March Madness Month – Fri., Mar. 25, 2011
** Note: Hey, you’re not seeing Librarlyn’s photo! If you didn’t receive this in its more attractive email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org .
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
WOMM Fun Facts:
AaL Day 2011, Keiser University in Jacksonville
If you’ve been with Ask a Librarian for any length of time, you’ve probably heard us brag about our incredible evening and weekend staff. They are the Ask a Librarian Virtual Reference Providers, though sometimes – often on Monday mornings or before coffee – we refer to them as simply “the AaL interns”. They are super reference busters and customer service providers extraordinaire, and their high standards ensure that your users get the help they need regardless of whether their libraries are burning the midnight oil. They staffed 325 hours on the Collaborative Desk last month alone, and they mean business!
In light of the high number of hours they staff the statewide desk, we thought it might be helpful to ask them to share a few of their favorite websites. Here’s what they shared:
Kira Smith:
http://scholar.google.com/ – In Scholar Preferences you can search for a library so that it will link to that library’s resources. This is a big help when you can’t access a libraries databases but need to help one of their students.
http://www.khanacademy.org/ – A great source of instructional math and science videos with worked problems.
http://www.teachparentstech.org – More instructional videos but these pertain to very basic tech tasks like how to resize a picture or stop getting an email newsletter.
And just for fun…
http://bacolicio.us/ – Adds a piece of bacon to any website.
Bronwyn Main:
www.moma.org – You can browse the MoMA’s collections and exhibits online without having to make the trip to New York City! A really stunning display of digital preservation and online presence.
www.openj-gate.com – Open. Access. Scholarly. Journals. Need I say more?
www.knowthis.com – One stop shop for marketing information. This even has resources for non-profits like libraries.
www.votesmart.org – Information about local, state, and national politicians, both incumbant and candidates. Project Vote Smart is not affiliated with any special interest group, political party or corporation. Their About Us page is truly inspirational from an organizational standpoint.
Renee Patterson:
www.wolframalpha.com – Wolfram Alpha; A ‘computational’ search engine, this is one of my favorites when someone comes in with a math question. Just enter the problem in WolframAlpha and voila! The answer is given, often with steps included. The site also goes well beyond math – with science, geographic info, country data, finance, nutrition, linguistics and more. I find new options each time I visit – like the option to ‘compute the current value of a historical quantity of money.’
www.ipl.org – IPL2; Part of the IPL’s collection development policy states that “The site should contribute current, accurate information about the topic. The source of the material should be trustworthy and the website should have affiliation with recognized authorities in the field.” Searching through the IPL is a good filter to help find informative and usable sites quickly for those without access to database resources.
www.usa.gov – A one-stop shop for .gov data – what’s not to love? Searching Medline, the Library of Congress, Census and other government information sources – all from one access point.
www.wikipedia.org – Wiki got such bad publicity years ago that many people miss out on a great resource. At least in the wiki, sources are cited (or not) which isn’t the case for most general web sites. The source citations and external links at the bottom may provide students with links to excellent primary source material they can use in their research.
Kay Ralston:
http://flelibrary.org/ – Florida Electronic Library; This site is a favorite, especially because it provides many of the same online databases to students who may be unable to access their own library’s databases, because of issues with passwords, and PINS etc. I think this is a great “stress” reliever, for students in a crunch, when that paper is due “tomorrow”. From the web site: “The Florida Electronic Library is a gateway to select Internet resources that offers access to comprehensive, accurate, and reliable information. Available resources include electronic magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias, and books, providing information on topics such as current events, education, business, technology, and health issues.”
