Total Chat traffic in NC in 2009

Last year we saw a slight increase in NCknows’ traffic over 2008. However, because some other libraries in NC were offering their own chat reference options, that increase was merely the tip of the NC chat reference iceberg. We now have a better idea of how many questions were asked with chat in NC:




The total amount of questions asked by chat reference by all NC patrons was a whopping 47,006. NCknows traffic comprises about 22% of that. Here is the breakdown based on the traffic reported by these libraries' independent chat services (not their NCknows traffic):

Questions
NCknows 10264
UNCCH 10000
Duke 8732
NCSU 8212
PLCMC 3952
UNCW 1998
ASU 1948
UNCG 1795
NC LIVE 105


The good news is that this is likely the portrait of the chattiest year in NC’s history. More people are chatting with librarians than ever before. This is mostly due to the academics that have been adding widgets to their website and staffing them. However it is interesting to note that even with some of NC's biggest libraries diverting substantial traffic to their independent services, NCknows was still able to increase its total over last year. My guess is that people have come to accept and expect to chat online with libraries (and companies and friends and coworkers, etc). NC LIVE’s traffic reflects December only, the first full month they have offered chat.

Even though academics are far outpacing publics in total chats, we saw that when a public did offer the widget, as in PLCMC’s case, traffic grew similarly. When I speak with other public libraries about adding widgets, the main stumbling block to offering the service is staff time. Currently, libraries must monitor their own widgets during the hours they want the widget to appear. My hope is that this will change soon as ways of sharing widget traffic become possible (with Questionpoint, the ability to roll traffic from widgets up to the backup staff is becoming technologically possible and with Libraryh3lp, where the technology has always made sharing traffic possible, the feasibility of a multi-state backup coop is being explored- more on this soon I hope.)

All in all, there was a shockingly dramatic increase in people being helped by NC librarians through chat in 2009.