26 Primary Source Access and Instruction Online: The Virtual Reading Room at the University of Washington

Since September of 2021, University of Washington Special Collections (UWSC) has been providing access to our materials using the Virtual Reading Room, our first (and so far only) remote access service. The Virtual Reading Room is a 55-minute Zoom appointment with a staff member where the staff member operates a document camera and handles material, enabling the researcher to view material remotely.

This chapter will provide an overview of the Virtual Reading Room including data that we have collected from our users about the impact of the service. It will also include practical considerations for launching a Virtual Reading Room.

Virtual Reading Room Appointments

As mentioned above, the Virtual Reading Room is essentially a 55-minute Zoom appointment with a staff member. However, unlike reference consultations with a subject librarian or curator, the focus of the Virtual Reading Room is on accessing material. From the user’s perspective, the initial process of scheduling a virtual appointment proceeds as follows:

1. The researcher makes their appointment using LibCal¹, our online scheduling system. This is also where they enter their information and requests.
2. The researcher receives a confirmation email immediately with a Zoom link.
3. Two days before the appointment, the user receives a reminder email containing the Zoom link again.
4. The researcher logs into the appointment at the scheduled time.

Occasionally, staff will have to contact a researcher ahead of their appointment. This typically occurs when we need further clarification on the researcher’s request, or if a researcher is looking for general reference assistance. If they are simply seeking assistance, we will direct them to the appropriate librarian or curator to schedule a consultation. The staff side of the Virtual Reading Room also starts out almost identical to in-person appointments:

1. Staff review LibCal appointments two to three days in advance and fill out call slips.
2. Onsite material is retrieved from the stacks and put in our hold area; delivery is coordinated for material stored offsite.
3. On the day of the appointment, all materials are taken from the hold area and staged near the Virtual Reading Room.
4. The appointment host logs into Zoom and begins the appointment.

The similarities between in-person and virtual appointments are very intentional. This ensures that researchers who use both services have as consistent an experience as possible. Furthermore, we have kept policies regarding things like photography of material consistent between the two appointment types as well. This consistency helps not only the researcher, but staff as well. Having consistent procedures across all appointment types creates less confusion when training staff.

Researchers are often surprised that the appointment host will actually sit and turn pages for 55 minutes. However, we view ourselves as active participants in the appointment. Furthermore, getting to experience the material with the user is a uniquely enjoyable experience: it is rare that staff get to do in-depth research with a user one-on-one for any stretch of time. In addition, the Virtual Reading Room is staffed largely by students, many of whom do not get to interact with users in a research setting. This gives the students the opportunity to see how the material they retrieve is actually used, while also providing them with a more controlled environment to learn best practices for user interaction.

Uses of the Virtual Reading Room

The Virtual Reading Room began as a pilot project and was initially intended to last for only one academic quarter. The goal of the project was to provide access to researchers ahead of reopening the reading room for in-person visits, as well as to have a backup plan in the event that a spike in COVID cases caused another closure. However, the Virtual Reading Room’s popularity exceeded all expectations. We saw no drop in demand after reopening for in-person research. In fact, over 75% of total available appointments were booked during this initial pilot stage and the Virtual Reading Room remains in active use today, over two years later. The Virtual Reading Room has proven to be a useful tool for a number of researchers with varied needs, including for planning research trips, as a companion to reproduction requests, and for viewing restricted or fragile items.

As travel restrictions have been lifted, we found the Virtual Reading Room to be a useful tool for researchers who are deciding whether to take a trip to UWSC in person. Before the Virtual Reading Room, the only options researchers had for accessing UWSC material were to come in person or pay for reproductions. Occasionally, for longer term projects, researchers would hire someone to do the onsite research on their behalf. All of these options cost the researcher money, and all come with the risk that the material will not be as useful as they had hoped, resulting in wasted time and money. Furthermore, many researchers did not have the resources to use these services to the extent that their research required, leaving them with few, if any, options. The Virtual Reading Room offers an opportunity for researchers to get a broad overview of material in UWSC so they can make an informed decision about how best to proceed. We have begun encouraging use of the Virtual Reading Room as part of planning a research trip. This not only benefits the researcher by allowing them to plan their time more effectively, but also benefits UWSC staff by helping users narrow their focus and reduce the volume of material they request. Furthermore, researchers do not feel as rushed because they know they can continue to access materials after they leave.

