Ask a Librarian Day – February 23rd! Celebrate at Your Library
Ask a Librarian Day is just under a week away. On Tuesday, February 23rd, we are promoting Ask a Librarian in a serious way! To prepare for AAL Day: We sent out a press release for the event, read the release here. Also, you should of received buttons from us to wear (if you have not, please let me know, we have a few left). Ask a Librarian Day is a day to focus on Ask a Librarian within your library. Promote the service to both your customers and to other staff members who might not be aware of the great service. Every person (from part-time student assistants to your director) should be able to talk about the service. There are 5 main points everyone should know: • If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website). • You can use Ask a Librarian for free. • Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian. • Ask a Librarian is open until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday. • If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat, you can always email your question to us, and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours. How can you promote Ask a Librarian Day in your library? Here are some ideas from last year and new ones from Traci and I: • Dust off your Ask a Librarian t-shirt from last year and wear it around the library and town. • Create a booth or display within the library • Hold a raffle for students around the service • Handout bookmarks at checkout • Bake! Ask a Librarian Staff decorated cupcakes to raise awareness of the service…. Your co-workers will appreciate every word…err..bite! • Refresh and put out Ask a Librarian Marketing Materials everywhere you can inside and outside of the library. (order more here) • Most importantly, Talk about it! Share positive stories from your time on the desk and let your user’s know the service is available. Let us know what you are planning and please send up pictures and status reports as Ask a Librarian Day unfolds at your library!! We have pictures from last year at – https://info.askalibrarian.org/aal_day2009.asp!
Ask a Librarian Day Press Release
News Release For Immediate Release Contact: Diana Silveira (813)622-8252 ext 234 Librarians statewide to celebrate Ask a Librarian Day Are you having trouble finding out, who invented the stethoscope? Do you want to know, who owns the apartment building on 49th street? Are you sitting at your computer frustrated trying to figure out where to start on your big research project? Live expert help is just a click away with Ask a Librarian. Ask a Librarian (www.askalibrarian.org) is FREE online service for all Floridians. With Ask a Librarian, you are connected to a librarian who will answer your question right when you need assistance most. It’s easy to use, just go to www.askalibrarian.org and ask your question, a Florida librarian will assist you. Ask a Librarian is a collaborative program by libraries throughout Florida and will provide you with accurate answers utilizing your state and local resources. “Ask a Librarian is a tremendous resource for students and anyone with a research need. It makes expert librarians available to any Florida resident. Ask a question and within minutes an actual person is helping you. It’s a great feeling to connect with a skilled supportive person and know you are not lost amid a million search results” according to Ask a Librarian Manager, Diana Silveira. Librarians all over Florida will celebrate Ask a Librarian Day on Feb. 23 to bring awareness to the free online reference service that connects Floridians with librarians for help with homework or general questions. Librarians at over 106 libraries around Florida will don “Askalibrarian.org” t-shirts and pins and will talk about the valuable service with library customers. They hope to inform people about Ask a Librarian’s benefits so that everyone can take full advantage of this user-friendly service. Ask a Librarian is available live from 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 24/7 for email assistance. Visit www.askalibrarian.org for more information or to ask a librarian a question. Pictures from last year’s event and more information about the service are available at: https://info.askalibrarian.org/aal_day.asp Ask a Librarian is managed by the Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC), and is funded as part of the Florida Electronic Library (www.flelibrary.org) by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant. ###
Don’t Forget to Vote for your Favorite PSA in the Director’s Chair!!
Have you voted? The early results show it will be a close one! The videos are running neck and neck for first place so make sure you vote for your favorite PSA today!
Time is running out!!! Please spread the word –
It’s time for the public to choose the winner of The Director’s Chair, a contest in which Florida high school students submitted commercials to promote Ask a Librarian. A panel of judges selected the top five videos from all of the entries, and now the public will choose the winner by voting for their favorite video by Feb. 20, 2010.
Visit www.askalibrarian.org/thedirectorschair to cast your vote for the following videos:
• “The Ask a Librarian Alien” by Jack, Inlet grove High School (Riviera Beach)
• “I Want…Ask a Librarian” by Lauren, Park Vista High School (Lake Worth)
• “Ask a Librarian, Say What?” by Markella, Park Vista High School (Lake Worth)
• “Even Isaac Ask a Librarian!” by Michael, Seminole Ridge Community High School (Loxahatchee)
• “This Book Can Talk” by Shantel, Inlet grove High School (Riviera Beach)
Quarterly Ask a Librarian User Survey is now live
The Quarterly Ask a Librarian User Survey is now live. The survey will pop-up at the end of a session automatically if the user doesn’t have pop-up blockers. However, you are encouraged to send the user survey script at the end of the session and push the survey (the survey link is available in the URL Response Library).
The survey asks:
1- Was this your first time using Ask a Librarian?
2- Did you connect with a librarian today?
3- Was your question answered today?
4- Did the librarian show you any web-based library resources today (library catalog, databases, etc.)?
5- Did you think you would be able to use those same resources on your own, later on?
6- Do you think you will be more comfortable doing online research in the future?
7- Would you use the Ask a Librarian service again?
8- How did you hear about Ask a Librarian?
9-We welcome your comments or suggestions. Please let us know how we are doing, and how we can improve?
10- We are randomly following up on surveys to find out more about your Ask a Librarian experience. If you wish to be contacted, please provide the following information.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Public voting begins in Ask a Librarian video contest – High school finalists need your votes!
It’s time for the public to choose the winner of The Director’s Chair, a contest in which Florida high school students submitted commercials to promote Ask a Librarian. A panel of judges selected the top five videos from all of the entries, and now the public will choose the winner by voting for their favorite video by Feb. 20, 2010.
Visit www.askalibrarian.org/thedirectorschair to cast your vote for the following videos:
• “The Ask a Librarian Alien” by Jack, Inlet grove High School (Riviera Beach)
• “I Want…Ask a Librarian” by Lauren, Park Vista High School (Lake Worth)
• “Ask a Librarian, Say What?” by Markella, Park Vista High School (Lake Worth)
• “Even Isaac Ask a Librarian!” by Michael, Seminole Ridge Community High School (Loxahatchee)
• “This Book Can Talk” by Shantel, Inlet grove High School (Riviera Beach)
January Statistics Now Available!
What a month! We were definitely back from the holiday break. We had a 39% increase in live chat sessions from January of last year!!!!
A summary report of January is available here.
Detail Reports for individual libraries and counties are available as well:
Jan 10 Email Monthly By Library
Total Chat by Entry Point
Usage by County (User Reported Zipcode)
Please contact me for any custom data you need!
December 2009 Statistics
December was a quieter month as normal, but we still were busier than last year. We had a 20% increase in chat sessions from last year! With the new year, we expect the service to continue growing….mainly because of all your hard work!
A summary report is available – AAL Stat Report (december 09)
Here are the statistic reports for each library:
By County Dec 2009
Total Chat by Entry Point Dec
Email Monthly By Library Dec
If you need additional statistics, please let me know.
November Statistics
We had our best November ever!!! Ask a Librarian assisted 5,301 users last month; 4,937 in live chat and 1,008 in email. View the November Summary Report.