Awareness and Users’ Opinion regarding Need of Virtual Reference Service in Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster Institutions (CRIKC) in India: A Study

Abstract

The present study aims to highlight the users’ awareness as well as opinion regarding virtual reference service (VRS) in respect to traditional reference service (TRS) and to throw light on critical dimensions which may provide new insight in the pre-implementation stage of VRS in Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) libraries. The study is based on a sample drawn from users of the CRIKC libraries. To assess and evaluate the users’ perception about the feasibility of VRS, a structured interview schedule was prepared and conducted among 388 users of CRIKC libraries. The reason for choosing an interview schedule was to know the status of VRS as well as users’ opinion regarding the service in greater depth.

Keywords:

• Virtual reference service (VRS)
• Digital Reference Service (DRS)
• Traditional Reference Service (TRS)
• Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC)

Notes

1 A chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation through voice commands or text chats or both. Chatbot, short for chatterbot, is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) feature that can be embedded and used through any major messaging applications. There are a number of synonyms for chatbot, including "talkbot,""bot,""IMbot,""interactive agent" or "artificial conversation entity." source (investopedia.com)