To strengthen reference service, the Information Services Management Committee (ISMC) is proposing to introduce "reference roving" as a usual feature of service offered from the main Information Services desks in Davis and Porter. Reference roving is a pro-active approach that involves staff circulating among people in the reference area and offering assistance. ISMC is planning a pilot project intended to identify issues/concerns that need to be considered before making a final decision about whether to introduce the service on an on-going basis. A list of anticipated benefits of reference roving and details of the pilot project follow.
Rovers will be able to provide assistance to those who are uncomfortable asking for help, to those who would benefit from some assistance but don't realize it, and to those who simply don't want to leave a workstation long enough to get help.
Through roving, staff will be better positioned to project friendliness and approachability.
As the rover is seen/heard helping one person, others who would not necessarily go to the desk might ask for on-the-spot assistance.
Those who have never asked for assistance but are helped by a rover, or overhear a rover helping someone else, may begin to understand the kind of help we can provide, and the value that it has for them, and may be encouraged to seek assistance in future.
By offering assistance to those already at a workstation, the rover will be able to more quickly determine what the user is looking for, what approach they've taken so far, what problems they're encountering, and what kind of assistance best suits their needs.
Through closer contact with our clients, we will learn more about how they approach their research and use our website. This knowledge should help us identify ways of improving the website and improve service in general.
Because we will be increasing the amount of time that staff spend in the workstations area, we may identify problems such as broken links and malfunctioning software or hardware more quickly.
Line-ups at the desk may decline because people are getting more immediate and speedier assistance within the workstations area.
Who Will Rove and When?
We recognize that some people may be uncomfortable, at least initially, with
reference roving. We will, however, encourage all desk staff to participate
in the pilot project. Roving will take place whenever two people are scheduled
at the desk; one person will stay at the desk, the other will rove. The schedule
will be developed as it now is and those scheduled for a given shift will determine
between themselves how to share the roving activity.
Where Will the Rover Work?
We anticipate that rovers will spend most of their time in the workstations
area. However, when in a rover's judgement there is merit in doing so, he or
she may also go into the print collection area and provide assistance to those
using this collection.
What Will the Rover Do?
Rovers will monitor what's going on at the workstations, or elsewhere in the
reference area, and offer assistance as seems appropriate. When a client accepts
an offer of assistance, the rover will provide the same type and level of service
as is provided to those who inquire at the desk. Rovers should try to avoid
spending an undue amount of time with any one person. If a
rover notices line-ups building at the desk, he or she should return to the
desk to assist people there.
How Will the Rover Approach People?
Rovers will wear an ASK ME button or tag so that clients know that they are
staff members and will approach people with a question along the lines of "are
you finding what you're looking for?" or "how is your search going?"
(we'll try to avoid asking "can I help you"?). When people indicate
that they would like some help, the rover will provide it. When people indicate
that things are going well, the rover should move along. It's important to be
sensitive to individual responses and to avoid trying to help someone who isn't
interested. Also, when it's clear from the screen that clients are not doing
academic work, we should leave them alone.
What Does All of this Mean for the Person Still at the Desk?
This may be the most interesting thing that we find out during the trial. Will
the desk person be left answering mostly directional questions? Will there be
the usual range of questions? Will the number of people approaching the desk
be as it usually is or will it be greater or smaller? One way or the other,
the person remaining at the desk should respond to questions as they do when
two are located there. In other words, the desk person should handle each question
completely, leaving the desk when necessary. The desk person should not refer
clients to the rover simply because the rover is already at the workstations
or in the reference area.
When Will the Pilot Project Take Place?
We're planning to start the pilot project on Monday, October 30, and continue
until Friday, December 1. Because these weeks are typically quite busy, we should
gain a full range of experience and still have time to assess the pilot and
make a final decision about continuing roving before the beginning of the winter
term.
For the most part, reference roving requires the same skills as are needed for work at the reference desk. In addition, rovers need to develop an ability to approach people in a manner that is comfortable and effective for both the rover and the client. This ability will come naturally and easily to some people, but others may have to develop it through trial and error and by sharing experiences.
ISMC needs to give more thought to how we will evaluate the pilot project, but at this point we plan to gather data through a statistics form and to develop a questionnaire to be completed by all rovers at the end of the project.