Development of Digital Reference Services

In the early 1970s, online searching was introduced in libraries (Neufeld and Cornog, 1986, p.184; Stabler, 1993, p.16; Straw, 2002, p.4). It helped to process and access the vast amount of bibliographic information effectively. It also helped to compile research bibliographies online speedily and accurately (Straw, 2002, p.4). With the advent of online searching, a number of organisations started to produce databases and all the main indexing and abstracting services began to computerise their operations with a view to reducing production costs and time as much as possible to provide online access. The number of databases rose from 300 in 1975 to 2400 in 1984. In 1990, the most commonly used databases in academic and research libraries were MEDLINE, ERIC, BIOSIS, PsycInfo, Dissertation Abstracts, CAB, CA File, Inspec, Social Science Citation Index (Neufeld and Cornog, 1986, pp.184-185; Stabler, 1993, p. 17).

Straw (2002, p.5) notes that online searching was first introduced in the reference section of the libraries. In the UK, at the beginning, online searching

20 was conducted by scientists/subject experts or information professionals who acted as search intermediaries for end-users. Owing to factors, such as skills required to access online search services, knowledge of several command languages to communicate with the host computer, familiarity with subject scope and structure of different databases, charges involved in accessing online search services which were mostly based on the time spent online for doing a search, the end users were not perceived to be capable of doing searches on their own (Hartley et al. 1990, pp. 208-210; Armstrong and Hartley 1997, p. 6). As part of a British Library Research and Development Department research programme for studying the use of existing online bibliographic information systems, the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology explored attitudes and reactions of end-users to online information retrieval systems during 1974-75. The data were collected on the technical, economic and user aspects of the online bibliographic systems to assist scientists/information professionals to assess when and how to use those systems. A comparison was made between the queries searched by intermediaries and those searched by end-uses on their own. The results revealed that intermediaries took about 43% of the time taken by end-users to conduct a search, and intermediaries retrieved 72% more references than the end-users. The study concluded that end-users could not be expected to operate a relatively complex information retrieval system without having required knowledge and expertise (Williams and Curtis, 1977). Tedd’s study of twelve organizations in Britain and Europe in 1977 discovered that all organizations believed that online searching was best conducted by intermediaries (Tedd 1979 cited in Henry et al. 1980, p.97). In 1986, a survey conducted by the Association for Information Management revealed that 91 percent of online searches were carried out by intermediaries employed in British libraries and information units, while only 9 percent were done by the end-users (Sippings, Ramsden and Turpie, 1987 cited in Hartley et al. 1990, p.212).

Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) was introduced in libraries in the mid-1980s (Stabler, 1993, p.15; Straw, 2002, p. 7). A number of standard bibliographic databases and non-bibliographic materials, such as

21 encyclopaedias, dictionaries, directories and other reference sources appeared on CD-ROMs. CD-ROM was considered the first computer technology that helped the users to search and access computer database on their own (Straw, 2002, pp. 6-7). A survey of member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) conducted in 1990 revealed that an average of twenty-one databases were available in these libraries on CD-ROMs (Stabler, 1993, p. 15).

With the advent of the Internet, libraries expanded the role of reference service beyond the use of mail, telephone and fax and started to provide reference service through the Internet. One of the first reference services provided through the Internet was ‘Electronic Access to Reference Service (EARS)’, which was launched by the University of Maryland Health Sciences Library, Baltimore, USA in 1984. This service started to provide reference assistance to users via e-mail (Still and Campbell, 1993, p.16; Wasik, 1999). The Indiana University Libraries developed an e-mail system named ‘Libraries Information and Reference Network (LIRN)’ and began to offer e-mail access to users in 1987 (Still and Campbell, 1993, p.16). In the early 1990s, a number of academic and public libraries started to provide reference services via e-mail. Some specific services meant for specific users’ communities, such as Joan of Art (1993) (a service of the National Museum of American Art), ASKERIC (1992) (a project of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology), and the Virtual Reference Desk (a collaborative service that provides support to Ask-an-Expert services) started to provide reference services via e-mail. The School of Information at the University of Michigan, USA launched IPL (Internet Public Library) in 1995. It was the first public library that provided e-mail based reference assistance, access to online collections and a story hour for children (Kresh, 2003, pp.20-22).

With the advent of the World Wide Web, libraries adopted the web form for submission of users’ reference questions. A survey of 150 academic libraries in the USA, conducted in the middle of 1999, revealed that 67 libraries (44.7%) offered DRS to their users. Of these 67 academic libraries, 28 libraries provided reference service via e-mail, whereas 44 libraries offered the service through web forms (Janes, Carter and Memmot, 1999, pp.146-148). Apart from libraries,

22 different types of non-profit organisations started a number of ask-an-expert services on the Internet through web forms and e-mail. In addition to these non- profit educational services, some commercial websites also started to offer reference services through the Internet, for example “Abuzz”, which became much popular among the Internet users (Coffman and McGlamery, 2000 cited in kasowitz, 2001).

At the beginning, libraries started to provide e-mail reference. With the introduction of the World Wide Web and proliferation of information and communication technologies, libraries began to explore and adopt various asynchronous and synchronous tools, such as web forms and chat products for reference transactions. Keeping in view the emerging requirements of libraries, software vendors started to design and develop products for DRS (Penka, 2003). As it is difficult to conduct a reference interview through e-mail, libraries tried to find some means to conduct a face-to-face transaction in the web environment, and started to use real-time reference tools ranging from chat technologies and instant messaging software to more sophisticated Web contact centre software. Chat technology that enables the reference librarian to communicate with the user in real time was first experimented by the Internet Public Library in 1995 (Kasowitz, 2001). Kresh (2003, p.21) points out that Bill Drew at Suny Morrisville, New York has the credit of initiating the first chat reference in 1998. The Santa Monica Public Library in California was first public library that started chat reference in 2000.