Aardvark (or "Is Social Search the future for the library information/ reference service?")

Fellow colleague and liblogarian, Aaron Tan, blogged about this new social search service called Aardvark (vark.com).

A few weeks ago, Aaron emailed me an invite. I took it up but only after he followed up by speaking to me face to face (I've a point to make about this, at the end of the post).


WHAT THE VARK?
Aardvark works like this: You send a question and it finds someone who can answer. Or it will send you questions that you've told Aardvark you'd like to try answering.

The service isn't an Expert System. It doesn't answer your question but would try to find another member in its network who might be able to.


Signing up was a breeze. The set-up was systematic and intuitive.

A 20-second demo was enough to get one started (to the librarians out there, this is not to say 20 seconds was enough to educate potential librarians on the art of questioning and the Reference Interview... I wish it were that easy too!)


Basically, I specify the type of questions/ topics I'm most comfortable answering.


Then I tell Aardvark whether I'd like to talk to Aardvark via email or chat, or both (by "talk", it means how I wish Aardvark to send questions for me to answer, and how I'd like to send my own questions to Aardvark).


At the Aardvark dashboard, I can access the questions I've asked and also those I've answered. So far, my questions have not been answered. I've a choice whether to resubmit

It's unclear to me how continuous and proactive is Aardvark in attempting to match my questions with people who might be able to answer. Or how questions are queued and given priority.

Seems that there's a certain time frame that Aardvark will attempt the match, after which my question would be put on my History page. I have the option of resubmitting. In that sense, I guess my question is considered "closed". Aardvark might want to provide a "Remove my question" option there.


AARDVARK IN ACTION
When I log in to my Gmail account, I can see Aardvark as one of my contact.


To interact with Aardvark, I send a text command, like IRC (do people still do IRC now?)


This is one example of how questions are sent my way (in this case, I'd "pass"):


Here's what happens when I send a question to Aardvark. I asked, "Why is the sky blue?"

I was impressed that Aardvark prompted me for more details to my question. I can see how that would help the person who might potentially answer my question.

In this case, I didn't elaborate. Aardvark acknowledges my input and assigns it a subject (it must have drawn from its thesaurus or something).


A few minutes later, I received a response from someone whose profile indicated that he was in Sweden. His reply was, "Because it looks a lot better than yellow". Heh.


And very shortly after that, I received a better reply (this time I chose to look at the reply via the Vark dashboard):


From my dashboard, I can also rate the quality/ appropriateness of the reply. Or flag inappropriate responses. Aardvark also allows me to look at the profile (as much details as they choose to reveal) of those who've answered my question.



MY QUICK ASSESSMENT OF AARDVARK
Many aspects of Aardvark impresses me.

It's intuitive and simple to use. Usability and system functionality are excellent -- the ease of setup, how quickly I was able to familiarise myself with the dashboard, how I'm able to track the questions I've asked and also the answers I've received, the level of interactivity between the system and myself (and indirectly with other users).

It's clearly very accessible (the service is just an email and chat away).

Aardvark's developers have clearly considered the user experience. I've no doubt I'm interacting with a machine. Vark doesn't pretend to be more than what it's not. Still, I'm feel I'm treated as an individual and that my question is important. There's an approriate amount of feedback and responses are timely.


What is less certain is the quality of answers. Case in point: the responses to my "why is the sky blue" question.

The first response was clearly a joke. The second response was much better but what it lacked was the citation (this is my librarian training kicking in -- we're taught to always provide the source, so that users can also verify the information themselves).


IMPLICATIONS FOR LIBRARY REFERENCE SERVICE CONCEPT
It's easy to adopt the system feature of Aardvark, but I'd suggest what is impressive about aardvark isn't its system features but its idea of utilising social network to fulfil an information need.

More important, Aardvark respresents a paradigm shift in where we librarians see ourselves in the user's information search process.

Librarians often treat a question as "completed" when we have sent off the reply. We see ourselves as the final stop in the user's information search. But looking at Aardvark, it is clear that one individual's reply is but one facet of the many responses the information seeker could potentially receive.