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ – The Free Dictionary; Often, a student or patron just needs a good definition, as a place to begin. The free dictionary provides more links (thesaurus, etc). Example: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/philosophy
http://books.google.com/ – Google Books ~ previews online; It’s so easy to search and locate keywords within the context of the page, and allows the user to preview portions of the text to gain information, and to see if it is a resource that would be helpful for further research. Example: http://bit.ly/f771dv The keywords are highlighted, and there’s a search box to access more specific content within the book; and there’s a “Find in Library” link, that allows the user to locate the item in the nearest library (WorldCat, another favorite, offers Google Books Previews).
https://www.familysearch.org/ – FamilySearch; The Genealogy database from the Mormon Church; search tools to help patrons who are researching records and family history; There’s lots of extra research assistance available, such as contact information, and learning resources.
http://www.findhow.com/ – … is a “How-To search engine, brings trust back into the equation by focusing on indexing only high-quality How-To’s, typically from well-known, recognized brand names or individuals. Many of these sources (often companies, government entities, or educational institutions) have other motives for providing information besides pure profits, and most have trusted, off-line brand name reputations to protect – which encourages them to focus on providing trustworthy and high-quality information.”
* bonus… a compilation of several free (mostly) Ready Reference: http://www.socc.edu/library/pgs/databases/ready-reference.shtml
Jaime Goldman:
http://www.doaj.org/ – The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) has categorized, searchable links to free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals with the objective to cover all subjects and languages. There are now 6276 journals in the directory. Currently 2718 journals are searchable at article level. As of today 533818 articles are included in the DOAJ service. This is another great like besides the FEL when patrons cannot access their library’s research databases and online journals.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/fdnl1 – The Florida Digital Newspaper Library exists to provide access to the news and history of Florida. All of the over 1,000,000 pages of historic through current Florida newspapers in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library are openly and freely available with zoomable page images and full text. The Florida Digital Newspaper Library builds on the work done in microfilm within the Florida Newspaper Project<http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/flnews/>.
http://www.bjpinchbeck.com/ – BJ Pinchbeck’s Homework Helper: Great for those who do not have access to Live Homework Help, Tutor.com through their library, this page provides links and resources for a variety of both school and college topics. Includes help in Art/Music, Computer Science, English, foreign Languages, Health & P.E., Math, News, Recess, Reference, Science, Search Engines, Social Studies, and even a College Companion.
http://www.thesearchenginelist.com/ – The Search Engine List: When all else, fails, what search engine do you use? This comprehensive list of search engines not only includes links to the numerous sites out there, but also provides a little background and description for each one.
I find that a lot of the homework help questions are for science projects or math equations. Here are a few sites I’ve bookmarked for those special questions in math:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/ – Wolfram|Alpha introduces a fundamentally new way to get knowledge and answers – not by searching the web, but by doing dynamic computations based on a vast collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods.
http://www.myalgebra.com/algebra_solver.aspx – MyAlgebra – A Free Algebra Problem Solver (another site that will solve algebra problems that you type in)
http://www.algebra.com/ – An online community of mathematicians who put together a comprehensive list of lessons and guides. Algebra, math homework solvers, lessons and free tutors online in areas that include: Pre-algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Physics. The free tutors have created solvers with work shown, written algebra lessons, all in the hope to help you solve your homework problems. There are even interactive solvers for algebra word problems as well as a community discussion/question board.
Happy Friday!
When speaking to users, please keep in mind these important talking points:
• If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
• Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
• Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
• You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
• If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
March Madness Month – Wed., Mar. 23
** Note: If you didn’t receive this in its more attractive email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
AaL Day 2011, University of Central Florida staff
Don’t you want to be one of the shining few at FLA (or your library system) with an awesome red Ask a Librarian book pack? Sure you do. Take our latest Customer Service Quiz question below and let us know just how high your customer service standards are. Share those strong values with us, so that we can share them with your peers.
1. Continue to research the question; maybe you’ll find eventually find the answer and be able to pick them up.
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What’s a book pack, you ask? Why, it’s a nifty red drawstring bag with a blue Ask a Librarian logo that promotes us with style and holds your book or sandwich at the same time.
Want one? Send your response to Traci at avett@tblc.org by 5 pm ET on Friday, March 25th. Don’t forget to tell us which option you’d choose and why!!!!
When speaking to users, please keep in mind these important talking points:
- If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
- Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
- Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
- You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
- If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
March Madness Month, Mon. 3/21/2011
** Note: If you didn’t receive this in the much more attractive email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
And the Winners are…
In Issue 6 of the March Madness Month series, we challenged you to take our Customer Service Question 2 Quiz – to tell us which option you’d choose in the below scenario and why. The scenario described highlights the uncertainty that can arise when users write things we’re not sure how to interpret, or if we’re unsure of the direction a so-far-harmless chat might be taking.
