§ Virtual Reference Committee:
October 26, 2002
TO:
- Kandace Rogers, University of Kentucky, Chair
- Steve Stone, Eastern Kentucky University
- Sheila Stuckey, Kentucky State University
- Carol Nutter, Morehead State University
- Laura Ewald, Murray State University
- Threasa Wesley, Northern Kentucky University
- Terri Holtze, University of Louisville
- Bryan Carson, Western Kentucky University
FROM:
- Lee C. Van Orsdel, Chair of SAALCK
Thanks to each of you for agreeing to serve on a task force to study the feasibility and/or desirability of a virtual reference initiative for SAALCK institutions. Special thanks to Kandace Rogers from UK’s library for agreeing to serve as chair.
The University of Kentucky is about ready to license software to manage their virtual reference services, the University of Louisville is in the process of reviewing software, and other SAALCK institutions are in varying stages of developing online reference services but not yet at the stage of comparing software packages. There is interest, however, in stepping up the pace if the SAALCK institutions can leverage an advantageous deal through a group purchase.
We are asking your task force to evaluate the major virtual reference software packages and to bring a proposal to the Council as quickly as possible, ideally by our December 17th meeting. UK has already done extensive work comparing the products, and our hope is that the committee can use their fact-gathering as the foundation for the committee’s deliberations. Specifically, we would like to have your recommendations on the following:
- The one or two software packages that, in your collective judgment, offer the best cost and benefit to individual user and library, as well as some promise of supporting a collaborative virtual reference program among our institutions
- Major benefits (and drawbacks, if any) of each
- Any information you can gather about group pricing if the vendor/s are willing to discuss group pricing (with the caveat that we do not know at this time which institutions would participate)
- Any other pricing information you think helpful, particularly if a group deal is not feasible
- The committee’s preliminary thoughts on the desirability/feasibility of developing sometime in the future a cooperative virtual reference service among the institutions which implement the software
Thank you in advance for your willingness to guide us through a quick review of this issue. We look forward to getting your report.