Which means, librarians have to see ourselves as merely participants in the users' information search and NOT a "one-stop" or "only-stop".

To put it bluntly, it's time to step down from the professional pedestal.

Aardvark forces us librarians to see that the user ultimately assesses the answer based on its relevance and not primarly WHO provides the answer.

I've heard fellow colleagues tout that the information services provided by librarians are superior because of our training and expertise. I'd humbly suggest those aren't selling points that users can relate to. To put it bluntly, users don't care about your credentials as much as the answers they can get immediately and whether they find the information relevant.


WILL AARDVARK SPELL THE DOOM FOR REFERENCE SERVICES IN LIBRARIES?
My snappy answer is 'No'.

At one level, this is an excellent wake-up call for librarians. An impetus to reassess the way we deliver reference and reader-advisory services. We librarians can see Aardvark as a competitor and we'd better react to it.

When I say "competitor", I mean a friendly one. There's no need to treat Aardvark as an adversary. I'd take it as a benchmark and a model to re-think our service.

Two, I see a service like Aardvark as something that would raise the overall awareness of Information and Reference Services among the library potential customers. For example, a person might not have used the library or any information service before Aardvark. If librarians time it right and leverage on heightened awareness, it serves as a way to promote our service.

Three, librarians should see Aardvark as a space where we become community members and participants. If we establish our credentials, as those who consistently provide answers which other community member rate highly, then I'm confident people might turn to us directly.

Aardvark might be a chance for librarians to reinforce our Brand. E.g. we'd never give a frivilous answer to "why the sky is blue".

Four, librarians (who have the competencies and passion) would automatically have an advantage over most users in terms of professional standards. I don't mean librarians neccessarily "provide better information". What I mean is the way librarians (in general) are trained to provide citations, verify and triangulate sources etc.


CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
In Aaron's post, he wrote: "Like it or not, librarians are not the first people [others] think about whenever [they] need to know something".

I feel we have to accept that as a permanent reality.

To any librarian who does not believe and accept that reality, I'll ask them this: When you have a question on what to eat for lunch or where to visit during your vacation, do you ask a friend or a stranger?

I'll go back to my earlier point, about how I tried out Aardvark only after Aaron spoke to me face to face. I'd left his email invite sitting in my email in-box for days. It was only after he explained how it works and said "You have to try it" that I decided to do so.

I'm not suggesting librarians try to be friends with everyone. We can't.

What I'm saying is that the way to go is for librarians to be part of people's social networks. Granted, critics will say this isn't scalable but I'd argue we're not giving up the in-library service.

It's about extending our reach.

Having one finger out there -- being a friend to one person in the community -- is better than none at all.

[Update 16 May 09: If you wish to try out Aardvark, leave a comment with your email or email me, indicating three topics you see yourself answering. I'll send you an invite. As of this post, Aardvark is 'by invite' only].

Why do we use water to bathe? (or, "The Librarian & the Advisory & Enquiry Service")

Some people might think this is a silly question.

I think not.

You might or might not have sought help from a librarian for a question. I don't know about other libraries in Singapore or overseas. At the NLB public libraries, we actively encourage people to ask anything.

Some people (librarians included) question the logic in encouraging people to "ask anything". What if they ask "stupid questions"?

I'd say the REAL question is, "What is a Stupid Question?"

It's my sincere belief that there is no silly question; not if your intent is sincere. Granted there are people who make statements disguised as a question, or that their intent in asking the question is suspect. Nevertheless, I believe a truly competent librarian can take on any question and use it as an opportunity to advise, educate, and promote the library's service and collection.

Librarians need to tell their customers, "It's OK to ask anything".

Questions are sometimes not asked the right way, but I don't think it's right for librarians to consider any question stupid or silly.

The worse thing that can happen is when the library customer (particularly a child or young person) asks a question with sincere intent, only to be met with scorn (in words or subtle action) by the librarian who thinks it's a "silly question". That's akin to professional suicide. It's likely that the child or young person would never ask a question to any librarian, ever. Then libraries would wonder why enquiries aren't forthcoming. Library administrators would start asking if hours or staffing headcount ought to be reduced since the enquiry service isn't in demand.

