Aaron's blog http://www.lisnews.org/blog/3 Librarian And
Information Science News en virtual reference issues
http://www.lisnews.org/node/22999 <p>One of the most important
aspects of reference work is the development of relationships.
Libraries, through the individual actions of librarians, need to
form a bond with their patrons. This isn't terribly difficult to
accomplish because people coming to the reference desk have a
problem to solve. When a librarian helps them solve a problem,
there is the potential for a connection to be made. This should
be evident through examples from our daily lives: Aren't problem
solvers useful people? Do you feel loyal to the last institution
from which you received good service? Will you return to the
institution when a similar need arises? </p> <p>Virtual
Reference, as conceived by many projects, makes it nearly
impossible to create this bond. The absence of this possibility
isn't a function of the fact that the transaction is virtual, it
is a function of how there's no ste