The virtual reference desk : creating a reference future /

Edited by the director of the Information Institute of Syracuse, among others, this book is based on the proceedings of the fifth annual Virtual Reference Desk (VRD) conference held in Syracuse, NY. Contributors have updated their conference papers as chapters, divided into four main themes: chat reference, training and staffing, creating benchmarks for performance evaluation, and innovative digital reference services. Backed up with current research, these chapters present the best practices in digital reference. The steep price notwithstanding, this is recommended to public, academic, or special librarians looking to add depth and justification for existing virtual reference services. For those seeking to begin such services, see Steve Coffman's Going Live: Starting & Running a Virtual Reference Service or Anne Grodzins Lipow's The Virtual Reference Librarian's Handbook.--Robert L. Battenfeld, B. Davis Schwartz Memorial Lib., Long Island Univ., Brookville, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.