Here's another way of looking at the "silly question" issue: if it's true that "one person's poison is another person's food", then I say one person's silly question is another person's enlightenment.

IM chat with Lansing PL Adult Ref librarian

Just before I submitted my earlier post, I was conversing with the Lansing PL librarian via their Instant Messenging (IM) reference service , over at their Adult Services blog. Chicago (of which Lansing PL is a suburb) is 9,372 miles (or 15,083 km) from Singapore.

This was my first experience with an IM reference service, and it left me with an excellent impression. My key take-aways:

• IM does not mean instant answers, but users may expect that. Libraries offering such services should manage user's expectations accordingly. Could be as simple as informing the user how long they would get the answer they want.

• IM reference offers strategic value to libraries. The logic as follows: Teens take to IM easily, more so (I suspect) than walk-in reference questions for the initial question. Offering IM is in effect cultivating future users and supporters of libraries.

• I think generally only users familiar with IM itself would use the IM reference service (I speak for myself, and I'm confirming this as I learn more). Which is why adults are slower to use IM.So libraries trying to start IM reference either targets at Teens primarily, or offer User Education sessions to adults.
  

I had the pleasure of conversing with Patty Higgins, the Head of Reference and the Assistant Director of Lansing PL. Here's the transcript of the chat session (posted with permission):

ramblinglibrarian: Hi - just checking if anyone is there. I'm from Singapore.

asklpladult: Sorry for the long delay in response.....I didn't notice the IM notice at first. I'm working the Reference Desk and doing a report on the computer and was too focused on what I was doing.
[P.S. I'm thinking, "We're thousands of miles away... What delay?" ~ RamblingLibrarian]

ramblinglibrarian: Hello there! No problem at all. I'm curious -- what day & time is it over there? It's... 11.31pm, Sat May 14 here (I'm at home right now).

asklpladult: It is Saturday morning....about 10:30 a.m. at the moment.

ramblinglibrarian: Hope I'm not distracting you from work or readers. If you can spare the time, would you mind answering a few questions?

asklpladult: It is quiet and there are others at the desk to take care of the patrons. We are kind of new at the IM concept. What questions do you have?

ramblinglibrarian: I've interviewed Kelli (via email) about the IM service. So since I'm talking to you (an actual "operator"), I thought it would be good to get your perspective, if that's ok.

asklpladult: Ok. We only get a few messages a week at the adult reference desk. I understand it is busier in the Teen and Youth sections of the library.

ramblinglibrarian: How do staff answering the IM service feel about it?

asklpladult: It is still so new... I've had a couple of good exchanges with patrons, and then a few "crank" messages. The "I hate all of you--do you ever READ a book" kind of message. No response when I responded.

ramblinglibrarian: What's your take then? Do you see it as a good thing to provide to your users?

asklpladult: I think it is a good thing -- or it will be when it catches on more. As I said, the teens and youth seem to use it more. Adults seem a little slower to embrace new technology. The one extensive back-and-forth exchange I had with a patron was actually a teen. I think it will be a good service once it catches on.

ramblinglibrarian: Here's a reference question -- What's the distance between Lansing PL and Singapore? (I'm asking partly to see how your IM ref works, as well as posting the info for my blog).

asklpladult: Let me look that up....might take me a few minutes....

ramblinglibrarian: ok, i'll wait.
[About 5 minutes later]

asklpladult: According to World Almanac, air miles between Chicago and Singapore is 9,372 miles (We are a suburb of Chicago). I try to name the source when I answer a question.

ramblinglibrarian: Very cool! Now I'm hooked on IM reference... ... How do you market the IM ref service to adults?

asklpladult: We market it on our website and with small brochures in the library. It's marketed heavily to the schools, especially the high school. It is easy to reach the students -- they are all in one place at school. With adults, it is trickier. We have also mentioned it in the newsletter that is mailed to every household in Lansing.