To refresh your memory, take a look at the original question and the 3 possible responses:
While researching your user’s valid question, he or she has sent 2 or 3 statements that seem really off-topic or irrelevant. They’re not inappropriate, but you’re starting to wonder if they’re just wasting time. What do you do?
1. End the chat immediately… no use taking chances. If they have a real question, they will need to stick to the topic.
Which one would you choose? If you selected option 1 or 3, you’ll definitely want to work on being more flexible and patient while in chat; just like in your libraries, it’s important to avoid no-context snap judgments as much as possible. We know that some moments are easier than others – for example, when staff are posting Inappropriate IP address warnings in the Agent Room, and the next chat you pick up is a middle-school student with a childlike screen name and an unclear question, it’s probably natural to fight off a tiny bit of hypervigilance… but fight it off anyway, because you could be way off base.
Option 2 is the best one because you want to avoid ending a chat prematurely. When in doubt, wait it out a bit. There could be any number of reasons for it. For example, given the lack of some of the visual social cues (such as a smile when a patron approaches the desk) in virtual reference, a bit of idle chit-chat might be a user’s way of making “small talk” in a virtual environment. For those no-question/no-direction users, there is a “no question” script that asks them if they’re interested in learning more about the AaL service. Be alert, but patient! Either way, if you later decide that the user has negative intentions, scripts from the “Inappropriate” folder will help you out; those other options are still there. But at least you are not misjudging someone who is coming to you for help.
And the Winning Responses are…
Christa Fowler, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee: “Option 2. I try to not to make snap judgements based on only one or two responses to my questions. The patron may not have had a chance to think through their research process. (A bit like walking into a store looking for a gift for someone, but we haven’t a clue what we’re looking for!) Sometimes I slow down, back up and avoid looking at the clock.”
Kira Smith, Ask a Librarian Intern: “I would select answer 2. Feel it out a bit…continue researching but just be alert for any changes in direction. One of my favorite scripts for this type of situation is, “I really want to help you get this assignment started. Let’s get back to ….”. This way the patron can still have the question answered and feel good about using Ask A Librarian, even if a friend or sibling has done something inappropriate. It is a way to refocus the chat without alienating the patron. Sometimes patrons, especially young ones, are just testing the limits and you can set them without being overly harsh.”
Natasha Godwin, Santa Rosa County Library System: “At this point, it would be premature to either end the chat immediately or send the IP capture script. It is very possible that the researcher has one or more questions but is not sure how to express or phrase them. A quality reference interview will aid in determining what information the person is seeking or whether he or she is, in fact, “wasting time.””
Renee Patterson, Alachua County Library District & AaL Intern: “Depending on the comments, I’d call them on it. “Are you still interested in resources for <original topic>? <Their irrelevant statement> doesn’t seem to be related.” Usually this is where they’ll tell me their brother/sister/friend/dog grabbed the keyboard…. : ).”
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When speaking to users, please keep in mind these important talking points:
- If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
- Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
- Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
- You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
- If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
March Madness Month – Friday, March 18
** Note: If you didn’t receive this in email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
As you’ve heard us brag about time and again, Ask a Librarian is open 84 hours every week. Nice, isn’t it? That 84-per-week figure comes from Ask a Librarian’s normal business hours of Sunday-Thursday, 10 am to midnight, and Friday-Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm ET.
That’s impressive, sure. But things get even more exciting as you reconsider those numbers in further detail. For example, let’s take, say, 1 to 2 pm – this is counted as one Ask a Librarian business hour, or one hour we’re “open”. However, there are multiple libraries that hour… 3 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and even 5 on Wednesdays, just on the Collaborative Desk alone. And during the week, not only is the Collaborative Desk open and staffed by multiple libraries – between 10-4 there is also the Academic Desk.
