Librarians Answer Questions Online

While sending an instant message is all it now takes to ask a Harvard librarian a question, few undergraduates have taken advantage of the service launched earlier this month.

On Oct. 1, Harvard College Library released the new program “Ask Us Live!” that connects students with librarians Thursday through Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The system operates through the web messenger Meebo, which requires no downloads and can access Google, AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN accounts. Students can reach the service through a link in the upper left-hand corner of HCL’s Web site.

Participating librarians undergo a 10-minute training session to practice instant messaging through Meebo. During the service’s hours, they answer questions while conducting their normal duties so that productivity does not decrease.

Questions asked through these online chats have been short and simple, and usually consist of queries about library hours or the availability of a specific book, according to Joe Bourneuf, the head of the reference section in Widener Library.

Bourneuf also said that students who have longer, more complicated questions—such as those regarding senior theses—should still contact the librarian of their academic department.

“IM is only good for short and simple conversations,” he said.

Deborah Kelley-Millburn, who is a research librarian in Widener, said she expects the new program to answer the growing number of questions she has fielded during her five years managing comments and queries.

According to the HCL Web site, students submit an average of 750 messages each month through the HCL site, the Harvard Libraries site, and the HOLLIS reference e-mail address.

“We expect there is definitely a need for this,” she said.

Despite Kelley-Millburn’s expectations, few students use, or even know about, Ask Us Live!

Still in its pilot stage, the program has received a “disappointing” number of student queries, Bourneuf said. Each day, the librarians answer from one to three questions, he said.

Undergraduate Council President Matthew L. Sundquist ’09 said that while he thinks the program is a “fabulous” idea, more needs to be done to advertise it.

Bourneuf said he has requested that Houses e-mail their lists about the new program. He also said that HCL is publicizing the program through this week’s Yard Bulletin.

In the future, Ask Us Live! may be extended to hours after 9:00 p.m. if traffic to the site increases, he added.