Presentation Type
Presentation
Conference Track
Open Access: Social Justice, OER, Open Research
Description
At Multnomah County Library, virtual service help over 107,000 community members each year through email, text, and telephone, patrons are managing library accounts, using materials, asking reference questions, and receiving tech support. Two years ago, Multnomah County Library developed a centralized service model to gain efficiency and consistency in serving patrons virtually.
Virtual service provides convenience for some and breaks down barriers of access for others, especially vulnerable populations. Virtual services can present a challenging working environment. There are less social cues to read, for better of worse; direct communication is necessary. Monitoring behavior issues and collaborating with colleagues can difficult during busy hours. Small solutions are the way forward to serving the public and promoting equity in library work.
Learning Outcomes
-Strategies to interrupt microaggressions virtually
-Best practices for technology troubleshooting virtually
-Practical language to substitute for library jargon
Rights
© Copyright the author(s)
IN COPYRIGHT:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
DISCLAIMER:
The purpose of this statement is to help the public understand how this Item may be used. When there is a (non-standard) License or contract that governs re-use of the associated Item, this statement only summarizes the effects of some of its terms. It is not a License, and should not be used to license your Work. To license your own Work, use a License offered at https://creativecommons.org/
Start Date
3-29-2019 2:15 PM
End Date
3-29-2019 3:00 PM
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/28081
Subjects
Multnomah County Library -- management, Electronic reference services (Libraries), Equity, Libraries and minorities -- Oregon -- Portland
Promoting Equity with Virtual Library Service
At Multnomah County Library, virtual service help over 107,000 community members each year through email, text, and telephone, patrons are managing library accounts, using materials, asking reference questions, and receiving tech support. Two years ago, Multnomah County Library developed a centralized service model to gain efficiency and consistency in serving patrons virtually.
Virtual service provides convenience for some and breaks down barriers of access for others, especially vulnerable populations. Virtual services can present a challenging working environment. There are less social cues to read, for better of worse; direct communication is necessary. Monitoring behavior issues and collaborating with colleagues can difficult during busy hours. Small solutions are the way forward to serving the public and promoting equity in library work.
