Marilyn Parr, Library of Congress
Susan McGlamery, OCLC
Joe Thompson, Maryland Ask Us Now!
Laura Maldonado, Deborah Gaspar, and Sarah Palacios-Wilhelp, Gelman library, George Washington University
4:15-5:00pm
LC
- LOC Web site
- Ask a Librarian link
- people want sketch of patents
- questions on photographs (American Memory)
- Thomas Jefferson’s papers
- What is QuestionPoint
- developed by OCLC and LC
- supports both local and global online refernce
- local component: Web-based question submission, email, chat, local KB
- Global component: world-wide network of ref librarians sharing via best-fit routing, global KB
- LC exempt from PATRIOT Act due to being part of the legislative branch
- Use QP to:
- interact
- cooperate
- build
- manage
OCLC: Collaboration for Success
- Be there when they need you
- coverage around the clock
- expand hours of service without adding staff
- failsafe coverage
- staffed by librarian like you
- 2 cooperatives
- public
- academic
- 24/7 reference is
- > 800 libraries in US, Canada, and England
- staffing cooperatively
- contract staff for hours when no libraries are online
- Merged w/ QP in August 2004
- Who participates
- single library
- libraries w/in a region
- statewide service
- CA, DE, IL, MD, MA, MT, NJ, NC, OR, WA, WI
- countrywide service
- England
- How do they know: Answering on behalf of other libraries
- library policy pages
- scripted messages
- communication
- conference/transfer
- IM
- Follow-up/referral
- Local FAQ
- send to patron’s library
- Referral networks
- 24/7 subject experts
- medical
- art
- business
- genealogy
- spanish
- next: multi-lingual cooperatives
- global reference network
- quality control
- session review
- QC staff
- training
Maryland: AskUsNow
- Service
- launched March 2003
- 27 partnet library systems
- staffed by > 250 librarians
- first state-wide participant in 24/7 cooperative
- Maryland was 25% of all 24/7 questions
- now part of QP 24/7
- LSTA funded
- 85% positive feedback
- 120k questions to date
- InfoEyes project
- launched Jan 2004
- specific for those with visual imparements
- e-mail mostly
- VoIP also available
GWU: IM reference implementation
- Introducing IM to GW
- millenials and the Pew Internet study
- IM? We already have VR!
- Research
- Training
- Pilot studies
- Next?
- IM Generation
- Teens use e-mail but prefer IM
- 75% of 12-17 year-olds send or receive instant messages
- VR vs. IM
- Has had VR for over 4 years
- only 1.5% of GW students used VR
- how do we serve students in their preferred medium of communication
- Getting started
- study phase
- software requirements
- lit search
- potential IM usage
- surveyed other universities going it
- pilot for librarians
- introduce ref ream to IM
- is IM a good fit for the library?
- training opportunity
- Fall 2005
- patron pre-pilot pilot
- offered for 10 days
- designed advertising
- designed web page for spring pilot
- tested patron experience
- standardized usage procedures
- Spring 2006 – Patron pilot
- documented student use
- logs and statistics
- preferred hours of service
- documneted APL guidelines
- reference questions
- directional questions
- “best practices”
- drafted and implemented
- continuous service assessment
- …and beyond
- student feedback
- expanded advertising
- evening hours
- inclusion of other library staff
- evaluation of service
Topics included how to be approachable to patrons at the reference desk and the want to create an IM bot that would cue incoming messages allowing for just a slightly more effective reference via IM interface with the ultimate goal being consortial IM virtual reference.
