QuestionPoint: 24/7 reference services

Top 10 Quality Comments of 2011

With the new year we present a review of the most commonly reported comments sent to our Quality Team.  In 2011, Quality received comments regarding 638 transcripts:  364 (57%) related to sessions handled by librarians from Coop libraries and 274 (43%) related to sessions handled by QP Back Up librarians.   Of the 638 sessions sent to Quality, 95 (15%) were compliments! The remaining 543 sessions had at least one, and often multiple, issues.  The the most commonly reported issues in 2011, listed in order of frequency, are:

1.  Policy Page

Librarian does not check the policy page.   This inference arises when the information provided in session by the librarian either ignores or contradicts the information provided on the patron library’s policy page.  This was also the most often reported issue in 2009 and 2010.

2.  Resolution Code

Incorrect resolution code is assigned.  Examples:  incorrect use of the “Lost Call” code; librarian coding a session as “Answered” when telling the patron that another librarian will follow up; librarian coding a session for “Follow Up” when patron did not leave an email address.

3.  Reference Conversation

Librarian does not properly clarify the question or otherwise engage in the “reference interview”, thus risking miscommunication with the patron.

4.  Incorrect information was provided in the session.

In addition to factual errors, this issue refers to any type of "incorrect" piece of information provided during the chat. This issue is often used in conjunction with other issues, for instance if the librarian provides incorrect information regarding a library policy (many times, this happens when the chatting librarian provides an answer based on his own library policies rather than those of the patron’s library: we may code this issue as both “policy page” and “incorrect info”).   It also applies if the librarian says "Your librarians have not given me the ability to access your databases, so I cannot help you" but the library did provide a barcode number on the policy page.  Or, if a librarian told the patron to use the Academic Search Premier database but the library doesn't subscribe to any EBSCO databases. 

-- Compliments!! --

5.  Source Choice

This issue arises when librarian could have sent better sources (i.e. more authoritative, more current, more appropriate to the patron's level).  For example:  Librarian does a Google search or sends a wikipedia article for queries that could better be handled by reference to the library’s online databases or catalog. 

6.   Contact/Followup Option

With questions of a local nature, the Cooperative librarian may be unable to provide a complete answer to the patron.  This is almost always the case when patrons have circulation issues, problems with their library card, etc.  Unfortunately, some librarians tell the patron to “contact your library” rather than giving the patron the option to call the library (in which case the chatting librarian should provide the correct phone number, as per the policy page) or offering to code the session for Follow Up.

7.  No Searching: 

Examples include:  patron queries whether the library owns a known item and the librarian tells patron to contact the library rather than searching the library catalog and/or databases.

8.  Abrupt Ending

This issue arise when the patron is non-responsive patron and the librarian ends the session without waiting 5 minutes.  It can also refer to times when librarians end the session before it appears that the patron is ready to do so.

9.  Obtaining Email

Librarian fails to get patron’s email when coding Follow Up, thus making it impossible for the Patron Library to contact the patron.

10.  Patron Info

Librarian does not review the Patron Info tab in the chat monitor and thus fails to note the patron’s library.  Example:  librarian assumes a New York customer is a patron of New York Public Library although the Patron Info tab reveals that patron is affiliated with another library in New York State. 

A plea to the Cooperative: Help us with Quality!

Thanks to all for using the 24/7 Reference quality process!  By sending sessions to Quality, you not only help us provide guidance when needed to the Coop librarians, but you also help us track issues both for individual libraries and the Cooperative as a whole.  And, if you think a Cooperative librarian has done a nice job with one of your patrons’ questions, please send the compliment to Quality.   We will pass the compliment along to the chatting librarian, and this helps us keep track of our star libraries.  So, don’t hesitate to send a compliment – we love passing those along!

How to send a session to Quality:

In the Ask a Librarian (Ask) module, click the Review Transcripts tab.  When viewing the full text of the session, click the “Send to Quality Control” button.  Type in any concerns or compliments in the text box, and click submit.  The Quality Team will receive your comment with the full transcript, and will respond.

If you have questions about quality, don’t hesitate to email me at mcglames@oclc.org

QuestionPoint User Group meeting: ALA Midwinter 2012

If you are attending ALA Midwinter in Dallas, please join us for the QuestionPoint user group meeting! The meeting will be held on Saturday, 2012 January 21, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon in the Dallas Convention Center, Room A307.

