title: Virtual reference: chat with us!
abstract: Virtual chat services represent an exciting way to provide patrons of medical libraries with instant reference help in an academic environment. The purpose of this article is to examine the implementation, marketing process, use, and development of a virtual reference service initiated at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and its three-campus libraries. In addition, this paper will discuss practical recommendations for the future improvement of the service.
authors.affiliation: Henrietta DeBenedictus Health Sciences Library, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mariana.lapidus@mcphs.edu
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lapidus
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bond
mesh_terms: D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D007993:Libraries, Medical; D008404:Massachusetts; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D014584:User-Computer Interface