Class Visits

 

On many occasions, an entire classroom may log into the local virtual reference service to ask a question.   When large groups of students who appear to be from the same class all simultaneously click to chat with a librarian, we call this a "class bomb".  We are all pleased when students discover the service, since this provides an opportunity to introduce students to the concept that librarians are there to assist with reference needs.  However, it can certainly be overwhelming when an entire class logs in at the same time, especially since this takes up the capacity of the network very quickly.

The best thing to do is for the local library to contact the instructor, so that instructor can give the class information on how to get the most out of the service.  Many services have put a “class visit” link on their websites, so that instructors can schedule times for classes to come in (so that the local library can add more librarians at that time, to handle the increased workload).  Examples:

QandANJ (http://www.qandanj.org/schools/index.htm)

AskHerePA (http://206.106.138.225/form-visits.htm)

Oregon (http://www.oregonlibraries.net/classvisits).

Meanwhile, if you are staffing the Cooperative and you suddenly have 50 students in the queue, here are some simple steps to follow:

1. If the patron library has a class visit script, send that.  A sample class visit script may say something like this NJ class visit script:

“It appears a group of students is logging in at the same time. To better serve you, group and class visits must be scheduled in advance. I just sent you a page with information on how to schedule a visit. Please share this with your teacher. You may also want to check out the resources at the bottom of that page: www.qandanj.org/schools.htm#students”

If your service does get numerous class visits, then please do add a "class visit" link to your website, and a "class visit" script to your scripted messages.  This will assist the other Cooperative members when helping your students.

2.  Most of the students are happy with one or two web pages.  Once you say hello to the student, go ahead and send a web page to get them started. Usually you won’t need to spend a lot of time with each student.  If they need additional information, suggest that they talk to their school librarian to get additional assistance. It is not uncommon for students to use a shared email, or an email that is not their own.  Thus it is better, for class visits, that you not send to Follow Up but rather to suggest that the students consult with their school librarian, if additional assistance is needed.

Many librarians in the Cooperative have been monitoring during a "class bomb".  Please share your best practices concerning class visits with the group!

Regards,

Susan McGlamery

QuestionPoint

[email protected]

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