Standing By to Help: Transforming Online Reference with a Proactive Chat System

In July 2013, the University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries implemented a proactive, context-sensitive chat system developed for online businesses. Chat questions immediately increased from eight questions daily to eight questions hourly on average, resulting in an increase of 340% from 2013 to 2014. This paper describes the system characteristics, explaining how the chat client was configured to provide convenient, context-sensitive help that engages many more users than the previous system. An analysis showed that most questions received were reference questions requiring the expertise of a librarian. The system has lowered the bar of inquiry for reference users, transforming chat from a low-use option to a heavily used service with an important role in supporting academic research and information literacy.