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Staffing a Real-Time Reference Service

SUMMARY Librarians are exploring a variety of models to staff new chat-based reference services in an effort to better serve users outside of the library. This article explores the issues in staffing a reference service operating in real-time. Observations are based on the experience of the author in administrating RefeXpress, the real-time reference service at the University of Florida, and on a survey of practices in other library settings. The issues addressed include service hours, staff competencies, scheduling, structuring the work environment, and choosing a centralized versus a decentralized model of operation.