We also strongly recommend the Virtual Reading Room to users who are interested in requesting reproductions. Barring any collection restrictions, users can take screenshots of material during Virtual Reading Room appointments, often eliminating the need to pay for reproductions. Even if they still wish to order reproductions, they can make sure that they are only ordering what is actually useful to them, instead of paying for more copies on the off chance the reproductions may be useful. Similar to planning research trips, this not only helps the researcher by providing them with free access, but also benefits UWSC staff by allowing the researcher to make more specific reproduction requests and reducing the overall volume of incoming requests. This increase in efficiency and decrease in demand has been extremely valuable to us, as UWSC is still operating at roughly 50% of our pre-COVID staffing levels.

The Virtual Reading Room has also enabled us to provide mediated access to specific materials. For example, there are materials in UWSC that have access restrictions due to donor agreements or public records disclosure laws. When this is the case, the curator can do a high-level screening of the box for any obvious restricted items before passing it on to the Virtual Reading Room host with on-the-go screening instructions. This results in a significantly shorter turnaround time for materials screening and gives users the chance to access the materials more quickly and easily.

In addition, we have been able to use the Virtual Reading Room when a researcher wishes to use fragile objects. For example, if a researcher wanted to see glass plate negatives or a book with a fragile binding, the curator can help set up custom supports or give the appointment host specialized handling instructions. This allows the researcher to view the materials, but in a much more controlled environment. Furthermore, in several instances we have been able to adjust the camera angle and material supports to give the researcher a better view of an object than would have been possible in person.

Though this was not the original intention, the Virtual Reading Room has become a viable alternative to interlibrary loan of special collections materials. The pros and cons of loaning rare and unique materials through interlibrary loan have been a topic of discussion in the profession for many years. However, few institutions offer interlibrary loans for such rare and unique materials in practice due to preservation and security concerns, opting instead to offer copies. However, there can be fees associated with this, and material still under copyright cannot be copied in its entirety. The Virtual Reading Room has neither of these limitations.

Impact of the Virtual Reading Room

As has been previously mentioned, UWSC sent out a user feedback survey to all researchers who made use of the Virtual Reading Room during our initial pilot phase. The survey was sent to a total of 71 individuals who had attended a minimum of one Virtual Reading Room Appointment. We had 31 respondents, giving us a response rate of 44%. We also conducted some analysis of user data from the appointments to supplement and/or verify the survey results.

First, we sought to learn how and why researchers opted to make use of the Virtual Reading Room. For most (77%), it was because they were unable to come to campus and do research in person. We also inquired about the nature of our users’ research and discovered that 55% were doing research for a publication, 26% for personal interest, 16% for genealogy, and 3% (one student) for a school assignment.

Caption: Use patterns of Virtual Reading Room researchers

This information did not come as a particular surprise to staff, as it lined up with anecdotal evidence we had gathered from researchers during our appointments. However, it provides a compelling picture of the Virtual Reading Room’s impact. Not only were the individuals working on personal projects able to move forward with their work, but so were those who were conducting research for publication. Furthermore, of the respondents who were conducting research for publications, 82% indicated that they would have been unable to come to campus, meaning that they would have been unable to conduct their research with our collections at all if not for the Virtual Reading Room.

One of the main reasons we launched the Virtual Reading Room was because we anticipated that researchers would have a harder time traveling to visit us. To assess the impact of the Virtual Reading Room, we analyzed the appointment demographic data for Virtual Reading Room and in-person researchers. This data was useful in that it demonstrated that the service accomplished one of its main goals, but it was even more impactful when compared to the user data for in-person appointments during that same time period. During Fall Quarter 2021 only 8% of our total users were from out of state, and we did not have a single researcher visit from outside the United States.