We will provide a QuestionPoint update from the QP product team, with plenty of time for questions, discussion, and learning about tips and tricks from QuestionPoint colleagues. If you have specific topics you would like us to discuss, you may forward them to me at mcglames@oclc.org

If you are planning on attending the meeting, please register on the OCLC Web site at https://www.oclc.org/go/ala-mw/register.html. And, be sure and drop by the OCLC booth too - Booth 921 at the Dallas Convention Center.

We look forward to seeing you in Dallas!

Monthly Report for November 2011

QuestionPoint Members

        1,814    Active SUPs (service unit profiles)

       1,148    SUPs in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative

             47    Languages can be handled by QuestionPoint libraries*

 7,236,339    Transactions had passed through QuestionPoint as 30 Nov.

 3,283,050    Patrons have asked questions via libraries with QP since 2002**

      37,631    New patrons asked for help in November**

      25,117    Active records in the Global Knowledge Base

         526    Libraries have contributed active, searchable records to the GKB

*Previous monthly blog reports have counted Languages Served as reported in the Profile module.  However, many libraries have incomplete profiles, so we are now using the number of language codes we have created over time to meet the known language needs of our members.

**These numbers are lower than actual, as they do not include texting patrons or chat patrons who have not provided email addresses.

QuestionPoint libraries are in 33 countries (listed by region):

Australia New Zealand --------------- China French Polynesia Japan India Thailand -------------- United Arab Emirates ---------------- Botswana South Africa -------------- France Greece Germany Italy The Netherlands Spain ------------- Republic of Ireland	United Kingdom      England      Scotland      Wales --------------------- Croatia Serbia Slovenia --------------- Russia ------------- Canada Mexico United States ----------------- Jamaica Puerto Rico Trinidad & Tabago -------------------- Brazil Chile Peru

QuestionPoint Statistics for November 2011

45,822     Questions received via E-mail, Text Messages, and Add Question form

54,799     Chat sessions requested

17,881     Chat sessions requested via Qwidget

53,103     Chat sessions accepted

13,404     Chat sessions requested at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

    627     Sessions requested after hours at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

       82     Most concurrent chat sessions (up from 81 last month)

       31     Average concurrent chat sessions (up from 29 last month)

24/7 Reference Cooperative Statistics

  63.4%  Overall “Answering Percentage” (Cooperative libraries picked up 63.4% of all chat sessions, and Back Up staff picked up 34.7%)

18,919  Academic sessions requested; Coop members answered 12,428 (65.7%)

22,476  Public sessions requested; Coop members answered 13,810 (61.4%)

  1,320  Sessions Abandoned (Patron disconnected before librarian picked up, may include some practice sessions)

Global Knowledge Base Records of Note in November

We believe it is time we recognize the institutions that have contributed so much to the Global Knowlege Base.  Of our 526 contributing libraries thus far, the top contributor is the New York Public Library, having answered 5,405 of the 25,117 records in the database.  The NYPL continues to be an active contributor to the Cooperative and to the GKB, along with another frequent contributor, the Enquire UK service (1,692 GKB contributions).

The institution that contributed the next largest number to the database was the Paris Bpi [Bibliothèque publique d’information], which has contributed 1,880 records thus far and is still going strong.  Helping to keep the French language a strong presence in the GKB is the L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sicences de l’Information et des Bibliothèques (1,309) records.

Other current member institutions contributing well over 100 records each are:

• Bibliothèques de l’Institut de Mone Arabe
• EnochPratt Free Library, Baltimore
• KIng County Law Library
• Library of Congress – American Memory, Science/Technical Reports, and Business Reference Section reading rooms
• Seattle Public Library
• UBAcoach: Bibliotheek van de Universiteit van Amsterdam
• University of Montemorelos
• University of Washington
• Washington State Library

Why not take advantage of the research these libraries are sharing through the knowledge base feature?  Remember to search the GKB when answering questions that are not strictly tied to local services.  You may find that another librarian has already been down the same road and cleared the way for you!

All members are encouraged to contribute interesting, often asked, or hard-to find answers to the GKB.  Visit Help at http://www.questionpoint.org/crs/html/help/en/ask/ask_publish_submitmulti.html for information on contributing Q&As to the knowledge bases.  GKB editors fix spelling, grammar, and formatting before submitting the records for indexing so they are searchable.