Are you with me so far? This means that, just from 1-2 pm on Wednesdays alone, there are at least 9 libraries staffing the live desk (chat and text messaging) on average. That is not counting any of the numerous librarians who login to cover their own local desks – we’re still just talking about one hour, one day, statewide. That means at least 9 librarians are ready and able to help during just one hour of the total 84. The report in the email for this issue (if you didn’t receive it this morning, let me know!) shows the total number of hours staffed for Academic and Collaborative in black, just for the current week. Local hours are per-system and not included there. (The red hours are those needing help; hint, hint.) So while we are open that impressive 84 hours per week, there were 384 librarians ready and willing to help your library users on the statewide desks this week alone. One week. How about 2 weeks? A month? Last year there were 17,097 shifts on the state-wide schedule – not including “unassigned/help needed” shifts, not including local hours. 17,097! You have to admit, that kind of system-level cooperation is a pretty neat thing.
He Said, She Said: Excerpts from AaL Ambassador Challenge Participants
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When speaking to users, remember these important talking points:
• If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
• Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
• Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
• You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
• If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
March Madness Month – Wed., March 16
** Note: If you didn’t receive this in email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
We love to hear from our librarians, anything from questions or comments to marketing ideas and “stories from the desk”. Sometimes, we get stories from you that just give us goosebumps, they’re so good. Like this one, from Peter at St. John’s County Library. Peter and his AaL Ambassador, Linda, teamed up for an incredible show of enthusiasm and promotion. If this isn’t an excellent and thoroughly unique example of Word-of-Mouth Marketing at its best, we don’t know what is.
Check this out.
To see a photo of this, please visit our Flickr page! “Our AAL Ambassador, Linda Sorenson was able to put together a nice display at the front entrance of our Southeast Branch with the help of the promo items available through TBLC. Peter and Linda both wore their AAL t-shirts and Linda sat in on a one hour desk. Linda also went all out and had her face painted with question marks — she is one of the more highly visible staff members on the front lines and she was especially outstanding on AAL Day. The library was also represented at the Marble Slab Creamery in St. Augustine where Linda helped scoop ice cream (again wearing her AAL t-shirt) and handed out lanyards to interested ice cream customers.”
Peter Washkevich, St. John’s County Public Library System |
Awesome, isn’t it? Yeah, we thought so, too. We hope they enjoy the Ask a Librarian book packs that are on their way to them right now. Oh, and Linda, if you need any help testing the ice cream next year, er… maybe I can help. Call me. Please.
Visit our Flickr page to see the March Madness Month Challenge winning photo!
Jaime Goldman, Nova Southeastern University librarian & AaL intern, took this photo of Manny the Manatee in her library. You probably saw her spirited Big Mouth Billy photo in our last issue, and if you’ve visited the Ask a Librarian Flickr page lately, she’s got a few other fish in there, too. You might think to yourself that Jaime must work in a very… unusual… library. Well, she does! She works in Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center, and she’s got all her furless friends Ask(in’) a Librarian. Hi, Manny! What’s a book pack, you ask? Why, it’s a nifty red drawstring bag with a blue Ask a Librarian logo that promotes us with style and holds your book or sandwich at the same time. Want one? Take the Question 2 Quiz – the deadline is 5 PM TOMORROW. Remember to tell us what option you’d choose and why!!!! |
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When speaking to users, please keep in mind these important talking points:
- If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
- Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
- Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
- You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
- If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
March Madness Month – Mon., 3/14/2011
** Note: If you didn’t receive this in email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
And the Winners are…
In Issue 4 of the March Madness Month series, we challenged you to take our Customer Service Question 1 Quiz – to tell us which option you’d choose in the below scenario and why. It’s an important scenario, because it highlights a common underlying issue in place when users experience the dreaded “login issue”.
Problem was, the top responses were so good, we had to award four winners instead of three. How’s that for customer service excellence? We’re so proud…
Here is the original question and the 3 possible responses:
A student trying to get into a database has incorrect login information. You look up login issues for that library, but cannot resolve the issue. You give them contact information for their library (which is currently closed). Which of the following is the best response to send next?
1. Good luck! Thank you for using Ask a Librarian; we hope you come again.
2. In the meantime, I can try to help you using other resources. What information were you looking for?
3. Well, if you would have started sooner, you could have contacted your library before they closed.
So which one would you choose? If you selected option 2, give yourself a nice pat on the shoulder. Option 1 is professional and friendly for a “Goodbye” script, but at this point in the chat, why would you want to say Goodbye? Option 2 is the best answer because it’s important to remember that he or she needed to access that database for a reason. Always see if you can help them another way. Option 3 is… well, let’s just say that some things are always better left unsaid.
