Which audience for the virtual reference services ?

The example of the Guichet du Savoir of Lyon's Public Library

In 2004, the launch with two main goals : • Focusing on contents• Responding to absent users

Essential principles :

• Free and open to everyone• Answers provided within 72 hours• Professional librarians answer :

a team of 3 people

thematic departments network (80 librarians)

About questions …

• All questions are allowed, legitimate• Questions about everything…

… but we’re not doctors or lawyers.

… and answers

• Accurate answers to precise questions not only bibliographical sources

• Reliable sources

• Everything is published and referenced by search engines

• Originality of the tone

Figures since 2004 :

• More than 32 000 registred users

• More than 50 000 questions asked and more than 97 000 answers published

• 1, 5 million pages read by year

• 90% people satisfied

In 2009 : a drop in the number of questions asked

Number of questions asked per year

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

In 2011 : a new website

• A new software (open source) and a new interface :

Accessible to disabled people

Easier inscription

• New services : tabs with unusual questions, top ten, news…

• Social networking : Twitter and Facebook

• Mobile application : « Le saviez-vous ? » in 2013

Which audience for the Guichet du Savoir ?

A survey in march 2014 :

47% 53%Women

Men

By sex :

By age :

14%

31%

19%2%

34%0-17

18-29

30 - 39

40 - 59

60 +

By activity

10%

48%

5%

29%

7% 1%

student

working population

unemployed

retired

without activity

no reply

By geographical origin :

9%20%

18%53%

Lyon

Rhône-Alpes

Other regions(France)Other countries

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2005 2006 2011 2014

60 ans et plus

50 - 59 ans

40 - 49 ans

30 - 39 ans

25 - 29 ans

18-24 ans

15-17 ans

0-14 ans

Age evolution : an aging audience

Our next challenge :

to reach out to young people

The solution : social network ?Example : on Facebook half of our fans are less

than 35 years old

Age des Fans

8%

11%

24% 32%

6%

2%

17% 13-17

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+