Is the Medium the Message? Examining Transactions Conducted via Text in Comparison with Traditional Virtual Reference Methods

Abstract

Texting is a widespread mode of communication and libraries are experimenting with it to interact with users. This article presents the results of a study on virtual reference service. The authors seek to determine whether or not the texting service is filling a different information need than chat and email by examining the level of difficulty and the topic of questions using these different methods of communication. Findings indicate a marked difference between the type and complexity of questions sent via text and traditional forms of virtual reference, and suggest that texting fills a complimentary role in relation to other traditional virtual reference communication channels used within libraries.

Keywords:

• Academic libraries
• virtual reference
• text reference

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to their colleague, Jill Boruff, for reading and commenting on the draft of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.