R U There? How to Reach a Virtual Audience Through Affordable Marketing Strategies

摘要

Virtual reference is a vital service component of manylibraries. Whether serving college students or the general public, a real-timereference service demands highly trained staff and quality resources. Whatcan administrators do to make sure their users make the most of thiscutting-edge service? The University at Buffalo (UB) was one of thefirst universities to establish a virtual reference service. Known as InstantLibrarian, the chat room thrives as a major public service without placinga drain on staff or budget. This article discusses the marketing strategiesUB applies to chat reference, including advertising, use of icons, and usersurveys for assessment.