These statistics are significant because they marked a substantial change in our regular user patterns pre-COVID. UWSC had a very regular and observable cycle as far as visiting researchers were concerned: we had regular researchers visiting interstate and several international researchers per quarter. Due to our regionally significant collections, we would have many visitors from neighboring states like Oregon and Idaho, as well as many researchers from Canada. The frequency of these research visits would hold fairly steady throughout the academic year, with numbers peaking over the summer. However, this data suggests that without the Virtual Reading Room our ability to support our national and international research community would have been severely hampered.

Instruction and the Virtual Reading Room

Teaching and instruction, like reference and access services, represents a significant portion of the work done in UWSC. Several staff members regularly teach or co-teach quarter-long classes using the collections and we are often asked to participate in instruction sessions and orientations for students.

Typically, our instruction sessions encourage students to engage directly with material. This hands-on, tactile experience has been a point of pride for UWSC, as well as a draw for faculty across campus. However, this model did not translate well to the virtual environment that we found ourselves in during COVID. The vast majority of materials in UWSC have not been digitized, and those that have been were not digitized with teaching in mind. Furthermore, many of the materials used in classes do not lend themselves easily to digitization. For example, the Rare Books and Book Arts collection has everything from clay cuneiform tablets to fragile papier-maché book sculptures to hand sewn doll beds. UWSC staff were very creative during COVID, building classes around what had been digitized, and even (in one case) mailing packages of different types of paper to each student to examine. However creative these classes were, they were impractical and often required a significantly higher investment of staff time.

Following the success of the Virtual Reading Room, we obtained a second camera that could be solely dedicated to instruction. This enabled staff to teach classes with a much wider variety of materials than they were able to during lockdown, even before we were able to return to in-person instruction sessions. Staff were able to use the cameras to show not only an object’s content, but also its materiality, allowing students to engage on a deeper level. Additionally, librarian instructors were able to hold office hours with the materials so students could drop in and ask questions.

The University of Washington has largely returned to in-person instruction, so the cameras have not been used as heavily for UW classes. However, they have remained in heavy use for off campus groups. We have hosted virtual field trips for local middle and high school students and instruction sessions for other colleges and universities in the area. Furthermore, in February 2023, we were able to co-host a hybrid workshop with the Northwest African American Museum to celebrate Black History Month. Using both document cameras, we were able to divide in-person and remote participants into groups and give them the opportunity to engage with materials and each other.

Starting a Virtual Reading Room Service

Below is a list of practical considerations for starting a Virtual Reading Room service, including equipment, software, staffing, and more.

Very little equipment is actually required to launch a Virtual Reading Room. The only two necessary pieces are a document camera and a computer. UWSC was able to launch our service for less than $1,500.00, purchasing only a laptop and a document camera.

IPEVO VZ-R Camera

Technical specifications:^[1]

• 0 megapixel
• Full autofocus lens
• High definition resolutions, up to 3264 x 2448 (USB mode), and up to 1920 x 1080 (HDMI mode)
• Up to 30 fps live video capture (at full HD)

The IPEVO VZ-R camera was ultimately selected due to its cost ($220.00 at time of purchase) and availability. Many of the other document cameras on the market were two to three times as expensive and either out of stock or backordered. However, we have been very satisfied with the quality of the camera.

There are many document cameras available, including several higher resolution cameras. However, it is important to consider that the quality of the video will be impacted by many things beyond staff control such as the user’s internet connection and software settings. While library staff can adjust their settings to enhance video quality, many users may not know how to do so on their own computers. Furthermore, increasing video quality can impact connectivity, resulting in slow or broken connections.

Computer Specifications

UWSC uses a laptop to conduct Virtual Reading Room Appointments. However, any computer will work, so long as it is compatible with the document camera and has the ability to run video conferencing software. Having the Virtual Reading Room run from a laptop has proven to be extremely beneficial, as it has given us the ability to relocate the service easily.

Software

The three main pieces of software that UWSC uses for the Virtual Reading Room are Zoom,^[2] IPEVO Visualizer, and LibCal.

