chat/IM Culture:

• HTML Source: Chat Acronyms - a list of the most common acronyms used in chat
• Webopedia: Text Messaging, Chat Abbreviations & Smiley Faces - a longer, more comprehensive listing of acronyms

Articles

• How to be a person: Tips and tricks for virtual reference - C&RL News, November 2009.
  
• Let's Fix Virtual Reference. Library Journal, February 1, 2009.
• The Effects of Librarians’ Behavioral Performance on User Satisfaction in Chat Reference Services. Reference & User Services Quarterly, volume 47, issue 2, 2008.
• Encountering Virtual Users: A Qualitative Investigation of Interpersonal Communication in Chat Reference. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Volume 57, Issue 8 , Pages 1046 - 1059, April 25, 2006