Known Issue with Form Field Reports

When an administrator runs a Form Field report (Ask >> Review Transcripts >> Form Field) and selects a Session Type, several Default Fields are displayed for the administrator to choose from.  Data from all checked fields should display in the report.  However, we have found that unless the administrator checks the Descriptive Codes field, no data from any of the following fields, even if checked, will appear in the report.

For example, if Chat Sessions is selected as the Session Type, the Default Fields are:

• Question ID
• Date Entered
• Patron E-mail Domain
• Form Type
• Resolution Codes
• Session Time
• Wait Time
• Descriptive Codes
• IP Address
• Referer
• Browser/OS
• Cebrowse
• Category

If the administrator indicates they want Question ID, Date Entered, and Referer fields only, data from the Referer field will not appear.  The administrator must also check Descriptive Codes in order for Referer data to appear in the resulting report.

We will fix this bug as soon as possible and announce its implementation.  Thank you for your patience.

Monthly Report for October 2011

QuestionPoint Membership for October 2011            1,817    Active SUPs (service unit profiles)            1,152    SUPs in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative                 29    Languages can be handled by QuestionPoint libraries    7,132,966    Transactions had passed through QuestionPoint as 30 Sept.    3,245,419    Patrons have asked questions via libraries with QP since 2002*         41,248    New patrons asked for help in October*         24,959    Active records in the Global Knowledge Base             525     Libraries have contributed active, searchable records to the GKB *These numbers are lower than actual, as they do not include texting patrons or chat patrons who have not provided email addresses. QuestionPoint libraries are in 33 countries (listed by region): Australia New Zealand --------------- China French Polynesia Japan India Thailand -------------- United Arab Emirates ---------------- Botswana South Africa -------------- France Greece Germany Italy The Netherlands Spain ------------- Republic of Ireland United Kingdom      England      Scotland      Wales --------------------- Croatia Serbia Slovenia --------------- Russia ------------- Canada Mexico United States ----------------- Jamaica Puerto Rico Trinidad & Tabago -------------------- Brazil Chile Peru     QuestionPoint Statistics for October 2011 50,286     Questions received via E-mail and Text Messages 56,150     Chat sessions requested 18,382     Chat sessions requested via Qwidget 54,321     Chat sessions accepted 13,347     Chat sessions requested at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries      722     Sessions requested after hours at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries        81    Most concurrent chat sessions (up from 71 last month)       29     Average concurrent chat sessions (up from 23 last month) 24/7 Reference Cooperative Statistics   63.9%  Overall “Answering Percentage” (Cooperative libraries picked up 63.9% of all chat sessions, and Back Up staff picked up 33.9%) 19,408  Academic sessions requested; Coop members answered 13,172 (67.9%) 23,395  Public sessions requested; Coop members answered 14,192 (60.7%)      940  Sessions Abandoned (Patron disconnected before librarian picked up, may include some practice sessions)

Installation prévue dimanche 13 novembre

Chers utilisateurs de QuestionPoint,  

Nous sommes heureux de vous informer que nous installerons une mise à niveau de QuestionPoint ce dimanche, 13 novembre . Cette mise à niveau comportera de nouvelles fonctionnalités et certains améliorations. Vous trouverez la description de ces changements dans le document PDF ci-joint. N’hésitez pas à nous contacter si vous ne pouvez ouvrir le document. Nous publierons également ces informations sur le blogue de QuestionPoint.

Veuillez prendre note que le service QuestionPoint ne sera pas disponible le 13 novembre, de 02hr TU à 04hr TU, le temps de l'installation. Vous devez absolument mettre fin à toutes vos sessions de Chat en cours au moins deux minutes avant le moment prévu de l’interruption afin d’éviter que la communication avec vos utilisateurs soit coupée et éviter de potentielles sessions « accrochées ». (Vous ne pourrez pas cliquer sur les sessions coupées mais visible «en cours » pour obtenir les informations afin de communiquer avec les utilisateurs.)

Lorsque le service sera rétabli, veuillez vérifier dans la liste de vos Nouvelles questions si des sessions de Chat ont été interrompues ou si vous avez reçu de nouvelles questions par courriel. Si vous éprouvez des problèmes après l’interruption du service, veuillez contacter votre fournisseur de service pour de l’aide.
Nous nous excusons des inconvénients causés par l'interruptions de service et vous remercions de votre patience.

