ASU students don't have to leave the comfort of their homes to get help from librarians thanks to a live chat program through the ASU Libraries Web site.
Ask a Librarian Chat lets students communicate with ASU librarians 24 hours a day, every day of the week, to answer questions, look up reference materials or help students navigate the library Web site.
Twenty-five librarians participate in the chat, and at least one is always standing by to answer questions, said Jennifer Duvernay, coordinator of instruction, outreach and marketing for ASU Libraries.
"Our librarians try to be prepared to answer any library-related questions that might be asked," Duvernay said. "Most of the time students need help looking up articles for research papers or finding statistics or government documents."
Nursing sophomore Bailey Cellers said the only time she goes to the library is when she needs to study.
"If I need something from the library, like a journal, I just get it online because it's easier than going in," Cellers said. "I can't ever find what I'm looking for [on the Web site] so the live chat is really useful."
ASU is the only state university to have librarians available to students online at all times.
UA has a similar service but with restricted hours, and NAU does not have a live chat program.
The chat service was first launched in March 2002 and has become increasingly popular every year, Duvernay said.
"It was fairly limited in the first two years because it was only offered in the afternoon and early evenings," Duvernay said. "In the fall 2004 semester, we expanded to offer the service 24/7, and our usage has continued to increase each year."
In a typical week, about 130 students use it, Duvernay said.
Since many resources found in the library are available online, fewer students need to come into the library.
"We wanted to be able to help them where they were doing their research - the Internet," Duvernay said.
Although librarians are available on weekends, Duvernay said very few students use the chat on Saturdays.
Reach the reporter at: natalie.i.hayes@asu.edu.
