ANN ARBOR—For University of Michigan students, librarians are now as close as their desktop. Interactive Reference Assistance (IRA) is the first stage of a project to use interactive technology for reference consultation via the campus computing network. Links between the Shapiro Undergraduate Library and selected residence hall libraries allow students to confer with librarians ” long distance.”

IRA uses CUSeeMe communications software, Connectix digital cameras and desktop computers to provide live video images and sound across the campus ethernet. Now U-M students can consult librarians face to face without leaving their residence halls.

Linda TerHarr, head of the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, says IRA makes researching a topic less overwhelming because students can collaborate with a reference librarian to formulate a research plan before even entering the library or going on-line. IRA ” puts a human face on the technology,” TerHaar adds. ” We’re using digital technology to provide assistance to students when and where they need it.”

Through IRA, the University librarians aim to provide reference service regardless of distance or location, promoting the ” library without walls” concept. In addition, the librarians hope to increase the ease and confidence with which undergraduates learn to use information.

TerHaar and Kathleen Folger, reference and instruction librarian at the Shapiro, teamed up with Valeda Dent, head of the U-M Residence Hall Libraries, to make IRA a reality for U-M students. Jointly sponsored by the Shapiro Undergraduate Library and the Residence Hall Libraries, IRA made its debut in the Bursley, Mary Markley and South Quadrangle residence halls last fall. Students have reacted enthusiastically to the new service. IRA users surveyed all said they would use the service again, and many wished it were available additional days and hours.

Shapiro and Residence Hall Library staff are now seeking means to expand and improve IRA.

For more information, contact Linda TerHaar at (313) 763- 5084, or via