Carol Bonnefil

Sr. Product Analyst

QuestionPoint

OCLC

bonnefic@oclc.org

 

Nouvelles fonctionnalités et améliorations

1. Upside Wireless : une autre option pour les textos

Les bibliothèques qui ont un compte Upside Wireless (http://www.upsidewireless.com/), une solution pour messages textes basée au Canada (mais également vendue aux États-Unis, au Royaume-Uni et dans d’autres pays), peuvent maintenant intégrer ce compte dans QuestionPoint. Les administrateurs doivent effectuer quelques configurations faciles dans le module Administration pour établir le lien entre les deux services. Voir les illustrations ci-dessous.

Comme avec le service « Text a Librarian » de Mosio (intégré à QuestionPoint en mars 2010), les messages textes seront envoyés au module Service de référence et les bibliothécaires devront répondre à ces messages à partir de ce module. Lors de la réception d’un message texte, les bibliothécaires recevront un avis d’Upside Wireless et un avis de QuestionPoint si cette fonctionnalité est activée dans QuestionPoint. Les réponses aux messages d’Upside Wireless peuvent contenir un maximum de 160 caractères (un compteur indique le nombre de caractères entrés dans la page de réponse).

L’image ci-dessous montre comment une bibliothécaire a utilisé le minimiseur d’URL pour raccourcir l’adresse URL afin de l’inclure dans son message.

2. Nouvelles zones ajoutées dans les pages de politiques

Deux nouvelles zones ont été ajoutées à la page de politiques modèle pour les bibliothèques coopératives : Recherche de revues électroniques et Résolveur Open URL. Ces deux zones peuvent être liées aux zones correspondantes dans le WorldCat Registry si l’éditeur de la Page de politiques le veut. Les informations peuvent aussi être copiées du WorldCat Registry et adaptées pour la Page de politiques. Finalement, l’éditeur peut les entrer directement dans la Page des politiques.

De plus, la zone Établissement principal peut maintenant être liée au, ou copiée du, WorldCat Registry.

Avantage du lien au dossier du WorldCat Registry : lorsqu’une information doit être modifiée, elle n’a qu’à être modifiée dans le WorldCat Registry et non dans chaque service OCLC.

Pour savoir quelles informations inscrire dans la Page de politiques, voir les directives au : http://wiki.questionpoint.org/w/page/13839472/Policy%20Page%20Guidelines .

 

L’image ci-dessus montre les nouveaux liens dans l’écran de l’éditeur et dans celui du bibliothécaire.

3. Exportation des données des sessions et des formulaires de question

Comme première étape dans l’amélioration de la production des rapports statistiques pour les formulaires (formulaire Web, formulaire de Chat), des modifications ont été apportées à l’exportation des données (Service de référence >> Réviser les transcriptions >> Exportation). L’image ci-dessous montre comment les administrateurs doivent d’abord sélectionner la Date, le Format puis le Type de session : formulaire de question et question sur place (Ajouter une question); sessions en direct (Chat); et messages textes.

Les zones affichées dans la deuxième partie de la page dépendent du type de session sélectionné. De plus, le format par défaut est maintenant Fichier Excel et les libellés sont affichés Comme des titres de colonnes.

Veuillez noter que, pour cette installation de QuestionPoint, nous avons restructuré la façon dont les zones de formulaires sont nommées, entretenues et stockées. Pour profiter pleinement de cette nouvelle structure (si vous êtes appelé à modifier les zones de formulaires), vous devriez utiliser les formulaires disponibles dans le module Administration sous Gestionnaire de formulaires. Note. – Les bibliothèques qui utilisaient les formulaires disponibles dans le Gestionnaire de formulaires devront recréer ces formulaires pour profiter pleinement des améliorations. Des instructions décrivant cette procédure assez simple seront publiées après l’installation.

4. Mise à niveau du formulaire test pour le Chat

Le formulaire pour tester le Chat a été mis à niveau et intégré dans le Gestionnaire de formulaires. Si votre bibliothèque a un formulaire pour le Chat dans le Gestionnaire de formulaires, votre administrateur peut choisir d’inclure toutes les zones et options de ce formulaire dans le formulaire test. Sinon, les zones par défaut seront affichées dans le formulaire test : Nom, Adresse électronique et Question.