And the Winning Responses are…
Trudy Kelly, St. Petersburg College:
“The second response would be the best and only response, as I see it. The librarian can find something to help this student until he or she can contact their library to find out why he or she cannot get into the databases. The first response leaves the student without help and he or she will probably not use Ask a Librarian again. The third response is insulting. There may be a reason the student didn’t get to this assignment before this. It isn’t up to the librarian to make the student feel worse by pointing out the lateness in the request. Again, the student will probably not use Ask a Librarian for help again. If the student doesn’t feel that the Ask a Librarian service was worth contacting it is possible that this may be shared with his or her friends. This gives the Ask a Librarian service negative feedback which may turn people off using this wonderful, helpful service. The second response makes the student know that the librarian is there to help them and find information for the student to use.”
Renee Patterson, Alachua County Library District & AaL Intern:
“2. In the meantime, I can try to help you using other resources. What information were you looking for?” They could still get a start on their research, even if they can’t log in to their library. For general research, they may be able to access Academic OneFile and other resources from the Florida Electronic Library. Government sites might also be helpful for some research – like the NIH or LOC. They could also do some initial research on Google scholar, to start building a list of articles to pull up from their library resources once they do have access.”
Susan Smith, Hodges University:
“Was that a trick question? It is the most customer friendly option of the three…I would often go on to point out things that were freely available to this patron, such as the Florida Electronic Library, and internet sites that are authoritative and credible, such as government sites or known sites for whatever area they were trying to research. I have even gone so far as to run searches inside our databases to find an article to get them started.”
Jackie Spiritas, Jacksonville Public Library:
“#2 is the best response in outlined situation: “In the meantime, I can try to help you using other resources. What information were you looking for?” This response introduces the student to other resources he or she may not know about. It is also likely to result in the student using Ask A Librarian again. Finally, the student will most likely tell other people about the positive experience. Word of Mouth Marketing is one of the essential components to maintaining awareness and increasing usage of AAL.”
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When speaking to users, please keep in mind these important talking points:
- If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
- Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
- Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
- You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
- If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
March Madness Month – Fri, 3/11/2011
** Note: If you didn’t receive this in email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
Shakespeare Asks a Librarian, too, during March Madness Month at Brevard County Library
WOMM FUN FACT:
Timeline of Ask a Librarian Hours
You probably already know that Ask a Librarian debuted in 2003, and that our service provisions and member libraries have increased significantly over the years. You may even know that the Academic Desk didn’t come along until 2007. But did you know that when Ask a Librarian first started out, the Collaborative Desk opened at noon? Or that, at one point, Ask a Librarian stayed open until 10 pm every single Friday? Here are a few snapshots-in-time for you to check out how Ask a Librarian has changed over time in finding the perfect hours for staying open to help your users. Take a look at our charts and see the timeline in which our hours of service eventually found the perfect home, and don’t forget to take our newest Customer Service Quiz below.
Happy Friday!
Think you have what it takes to get raving comments like these from Ask a Librarian users? Take the “Customer Service Quiz, Question 1” below for your chance to win an Ask a Librarian book pack. Don’t forget last week’s promotional photo contest for another chance to win!
Want a new Ask a Librarian bag?
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Who wants to win one of our cool new Ask a Librarian book packs? Our nifty new drawstring bags are red with a blue Ask a Librarian logo. Promote us with style, and hold your book or sandwich at the same time.
Customer Service Quiz, Question 2:
While researching your user’s valid question, he or she has sent 2 or 3 statements that seem really off-topic or irrelevant. They’re not inappropriate, but you’re starting to wonder if they’re just wasting time. What do you do?
1. End the chat immediately… no use taking chances. If they have a real question, they will need to stick to the topic.
2. Feel it out a bit… continue researching, but just be alert for any changes in direction.
3. Send the “Your IP has been captured” script to the user. Lets them know that unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated, just in case that’s where they’re headed.
