At UCI Libraries, creating easy-to-use reference services for patrons is a primary focus. These services include 24/7 chat reference and online one-on-one research appointments, which made the transition to a remote reference environment easy to accomplish. Faculty and students have adopted these virtual services with aplomb.
In Spring 2020, when classes went remote due to COVID-19, the Libraries experienced an astounding 70% increase in questions asked via chat. While many students and faculty have now adapted to remote research, chat reference remains popular.
In Fall 2020, the UCI Libraries had a 30% increase in questions asked in chat compared to Fall 2019. While undergraduates use chat reference the most (45% of our users are undergraduates), graduate students also make regular use of chat (30%). Staff, faculty, and researchers at both the Irvine campus and the Medical Center in Orange also regularly use chat reference, comprising 17% of our users.
While the chat reference service provides immediate help for many questions, one-on-one in-depth research assistance remains a priority for librarians. Recently, the Libraries revamped the “Make an Appointment” page, so students and faculty can easily identify a librarian in their subject area and book an online research consultation.
UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives have also expanded services to help researchers who are working remotely by providing complimentary scans of up to six items per patron request and remote archival research services in lieu of on-site visits to the Special Collections and Archives Reading Room. While limited on-site access to the collections for staff has been a challenge, the implementation of special collections management software Aeon over the summer empowered over 100 patrons to request over 340 items totaling over 9,000 individual scans since August 2020.
The Libraries are excited by the success of the virtual reference services and look forward to working in-person again with students, faculty, and researchers.
For more information or questions about reference remote services, please contact Head of Reference and the Grunigen Medical Library, Cynthia Johnson at cynthiaj@uci.edu.
For more information or questions about UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives remote services, please contact Outreach and Public Services Librarian, Derek Quezada at quezadad@uci.edu.