Si vous voulez tester le Chat, cochez la case « Test » pour que votre session soit transférée à la File d’attente test (le bibliothécaire au Chat doit sélectionner la File d’attente test dans le Moniteur de Chat). Si vous voulez tester le Chat dans un environnement réel, la case doit être décochée et une file d’attente réelle doit être sélectionnée dans le Moniteur de Chat. Lorsque le formulaire test est utilisé, les données des sessions ne sont pas comptabilisées dans les rapports statistiques.

L’image ci-dessous montre un formulaire test qui contient les zones configurées dans le Gestionnaire de formulaires.

5. Configuration des formulaires pour question sur place dans le Gestionnaire de formulaires

Toujours dans le but d’améliorer la production de rapports statistiques sur les données des formulaires, la configuration des formulaires pour les questions sur place, qui devait auparavant être effectuée dans le module Service de référence (Ajouter une question), est maintenant effectuée dans le Gestionnaire de formulaires. Ainsi, tous les formulaires sont maintenant regroupés en un même endroit ce qui vous permet de mieux contrôler leur uniformité. De plus, grâce au nouvel emplacement des formulaires pour les questions sur place, vous pourrez maintenant sélectionner des options dans des menus déroulants.

L’image suivante illustre l’endroit où vous pouvez maintenant configurer les formulaires pour question sur place.

Dans l’image suivante, un exemple de formulaire pour question sur place configuré dans le Gestionnaire de formulaires.

6. Ajout de l’irlandais

Les administrateurs peuvent maintenant sélectionner la langue irlandaise dans les forces (profondeur) de la collection dans le Profil de l’établissement (module Profil) et les éditeurs de la Base de connaissances globale peuvent également ajouter des notices en langue irlandaise.

Corrections

1. Fuseaux horaires

Lors de l’installation précédente, une plus grande flexibilité pour les fuseaux horaires a été implantée afin de permettre plusieurs fuseaux horaires par pays. Étant donné que des dates différentes ont été adoptées par certains pays pour le passage de l’heure normale à l’heure avancée (et vice-versa), le changement automatique d’heure dans QuestionPoint n’était pas approprié dans certains cas. Ce problème a été réglé et le changement automatique d’heure (avancée et normale) sera maintenant correctement effectué pour les fuseaux horaires représentés dans QuestionPoint.

QuestionPoint Install 13 November 2011

New Features

1.    Upside Wireless, another texting option

Libraries that have accounts with Upside Wireless (http://www.upsidewireless.com/) , a text messaging solution based in Canada (but also sold in the U.S. and UK and other select countries), can now integrate that account into QuestionPoint.  Administrators need to complete simple configuration steps in the Administration module to make the link between the two services active.  The images below illustrate.

As with Mosio’s Text a Librarian (integrated with QuestionPoint in March 2010), text messages will be delivered to the Ask module and answered from there.  Libraries will receive an e-mail alert from Upside Wireless, as well as a notification from QuestionPoint if QP notification is active.  Responses to Upside Wireless text messages can be a maximum of 160 characters, and a counter on the Answer page counts down as the librarian enters their response.  The Answer box will not accept characters beyond 160.
     The last image illustrates how one librarian used the URL “minifier” to shorten a URL, so her response would fit well within the 160-character limit.

2.    New fields added to Policy Pages

Two new fields have been added to the Policy Page template for Cooperative libraries:  e-Serials ISSN Search and Open URL Resolvers.  Both fields can be linked to fields in the WorldCat Registry if the Policy Page editor wishes.  The information could also be copied from the Registry and edited for Policy Page use.  The final option is for the editor to enter data directly into the field. 

In addition, the Parent Institution field can now also be linked to or copied from the Registry if the editor wishes.  The advantage of linking to a Registry record is that information that changes needs to be updated in only the Registry and not in each, individual OCLC service.   See the Policy Page guidelines at  http://wiki.questionpoint.org/w/page/13839472/Policy%20Page%20Guidelines  for the type of data that should go into these fields.

The image above illustrates the editor and chat librarian views of the new linkable fields.