ramblinglibrarian: I understand you service both the IM ref service and for walk-in users too. Isn't that distracting?

asklpladult: It can be... today is fine because there are other staff here. One time I had two IMs coming in at the same time while I happened to be alone at the reference desk during a supper hour. One patron got kind of snotty about my response time with the IM. Turns out she doesn't even live in Lansing. She was from a town considerably outside out service area. From some of her comments I think she had other issues than just me not jumping fast enough for her. Other people are understanding that I have to respond to the LIVE, standing in front of my desk patrons first.

ramblinglibrarian: Which brings to mind -- what kind of training do staff receive to handle such situations?

asklpladult: It hasn't come up very often. I'm the only one who ran into the situation. We are all veteran staff, so I think we will handle it the same as we do when others get irate over the telephone or other situations. You do the best you can and explain as best you can. Most people are reasonable. We haven't done any special training.

ramblinglibrarian: So you don't think IM ref is any different from "traditional" ref?

asklpladult: Not really. I tend to be wordy, which will probably be a problem if people are in a situation where they prefer short, rapid answers.

ramblinglibrarian: Just curious -- does your chat-handling software queue the IM chat requests?

asklpladult: I don't know....the time I had two, both windows were open at the same time. I just juggled them as best I could. I don't think it indicates who was first.

ramblinglibrarian: What about training to deal with the IM environment? Was this part of your preparation?

asklpladult: It was pretty brief -- it isn't very complicated. It is more of a "getting used to it". I use IM in my personal life and at least one other staff member has used it, so we are fairly comfortable. I'm not sure about the others. I'll ask.....

ramblinglibrarian: (aside -- how are you asking? IMing them?)

asklpladult: No, very low tech. I turned around and ask the other two people on the desk with me. Neither of them have ever handled an IM question yet. Michael commented that a lot of what we do requires time, which doesn't lend itself to "instant" responses.

ramblinglibrarian: LOL (I meant the low-tech bit). The statement about expectations about IM and the time taken to handle ref questions is very real. So how do you all manage user's expectations?

asklpladult: It is hard to judge yet. There haven't been a lot of IM questions at this desk. The longest exchange I had was a student looking for several novels, and she had a question about a book she had been waiting for which was long overdue. She wanted to know what she could do about getting it from another library. It was sort of a text exchange of what could have just as easily been a telephone call.

ramblinglibrarian: OK, last few questions... Where do you see your IM ref service heading or developing?

asklpladult: I suppose as students become "adult" patrons or have more reference related questions instead of readers' advisory we will probably see more. I think this is going to be a "wait and see" situation.

ramblinglibrarian: What's your advice/ suggestions for a library deciding to go for IM ref?

asklpladult: I would suggest some mock situations where everyone gets a chance to try it to see how the interface works. Here I actually have two staff members who have never used the IM method. We have the software running, but there just hasn't been much traffic. I would suggest librarians treat it as just another way to interact with patrons. We do everything over the telephone if patrons call and this is no different (except spelling counts). I cringe when I realize I've sent a message with typos.

ramblinglibrarian: What would you advise your users who want to use IM?

asklpladult: I would suggest users just try it. We still have people who come in person and won't call on the telephone.

ramblinglibrarian: OK, that's all my questions! You've been really helpful. May I know who I've had the pleasure of chatting?

asklpladult: I'm Patty Higgins, the Head of Reference and the Assistant Director.

Thanks again to Patty. BTW, I'd love to learn more from librarians or even users who've had experience with IM reference.

[Tag: chat reference, IM reference, rambling librarian interview]

Lansing PL's IM Reference service

I got to know Kelli Staley (Lansing Public Library) from writing about their blogs. We corresponded and I ended up asking her about the Instant Messenging (IM) feature in their library blogs. She has kindly shared this (via email 28 Apr 05):

In a nutshell, how does your IM Reference Service work (from the user's point of view)?
Users log onto their preferred messaging software and send us an IM. Staff then responds to the question, or conducts the typical reference interview to determine the appropriate response to the question.

