Hi Rebecca. We use them and started doing so at my request last
April/May after I participated in a CIMA session on email/web reference and
somebody wonderful from another repository (can't remember who--Arizona
maybe?--if anybody knows, please tell me--I owe them a thank-you batch of
chocolate chip cookies) suggested it as a possibility. We do tweak them
occasionally as we find problems or people get confused. Our two online
request forms can be found at: http://www.archives.state.ut.us/referenc/question.htm
and http://www.archives.state.ut.us/referenc/indexorder.htm
The first feeds off of almost
everywhere in our webpage that is public oriented (as opposed to our agency
services sections) and the second is hooked into all of our online
indexes. It's been a great thing for us. They aren't perfect and you
can't expect that, but we've cut down on our email-tag writing back and forth 18
times to get the basic pieces of information we need from the patron (who never
answers all your questions the first time!) The alternate means of contact
has been especially helpful as we frequently get our return emails rejected for
any number of reasons, and this way we can still contact the person. Not
everybody fills them out, but our rates of getting alternate contact info has
increased exponentially from our pre-form days.
The index-feed one has really been
useful as we don't have to write back three times to find out how much (and if)
the individual is willing to pay for copies--meaning we don't have to write back
with cost estimates each time, we can just make the copies, ship off, and
bill. This has become very important for us as Rootsweb.com picked up
several of our online indexes last summer and incorporated them into their giant
search engine--our email request levels have risen considerably since
then.
I won't say that it's a cure for everyone, but given our reference
procedures and standards (we do take email requests, we can't charge for
reference service time, and will make limited amounts of copies for anybody who
asks--for a charge, of course), it's worked quite well for us.
I too would be interested in hearing about any decision to not use
them.
Arlene Schmuland
Patron Services Archivist
Utah State Archives Research Center
>>> lrjm@UDEL.EDU 01/03/01 11:35AM >>>
I would appreciate hearing reactions from any who have experience with using online reference forms to handle email queries related to their collections. I would also welcome comments from others who have considered using online reference forms, but decided not to pursue this action. (I have seen and used several online reference forms, but if you wish to brag about your own or recommend an exemplary form by another institution, please refer.) I'm sure the topic will be of broad interest, so I encourage responses to the list. Many thanks. Rebecca Johnson Melvin Special Collections University of Delaware Library Newark, DE 19717-5267 lrjm@udel.edu (302) 831-6089 (302) 831-1046 A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List! To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu> |