Vol. 2, No. 1 Fall 2004

24-Hour Chat Reference Available on the Library Website

Joanne Helouvry, Reference Librarian

On September 13, The Loyola/Notre Dame Library began partnering with 18 other Jesuit institutions across the country to provide a collaborative virtual reference service. Live online reference assistance is now available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - even when the library is closed! The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), working with Tutor.com, has created a national service for its colleges. Students, faculty, and staff at any of the 20 colleges can log on any time, from anywhere, and get one-on-one assistance from a professional reference librarian via an online chat messaging system. Students working on papers in the wee hours of the morning are no longer limited to the library's hours of operation. Participating libraries include AJCU schools, from LNDL here in Baltimore and Georgetown U. in Washington D.C. all the way across the continent to the University of San Francisco. Librarians from Tutor.com respond during hours not covered by AJCU librarians. This means that there will be someone available 24 hours a day to answer questions.

When the student logs into the system, a librarian will guide them. Together, the student and librarian will browse for resources online and through the library databases. On their screen, students will see all the databases and Websites that the librarian is searching. The librarian will also be able to send documents and images to students through email. After the session, participants will receive a complete transcript of their conversation, including links to all Websites visited, in their email inbox. Try it out on the library homepage: http://www.loyola.edu/library/REF/index.htm

Other participating colleges include Canisius College (New York), Creighton University (Nebraska), Fairfield University (Connecticut), Fordham University (New York), Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.), John Carroll University (Ohio), Le Moyne College (New York), Loyola College (Maryland), Loyola Marymount University (California), Loyola University Chicago (Illinois), Loyola University New Orleans (Louisiana), Marquette University (Wisconsin), Santa Clara University (California), St. Joseph's University (Pennsylvania), University of Detroit Mercy (Michigan), University of San Francisco (California), University of Scranton (Pennsylvania), Xavier University (Ohio).

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