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ABSTRACT
Internet voice and video calling have demonstrated a dramatic rise in quality in the past several years and have quickly become communication technologies with a disruptive impact on society. Librarians, who regularly adopt such technologies in outreach and public services, should evaluate Web-calling programs as potential sources of innovative reference programming. This article describes the development of Skype video and Internet telephony pilot reference services at the Ohio University Libraries and considers the utility of Skype and VoIP in a library setting.
The author would like to acknowledge Lia Friedman, Instruction and Outreach Librarian at the University of California, San Diego Arts Libraries for her invaluable editorial assistance. The Reference and Instruction Technology Team also includes Chad Boeninger, Chris Guder, and Tim Smith.