Collaborative virtual reference services in Norway : a case study

Abstract

With the increasing availability of electronic information services, and the emergence of digital libraries, Virtual Reference Services have occurred as natural extensions of library works and, the Virtual Reference Services have taken a central place in the era of digital libraries. This study demonstrates the perceptions of librarians towards collaborative virtual reference services thorough exploring the motivations that led the libraries to participate in collaborative virtual referencing. This thesis is a case study which examines the Norway‘s country wide virtual reference service, Biblioteksvar. The population of the survey includes librarians that actively participated in Biblioteksvar from various public libraries in Norway. A questionnaire and interviews were used to collect the primary data. The findings of this study show that collaborative virtual reference services are an effective way to provide information services to the patrons and it increases the competences of library professionals. The results also reveal that all members of the consortium must benefit from the collaboration to make it successful. The results of this research will provide an insight to library professionals in their attempt to build and improve collaborative virtual reference services while providing information about digital reference services.