3.    Form Field reviews

As part of the first, necessary steps to improving the reporting of information you collect on your various forms (e.g., webform, chat form), QuestionPoint has made a few changes to form field reviews (Ask >> Review Transcripts >> Form Fields).   The image below illustrates how administrators must first select the date and delivery format options, then the Session Type they want to review:  questions received via your question form link, i.e., webform and walk-up (Add Question) forms; chat sessions; and text messages.
     Depending on your selection of Session Type, the second part of the page is populated with the possible fields to report on.  Other changes include changing the default delivery format to the View Excel file and the default label layout to As column headings.
     It should be noted that the important work that is being implemented with this release is the restructuring of how form fields are named, maintained, and stored.  To take full advantage of the more flexible and more accurate (if you change form fields over time) structure, your library should use forms built within the QuestionPoint Forms Manager in the Administration module.  Note:  Those libraries that have been using Forms Manager forms will need to rebuild those forms to take full advantage of the improvements.  Instructions for that simple procedure will be published after the release.

4.    Practice chat form upgrade

The practice chat form has been upgraded and integrated into the Forms Manager.  If your library has a chat form built with the Forms Manager, your administrator can choose to have all the fields and options of that form also appear for the practice form.   Otherwise, the practice form will use default fields:  Name, E-mail, and Question.  In the case of defaults, all fields are optional. 

If you wish to practice or test, check the Practice checkbox so that your session comes into the Practice queue (the “chat librarian” must select the Practice queue on the chat monitor queue selection page).  Or if you want to test in a live environment, leave the box unchecked and choose a real queue to monitor in the chat monitor.  Sessions using the practice form are not included in statistics or form field reports.

The image below illustrates a practice form that is using fields configured in Forms Manager.

5.    Walk-up (Add Question) forms configuration integrated into Forms Manager

Also a result of the effort to improve form reporting, we have moved the configuration of walk-up forms from the Ask module and integrated it into the Forms Manager.  This places the control of all patron/question intake methods in one area and allows you to build forms more uniformly, if desired, as well as more efficiently, since you can use the same configured field(s) in more than one form.  Also, with walk-up forms now within the Forms Manager, you can build selection options such as drop-down menus, which were not possible heretofore for walk-up forms.

The following image illustrates where the walk-up form is configured within the Forms Manager.

And the next image shows what a configured walk-up form might look like.

6.    Irish language added

Administrators can now indicate Irish as a language strength in the Profile module, and editors can add Irish-language records to a local knowledge base or the Global KB.

 

Fixes

 

1.    Time zone fixes

In our previous install, we introduced greater flexibility in time zone configuration, which enabled multiple time zones per country.  Because different Daylight Savings (or Summer Time) dates have been adopted in certain regions of some countries, our automated “switch” did not correctly operate for all of the newly created zones.  This has now been corrected, and the automated drop-back/spring-forward will now function correctly for all of the time zones represented in QuestionPoint.

QuestionPoint Announces Materials for LIS Schools

 

Library schools can obtain a free QuestionPoint account, which will allow faculty members and students to use the QuestionPoint virtual reference software.

A unique teaching vehicle.
QuestionPoint in the classroom will maximize students’ LIS education and develop their virtual reference skills.  Students can experience simulated chat reference interactions and become familiar with an online reference management environment.  Transcripts of chats can be saved and reviewed in class to provide discussions on best practices and reference service provision.

Learning resources available with free LIS account:

• Access to software librarians use and ability to conduct chats and email and review transcripts within class setting.
• Training and information modules on virtual reference and  best practices.
• Sample questions and transcripts to use for classroom exercises.
• List of suggested readings and lessons on virtual reference.

 

For more information on the LIS account, contact:
Becky Hawk at hawkb@oclc.org
Or visit http://www.oclc.org/community/education/lis

Monthly Report for September 2011

QuestionPoint Members

        1,940    Active SUPs (service unit profiles)

        1,276    SUPs in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative

             29    Languages can be handled by QuestionPoint libraries

 7,031,965    Transactions had passed through QuestionPoint as 30 Sept.

 3,204,171    Patrons have asked questions via libraries with QP since 2002*

      36,122    New patrons asked for help in September*

      24,851    Active records in the Global Knowledge Base

          525     Libraries have contributed active, searchable records to the GKB

*These numbers are lower than actual, as they do not include texting patrons or chat patrons who have not provided email addresses.