Zoom was selected because the University of Washington has an institutional subscription to Zoom. Many (if not all) of the features we use on Zoom are available on other video conference software. Here are the Zoom features we use to operate the Virtual Reading Room:

• Multiple alternate hosts: We can assign all staff members who work shifts in the Virtual Reading Room as alternate hosts so they can easily run meetings.
• Waiting Room: We keep the waiting room turned on in Zoom to ensure that a researcher does not show up early and accidentally interrupt someone else’s appointment.
• Screen share: Because we use IPEVO Visualizer as the viewer for the camera, we share the screen during appointments to let users view the program.
• Ongoing appointments: This allows us to have an automated message that goes out to users with the link to the Virtual Reading Room because the link does not change. We can also bookmark the appointment link so all staff can easily access it when they sign onto the computer.

There have been a few instances where we have had to use a system other than Zoom with some of our international users. In our case, the users who experienced this issue resided in China, which did not have access to Zoom at the time. This required us to provide an alternative, Google Meet. There are still several countries that do not have access to Zoom,^[3] so we recommend having at least one other backup video conferencing option.

The IPEVO VZ-R does not require Visualizer to work. When we were testing out the cameras, we initially did not use Visualizer and instead set the document camera to the default camera on Zoom. However, if we wanted to adjust the camera’s focus, zoom in on a particular detail, or make other adjustments, we had to do so manually on the camera itself. We soon discovered that it was much smoother and more efficient if we used Visualizer, as that enabled us to make the adjustments on the computer.

UWSC uses LibCal to manage research appointments for both in-person and virtual researchers. LibCal allows us to set parameters for the appointments, such as appointment limits and “schedule by” times. The system also automatically emails researchers reminders, including the links to the Zoom appointment. There are other appointment services (Microsoft Bookings, for example) that would work just as well. We use LibCal because it enables researchers to make their own appointments, but an appointment management system is not strictly necessary for this service.

Supplies and space requirements

While the computer, camera, and conferencing software are the main requirements for the Virtual Reading Room, there are a few other things that we have found help the service run more smoothly:

• Space: The primary space consideration for the Virtual Reading Room is whether or not the workspace can accommodate furniture with enough surface area to house the computer, the camera, and material. In UWSC, the Virtual Reading Room is currently housed in a cubicle that has a desk with the laptop and a second monitor, and a separate table for the camera and material. The table is on wheels and has adjustable leaves on the side so it can be moved around and made larger depending on the needs of the appointment and material. As an added bonus, it is also near Public Services staff in case a student hosting a Virtual Reading Room has a question.
• Headset: Because the Virtual Reading Room has moved around to different areas of the UWSC workspace, having a headset allows the staff member who is hosting the appointment to do so with minimal distractions.
• Plain white paper: This has been one of the more surprising pieces of equipment. Many archival collections have thin, almost translucent paper that can be difficult to read on camera. Placing a plain sheet of white paper behind these pages greatly enhances the visibility of the text on camera.
• Standard reading room supplies: Material being handled in the Virtual Reading Room is still handled using standard supplies that would be found in most in-person reading rooms. This includes items such as book supports (of varying sizes), gloves for handling photographs, book weights, and light boxes for viewing negatives.

Staffing

Launching a new service and integrating it into existing staff tasks can be very complicated. UWSC handles this in a few ways.

First, the service is available by appointment only. We require that appointments be made three business days in advance, which gives us ample time to retrieve material for the appointment. Staff are assigned a shift which is blocked off on their calendars, but are able to check the appointment schedule and reclaim the time if there is no appointment.

Second, we change the availability slightly every quarter. The Virtual Reading Room is primarily staffed by student workers, and since UW is on a quarter system, their availability will change each quarter. Rather than stretch ourselves too thin, we instead adjust the hours and only offer what we can realistically support and fill in some gaps with Public Services staff.

Limitations

As helpful as the Virtual Reading Room has been for researchers, it is not appropriate for all materials. We have had to turn away researchers requesting audiovisual materials, oversize materials, or already digitized materials.

