Saulnier Lange, Hvizdak Present Research on Librarian Anxiety in Global Chat April 15

As online and distance learning became more prevalent, many university libraries expanded virtual reference to reach students when and where they need help. With cooperative chats, librarians from different English-speaking libraries around the world use online instant-messaging platforms to offer students their knowledge and instruction 24/7. Yet some librarians hesitate to staff a global chat.

WSU librarians Jen Saulnier Lange and Erin Hvizdak, with University of Idaho librarian Pamela Martin, set out to find out why. They surveyed US librarians and global chat operators, receiving 361 responses and conducting 11 follow-up interviews. They found that librarians grow anxious when referring students back to their home library and often feel intimidated by questions from other countries.

“We sought to focus on librarian anxiety in global chat and whether this anxiety impairs chat service and opportunities for student learning,” said Saulnier Lange, online learning librarian. “Interviewees and survey respondents brought up differing reference approaches, including questions about how to incorporate information literacy into chat reference.”

Saulnier Lange and Hvizdak will present their research findings at a workshop on April 15 at LILAC: The Information Literacy Conference at Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales. Titled “Librarians without Borders: Opportunity and Hesitancy in Cooperative Virtual Reference,” the presentation will provide attendees with takeaways for better information literacy instruction to patrons during cooperative chats.

“I’m looking forward to learning from UK librarians,” said Hvizdak, humanities librarian. “We know the perspectives of US librarians on what they need to better assist UK students, but we know very little about what UK librarians need to better assist ours. And I’m sure that there are many nuances depending on the region of the UK, the school, and more.”

One goal in attending LILAC is to talk to UK librarians about their anxieties and hesitancies in staffing cooperative chat, Saulnier Lange said.

“We discovered many US librarian anxieties are rooted in thinking they’re unable to help students from the UK,” she said. “We’re hoping that starting a dialogue with UK librarians will help both US and UK librarians feel more confident in helping international students.”

Additionally, the workshop will encourage open conversation between librarians to best serve each other’s patrons and incorporate information literacy principles into cooperative chat best practices.

“As we answer questions from not only different schools but also different countries, how do we build trust with students who have no idea who we are, or how we are connected to their library?” Saulnier Lange said. “Further, AI [artificial intelligence] currently provides fast—but depersonalized, and not always correct—answers. What is the role of virtual reference in this new world, and what can we do to demonstrate the value of this more personalized, yet global, service to our patrons?”

“We are all still in the learning stages of how to use this new tool and address its advantages and pitfalls with students,” Hvizdak added. “I’m excited to bring this knowledge back to my colleagues at WSU Libraries and the wider campus as we establish pedagogy and policies around AI.”

Hvizdak said she is also looking forward to conference panels on how she can more effectively—and empathetically—guide underrepresented students through the college experience.

“It will be a positive experience to learn about how libraries in another country are increasing information access for all researchers and ways that I can expand our practices here,” she said.

Former librarian helps make conference possible

Saulnier Lange and Hvizdak can attend LILAC thanks to the Betty L. Wagner Professional Development Endowment. Established by Wagner in 2013, the endowment provides funding for faculty to attend professional meetings to present papers and participate in enrichment opportunities, travel for personal research, learn how to integrate ever-evolving technology in higher education, and more.

Born in Miles City, Montana, Wagner moved to Reardan, Washington, in 1943. She graduated from Reardan High School as salutatorian in 1946, winning a $50 residence hall scholarship to Washington State College. She enrolled at WSC that fall along with many World War II veterans.

During her second semester, Wagner was hired by the library, then located in Bryan Hall. She continued working for the library until she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in the spring of 1950. She witnessed the construction of Holland Library and played a small part in the move from Bryan. Work in the library augmented by part-time jobs during summers and school breaks financed her WSC education.

Wagner moved to Seattle and enrolled in the Graduate School of Librarianship at University of Washington in the fall, graduated in June 1951, and shortly thereafter began her appointment as librarian and head of UW’s Architecture-Urban Planning Library, holding the post until her retirement in June 2004.

Wagner established the WSU endowment out of appreciation for her education at WSC and the role the WSC Library played in her life.