QuestionPoint libraries are in 33 countries (listed by region):

Australia New Zealand --------------- China French Polynesia Japan India Thailand -------------- United Arab Emirates ---------------- Botswana South Africa -------------- France Greece Germany Italy The Netherlands Spain ------------- Republic of Ireland	United Kingdom      England      Scotland      Wales --------------------- Croatia Serbia Slovenia --------------- Russia ------------- Canada Mexico United States ----------------- Jamaica Puerto Rico Trinidad & Tabago -------------------- Brazil Chile Peru

QuestionPoint Statistics for September 2011

43,144     Questions received via E-mail and Text Messages

43,740     Chat sessions requested

13,919     Chat sessions requested via Qwidget

42,316     Chat sessions accepted

  9,612     Chat sessions requested at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

     611     Sessions requested after hours at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

       71     Most concurrent chat sessions (up from 46 last month)

       23     Average concurrent chat sessions (up from 14 last month)

24/7 Reference Cooperative Statistics

67.1%  Overall “Answering Percentage” (Cooperative libraries picked up 67.1% of all chat sessions, and Back Up staff picked up 30.7%)

15,259  Academic sessions requested; Coop members answered 10,503 (68.8%)

18,869  Public sessions requested; Coop members answered 12,404 (65.7%)

     753  Sessions Abandoned (Patron disconnected before librarian picked up, may include some practice sessions)

September Questions of Note

One of our members--actually, the OCLC Information Center, right in our back yard—was able to get useful information for a question he was working on.  In answer to the question about free Internet access in libraries in France, the librarian got an answer straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak:  Global Knowledge Base record ID 99934 provided him with a directory of public libraries in the major towns of France, as well as the URL for the Association of French Librarians.  But more to the point, while the UK librarian was working on the original question documented in the GKB, a library user from France happened on the UK enquiry desk and described Internet access in France’s public libraries. 

Although of 2005 vintage, the URLs in the answer are still valid, and there is little reason to believe the French patron’s information is not still the general situation in France.  Nevertheless, our librarian is contacting the Association of French Librarians and promises to update KBID 99934 when he receives additional information.

Search for “association french librarians” (include quotation marks) in the search box in the left margin of this blog.

If you have a story about the Global Knowledge Base to share, please send it to Paula Rumbaugh, at rumbaugh@oclc.org. 

--------------------------------------

In September 32 English-language records and 43 French-language records were added to the GKB. 

A 76th record was Spanish-language but answered by the Bibliothèque de l’Institut du Monde Arabe.  KBID 210698 provides a lengthy bibliography for an Argentinian student on the history of Arab culture in France.  Search in the blog search box for “buenos aires” arabe francia (include quotes).

Our thanks, as always, to our volunteer editors for reviewing, copy editing, and formatting records submitted to the Global Reference Network by member libraries.  If you are interested in learning more about the QuestionPoint knowledge base feature (both local and global), see The QuestionPoint Knowledge Bases: An Introduction,” at http://questionpoint.org/education/index.html.  

Updated directions for adding the Qwidget to Facebook

Dear QuestionPoint community,

As you might have noticed, Facebook has announced and has already made some significant changes to how applications (apps) are built for Facebook. As a result of these changes, we have updated the basic and advanced directions for adding the Qwidget to Facebook.

The updated directions cover these four significant changes you will need to be aware of if you use the QuestionPoint qwidget on Facebook.

• Starting Oct 1 all Facebook canvas applications such as the qwidget must be assessable via SSL. This means you will need to have your qwidget hosted on a server Facebook can access that supports HTTPS as well as HTTP. For more information on this, please see http://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/497/

 

• Changes to the user interface of the Facebook Developer tool

 

• An option to have your application’s files hosted by an integrated provider such as Heroku

 

• An update to the Facebook PHP files which are used in the Advanced directions.

 

You can find these updated directions at

Basic: http://www5.oclc.org/questionpoint/fb/QPBasicQwidgetFacebookv2.docx

Advanced: http://www5.oclc.org/questionpoint/fbqwidget/QPAdvancedQwidgetfacebookv2.docx

 

Please know that while we do our best to update the directions for adding the Qwidget to Facebook, it is critical for all Facebook developers to track the Facebook Developer Roadmap located at http://developers.facebook.com/roadmap/ and the Developer blog @ http://developers.facebook.com/blog/archive   

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me directly.

