Page 119 - DLIS407_INFORMATION AND LITERATURE SURVEY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Information and Literature Survey in Social Sciences

Notes

Did u Know? What is the meaning of gateway?
A gateway is defined as a facility that allows easier access to network
based resources in a given subject area. Gateways provide a simple search
facility and a much-enhanced service through a resource database and
indexes, which can be searched through a web based interface.

Self Assessment
State whether the following statements are True or False:
6. Gateways are subject-centric in the sense that they host only information related to a particular
subject.
7. Gateways provide a simple search facility and a much-enhanced service through a resource
database and indexes, which can be searched through a web based interface.

13.5 Virtual References

Virtual reference is now a hot topic in libraries and many libraries are moving their reference service
online. There are numerous initiatives at local, national and international levels, and new ways and
means are being adopted to provide virtual reference services. Online reference service started way back
in 1980s with libraries providing e-mail reference services through a web form, responding to user’s
questions in hours or days. The year 2000 saw the advent of live reference service with introduction
of chat or commercial call centre software to communicate with users in real time. The Library of
Congress started its Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) project during this period to
test provision of professional library quality reference service to users anytime and anywhere (24/7
access), through an international digital network of libraries. CDRS offered a means to take advantage
of individual librarian’s subject expertise and the power of local library collection and provide 24/7
services at one stop shopping convenience of the web. It is a viable model for librarians to meet the
user’s increasing expectation for instantaneous delivery of information.
Web based reference service can be categorised into two types - passive services and active services.
Passive services are those in which links are provided and the users have to help themselves in
searching and retrieving information. This covers use of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and
links to e-resources such as subject guides, lists, journal and other e-content. The active services on the
other hand involves one-to-one interaction with the reference librarian either through asynchronous
modes viz. form based e-mail, listservs, ask a librarian etc. or it could be synchronous mode viz. online
chats, instant messaging, video conferencing, etc. in real time. Real time software enables librarians
to push websites to a user’s browsers while chatting and also provide the complete transcript of the
chat session to their e-mail account. CRM (Customer Relations Management) software has emerged as
one of the latest technology that is being used for the purpose of virtual reference. Docutek’s Virtual
Reference Librarian and Convey System’s eGain and Question Point are examples of such CRM
products which have been adopted for use in library settings. These products offer features like user
queuing, ability to push text, images, files and web pages; escorting and co-browsing, application
sharing, pre-defined or standardised responses, routable queries, etc.

13.6 Library Portals

A portal refers to a Web-based tool that provides a customisable interface to retrieve information
aggregated from a variety of sources. Portals provide access to multiple network services enabling

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