The Reference Department at the Samford University Library provides reference services in person, via telephone, via email and via instant messaging.

Email Reference

Email reference may be generated from a web form that is located on the library's web site: http://library.samford.edu/askalib.html or sent directly. Email reference questions are received and responded to from a general reference email account: referenc@samford.edu. This email account also has an alias that will be publicized: reference@samford.edu.

This service is intended for brief or factual inquiries only. Questions from Samford email addresses will receive a response (answer or request for clarification) by email, phone or fax within 24 hours, Monday through Thursday. Questions asked over the weekend or holidays will be answered within 24 hours of the first working day following the request day. Questions from non-Samford email addresses will be answered as time permits.

1)   Email reference should be answered by reference librarians at the reference desk. Therefore, no librarian should feel obligated to answer email reference questions unless he or she is scheduled for reference desk duty. Student assistants should not answer email reference questions.

2)   The email alias: reference@samford.edu will be the only email address that should be publicized. When referring to general email reference, please give this email address. On any general reference documentation, please use this email address only. However, when "logging in" to this account, you must use the proper address referenc@samford.edu.

3)   The account is accessed via the Outlook email client. The client is left "up" or active during reference daytime hours (8-4:30) on the reference desk computer. Reference librarians should check the reference email at least once during their scheduled shift at the reference desk. Every effort should be made by the librarian who received the email to answer the question and send a response. If this is not possible, the librarian should discuss the question with the next librarian who is scheduled for reference desk duty.

4)   As the Outlook client on the reference desk computer is designated as the reference email, no librarians or student assistants should use the desktop client on this computer to answer personal email. Please use the Outlook Express web version to check personal email. This prohibition is necessary during daytime reference hours only.

5)   Only librarians in the Reference Department are obligated to participate in email reference. However, any librarian who works nights or weekends should feel free to answer reference email questions.

6)   Unless otherwise requested by the patron, all responses to email reference should be made via email from the reference email account.

7)   A question should be considered active until a final answer is sent. Therefore, librarians should not delete or erase reference emails until they are sure that they have provided the correct answer. If a librarian asks for a clarification of the question via email, the original patron email should be left "active" until clarification is received and a response sent.

8)   To ensure patron privacy, do not print out reference questions. If you must print a question, take care to ensure that no one sees the patron information. Patron identification should always be kept confidential and is to be shared only on a "need-to-know" basis. Also, once a question is answered, please delete the patron email. Copies of reference "sent" emails are kept for one week, until anonymous information about the transaction is recorded for statistical purposes.

9)   All reference publications including pathfinders and instruction materials should contain the reference email address.

Chat Reference

Currently, reference questions can be directed to the reference desk computer through the following instant messaging software applications: Yahoo Chat, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, Meebo, and AOL Instant Messenger. All these applications are routed through the Meebo software application which has been downloaded to the reference desk. This interface allows more use by more users, as it does not require additional downloads by patrons if they already have a chat service established. It also permits the use of the Meebo Me! utility, which allows patrons to send chat questions without being signed in to any client. The Ask A Librarian link from library webpages will include information on the differing applications the reference desk account can accept.

The Meebo application should be left "up" during regular daytime reference hours. Librarians at the reference desk will use chat for answering short, factual reference questions, or for helping a patron begin research. All in-depth reference questions should be referred to the reference desk for personal help.

Chat reference should be answered by reference librarians at the reference desk. Therefore, no librarian should feel obligated to answer chat reference questions unless he or she is scheduled for reference desk duty. Student assistants should not answer chat reference questions.

To ensure patron privacy, do not print out reference transactions created during chat sessions. If you must print a question or transaction, take care to ensure that no patron information is included. Patron identification should always be kept confidential and is to be shared only on a "need-to-know" basis. Also, once a question is answered, please permanently delete any evidence of the chat session. Do not keep a copy, as the Reference Department has no plans at this time to document such questions beyond the statistics we keep at the desk.

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