Tell us which option you’d choose and why. The best 3 responses will receive a cool new Ask a Librarian book pack! Email your response to Traci at avett@tblc.org by Thursday, March 17, 2011.
Last week’s winners will be announced soon!
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When speaking to users, remember these important talking points:
• If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
• Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
• Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
• You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
• If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.
March Madness Month, Wednesday 3/9/2011
** Note: If you didn’t receive this in email format earlier today, please email Traci at avett@tblc.org
March Madness Month
A month of surprising facts, informative highlights, and fun activities… all for the chance to brag about our incredible services!
WOMM Tip: Increasing Ask a Librarian visibility on your library’s website.
Every Ask a Librarian link, logo, and other graphic can net your library some serious numbers when they’re optimized to meet the needs of your users. Remember: Ask a Librarian is a service that helps your users directly, so it’s not just another resource – it’s a living, breathing virtual reference tool that serves to meet the needs of your users when they need help the most. And unless your staff or webpages let them know that virtual reference through Ask a Librarian is a direct-assistance option for them, they might not realize the extent to which Ask a Librarian could help them in an unexpected (or expected) situation.
Here’s what we mean. Say your library’s webpage boasts a nice collection of databases, and Ask a Librarian is included alphabetically in an ordered list. All of your resources are surely incredible ones – collections for history, or audiobooks, or consumer resources. And listing Ask a Librarian here is great, because it is telling them AaL is a resource that can help, but will they know that Ask a Librarian provides direct assistance until midnight 5 days a week, and until 5 pm the other two? Maybe they’re not having any luck whatsoever finding that history article or appliance ratings; would they intuit that another resource up or down that list exists to help them with exactly those searches? How about including a separate, perhaps larger or more-customized logo in your sidebar, or help pages, or contact pages, to reinforce the component of immediacy that makes Ask a Librarian services such a standout resource for them?
Aside from adding a link in other frames or pages, you might also think about changing or enlarging your current Ask a Librarian logo, or even placing different logo graphics on different pages to better match that page’s function or design. You’ll find several logos available for immediate use right on our website, or we can work with you if you have a different design or color scheme in mind. We also have a terrific collection of widgets, viewable here and here, that allow your library’s users to chat without leaving your website. Consider adding a logo or widget to your library’s database pages or catalog pages as well. Libraries that have done this experienced marked increase in Ask a Librarian usage (and their library’s statistics), all while ensuring that their high-traffic areas always have help visible and accessible for users & visitors.
It pays to market Ask a Librarian – for your library’s statistics, for diversity of services offered, and for the end user that makes it all so vital. As those who regularly staff the Ask a Librarian desks know, we get an awful lot of patrons that enter AaL with a subject like “please I need help!!”. They enter with a question, and leave with an answer (or peace of mind). And those happy users are your customers!
Want a new Ask a Librarian bag? Enter these MMM Challenges – the deadline is this Friday!!!
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He Said, She Said: Excerpts from AaL Ambassador Challenge Participants
“I printed out the AaL promotional flyers and bookmarks and created displays on both display tables that we have located at strategic spots: near the library’s auditorium where numerous community events take place and near the public elevators where patrons can browse while waiting. All of the Reference Librarians wore the large Ask a Librarian buttons while on the public Reference, Circulation, and Information Desks that day. Jeanne Taylor, a very “socially connected” Youth Services Librarian, sat in on the afternoon chat session and then went on Twitter with wonderful promotional tweets about the Ask a Librarian service. […] We are very grateful to Jeanne for serving as such an informative and enthusiastic ambassador. Jeanne said she learned a lot and she was eager to spread the word to promote this valuable service. […] She has already enthusiastically spread the word among fellow staff in the library. As the Youth Services staff engage in daily patron encounters, they will have accurate information to provide to parents, teachers, and students of all ages that will enable them to utilize this wonderful service for their study assignments and other informational needs.”
– Fawn Van Allen, West Palm Beach Public Library
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When speaking to users, please keep in mind these important talking points:
- If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit www.askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
- Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
- Ask a Librarian is open for live chat and texting until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
- You can use Ask a Librarian for free.
- If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat or texting, you can always email your question, and your library’s staff will get back to you within 24 hours.