UWSC has several historical audio and film collections that researchers have requested to access using the Virtual Reading Room. Playing and streaming analog media requires specific equipment, and we do not have any that we could dedicate to the Virtual Reading Room. Furthermore, the purpose of having a staff member on the other end of the call in the Virtual Reading Room is so that they can handle material on behalf of the user, something that is not necessary when providing access to digitized media. Instead, researchers are able to order copies of media for a fee or, in some cases, we are able to provide temporary access to digitized materials using Hightail.com.^[4]

Oversized items present a unique challenge, as the camera can only capture a limited area. Broadly speaking, if something is more than 11” x 17”, it is likely too large for the Virtual Reading Room. Staff did investigate the possibility of purchasing a camera with a wider range of vision that would be more appropriate for oversize material, but it became clear that this was not actually feasible. First, document cameras large enough to accomplish this task do not seem to exist. Instead, the available options are pieces of equipment that could be used as a document camera, but are actually overhead scanners (and priced accordingly). Second, for a camera to capture a large format object, it would have to be zoomed out very far, which means the researcher would be unable to see any of the finer details.

Occasionally, a researcher will request to view an item in the Virtual Reading Room that has already been digitized and is available in our Digital Collection with the hope they will be able to get a better view of the image. While the document camera has the ability to show higher resolution images than those in our Digital Collections, Zoom compresses video quality. In most cases, the image in the Digital Collection is as good (and sometimes better) than what the Virtual Reading Room would provide. In the event that an item is born digital, the researcher actually has no need to use the Virtual Reading Room. Rather, we would instead provide temporary access using Hightail.

The Virtual Reading Room Moving Forward

The main question regarding the Virtual Reading Room is not whether it will continue, but where it will go moving forward. UWSC staff have identified several potential directions for the future.

As we continue to hire and train new staff and student workers, we would like to add more appointments options. Many of our most frequent users are in different time zones, and while we have been able to accommodate them either in our regular schedule or by special appointment on request (as staff availability allows), offering more varied hours would help address this in a more streamlined manner and eliminate the extra steps users currently have to go through.

Integrating the document camera and Virtual Reading Room concept into outreach events has been fairly successful, particularly as there is an increased expectation for events to have hybrid options. As previously mentioned, we have successfully used the Virtual Reading Room concept to host hybrid events with the Northwest African American Museum to celebrate Black History Month, but there is room for expansion.

One potential avenue for expansion is related to social media. UWSC has an active social media presence, but it is mostly focused on static images. Using features such as Instagram or Facebook Live would allow for a more interactive social media presence and allow us to show the materiality of objects. Including curators and other subject or format specialists in the development of this type of content would also enable a more direct connection between staff and viewers.

Conclusion

There is no question as to whether the Virtual Reading Room has a future at UWSC: it is here to stay. If we were to discontinue the service, we would be disenfranchising a significant portion of our research community. As a result, we offer the Virtual Reading Room as a default option when discussing how to access materials in Special Collections. It is now one of our permanent access options.

Endnotes

[1] “VZ-R HDMI/USB Dual Mode Document Camera,” IPEVO, accessed May 25, 2023, https://www.ipevo.com/products/vz-r/specs, archived July 24, 2024, at https://web.archive.org/web/20240724150144/https://us.ipevo.com/pages/vz-r-specs

[2] “Zoom Meetings,” Zoom, accessed September 29, 2023, https://explore.zoom.us/en/products/meetings/, archived July 24, 2024, at https://web.archive.org/web/20240724150343/https://www.zoom.com/en/products/virtual-meetings/

[3] “Restricted Countries or Regions,” Zoom, accessed September 29, 2023, https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/203806119-Restricted-countries-or-regions, archived December 12, 2023, at https://web.archive.org/web/20231204063431/https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0065066

[4] “File Sharing,” Hightail, accessed September 29, 2023, https://www.hightail.com/file-sharing, archived July 24, 2024, at https://web.archive.org/web/20240724150837/https://www.hightail.com/file-sharing