If the research involved will take a little while, I've instructed staff to ask for a phone number or email address to contact the patron, and to let the patron know they need a few minutes to research their question.


Where did you learn about IM Reference?
October 2004, I attended my first ILA (Illinois Library Association) Conference. While at the
conference, I attended a session called "Top Technology Trends for Libraries 2004."

Obviously the title caught my attention, but I also figured I'd gain some relevant insight since one of the presenters was Jenny Levine (TheShiftedLibrarian.com) of Metropolitan Library System (MLS). Our public library is a member of MLS. Jenny spoke of social software and tools such as, Flickr & Furl.

She also talked about the milestone that Aaron Schmidt (walkingpaper.org) of another MLS member library (Thomas Ford Memorial Library) had just celebrated. In a short time,
they had logged 100 IM transactions.

A former America Online user, and current Yahoo Messenger user, I was already aware of issues interfering with an AOL user sending a message to a Yahoo user. Once I heard about Trillian and its ability to deal with multiple messenger brands, I thought ... If Aaron can do this, why can't we?

I found the prospect of patrons connecting to OUR staff a real plus. The price can't be beat either!


How did your IM Reference begin?
Post-Conference, each of us that attended met to report back on what we had learned. Our Library Director has always liked being on the cutting-edge in offering services to our patrons. I told the group what I had learned, and got immediate approval to start IM Reference. It was at this point we decided on separate screen names for each department to help target the questions to the appropriate people.


What kind of stats do you track?
We use a low-tech method (a paper form) of tracking our reference questions. We revised the form to provide a column for them to check-off how the question was placed: in person, via email, via phone, or IM. The IM questions are counted with the other reference questions for the month.


Do you measure the outcomes and effectiveness, like no. of enquiries or even loans?
Not at this time.


Does your library have any concerns about network vulnerability? How did you work around them?
Our entire network is inside a firewall and we run Norton Internet Security on all our staff workstations.


Any issues (systems or user) faced? And how it's resolved?
I've found that the "away message" on Trillian expires after about an hour or two. Some staff forget to log out, and instead set the away message when the library closes for the day. I have the library screen names buddy listed on my personal messaging list, and if I see them logged on after hours, I log onto Trillian, which disconnects the library's connection, then I properly log out. (Improved staff training on this issue seems to be helping.)


Can you share how your staff are scheduled to provide the IM service? A bit of your internal work process.
Staff at our Reference Desks log on to Trillian as part of their daily routine. Our "official" statement on our website says "This service will be available during library hours when Reference staff members are available to answer questions."

I have Trillian set up on each staff machine in the department, but we've learned only 1 machine can be logged on to the account at a time. (The last person to log on, receives all incoming messages for that particular screen name.)

Each shift, staff decide amongst themselves who's going to log on and watch for incoming messages. Sometimes, other duties take staff away from the desk, and we log out until available to answer questions.

Kelli is the Department Head of Information Technology at Lansing Public Library. She's also the library's Webmaster, and Designer & Editor of the Library's newsletter, Limited Edition. She received her BA in Graphic Design from Columbia College, Chicago.

She also adds:

I've worked at Lansing Public Library since June of 1990. I started as a shelver or "page" in 1990, then later moved on to Technical Services, then moved on to Adult Services (programming, reader's advisory, outreach and publicity) and as my job duties shifted, I became Head of IT in 2004.

Lansing is a south suburb of Chicago, IL with a population of 28,332 people (just under 13,000 residences). Our annual circulation is 195,794.

My thanks to Kelli. She has a blog at http://www.kellistaley.com/blog.htm

BTW, as I'm posting this, I'm also IMing with the Lansing PL librarian manning the Adult Reference desk. It's Sat 14 May, 11.40pm as I type this at home, and I'm conversing with a librarian thousands of kilometers in the US (it's Sat 10.30am over at their end). I'll post the interview shortly. How cool is that?!


[Tag: public library blog, chat reference, IM reference, rambling librarian interview]