David Leslie

Product Implmentation and Support Analyst

QuestionPoint team

 

QuestionPoint transactions pass the 7M marker!

 

Congratulations to the University of California San Diego library, which handled the 7,000,000^th QuestionPoint transaction on Wednesday, 9/21, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The question, inquiring about the open hours of Academic Computing and Media Services labs, came via an SMS text message.

The question received prompt attention. The librarian’s answer demonstrates the on-page utility to shorten long URLs—with her answer, she provided a minified URL for further information on lab hours. First introduced with the QuestionPoint texting capability, the minifier is especially useful in helping to keep the character count of text message answers low.

UCSD has been offering texting service through QuestionPoint since August 2010 (texting in QuestionPoint was introduced in March 2010). UCSD reports indicate steady texting usage throughout 2011, making up just over 14% of UCSD total questions received by all methods, including web form, chat, and Qwidget.

Top 10 Quality Comments: January – June 2011

We usually present the Top 10 Quality issues at the beginning of the year, for the preceding year.  However, by popular demand, we are presenting a 6 month snapshot of the Top 10 Quality Comments for the first half of 2011.  This list reflects the issues most often reported by Cooperative librarians about other librarians in the Cooperative.  The issues most cited by reviewing librarians, listed in order of frequency, are:

1.  Policy Page

Librarian does not check the policy page.   This inference arises when the information provided in session by the librarian either ignores or contradicts the information provided on the patron library’s policy page.  This was also the most often reported issue in 2009 and 2010.

2.  Resolution Code

Incorrect resolution code is assigned.  Often this is because of incorrect use of the “Lost Call” code.  It also arises when the librarian tells patron that another librarian will follow up, then codes as Answered, or librarian codes session for Follow Up when patron did not leave an email address.

3.  Reference Conversation

Librarian does not properly clarify the question or otherwise engage in the “reference interview”, thus risking miscommunication with the patron.

4.  Incorrect information was provided in the session.

This issue is often used in conjunction with other issues, for instance if the librarian provides incorrect information regarding a library policy (many times, this happens when the chatting librarian provides an answer based on his own library policies rather than those of the patron’s library: we may code this issue as both “policy page” and “incorrect info”).  Another example:  patron was looking for books by “Chuck Palahnuik”; librarian searched using this spelling and found nothing – because the author’s name is incorrect (it should be Chuck Palahnuik)

5.  No Searching (tie for 5th): 

Examples include:  patron queries whether the library owns a known item and the librarian tells patron to contact the library rather than searching the library catalog and/or databases.

5.  Source Choice (tie for 5th)

This issue arises when librarian could have sent better sources (i.e. more authoritative, more current, more appropriate to the patron's level).  For example:  Librarian does a Google search or sends a wikipedia article for queries that could better be handled by reference to the library’s online databases or catalog. 

6.  Descriptive Codes

Cooperative librarian assigns a descriptive code to a non-local question (i.e., a session with a Cooperative patron).  Descriptive codes should only be assigned to sessions with your own patrons.

7.  Compliments!

Yes, we get compliments and we love passing those along.  If you think a Cooperative librarian has done a nice job with one of your patrons’ questions, please send it to Quality. We will pass the compliment along to the chatting librarian, and this helps us keep track of our star libraries.  So, don’t hesitate to send a compliment!

8.  Abrupt Ending

This issue arise when the patron is non-responsive patron and the librarian ends the session without waiting 5 minutes.  It can also refer to times when librarians end the session before it appears that the patron is ready to do so.

9.   Contact/Followup Option

With questions of a local nature, the Cooperative librarian may be unable to provide a complete answer to the patron.  This is almost always the case when patrons have circulation issues, problems with their library card, etc.  Unfortunately, some librarians tell the patron to “contact your library” rather than giving the patron the option to call the library (in which case the chatting librarian should provide the correct phone number, as per the policy page) or offering to code the session for Follow Up.

10.  Search Strategies

Librarian’ does a search for information, but fails to find the information requested due to a faulty search strategy.  This issue also arises if the librarian does not provide assistance in how to find articles (provides no search strategy for a database). 

Thanks to all for using the 24/7 Reference quality process!  By sending sessions to Quality, you not only help us provide guidance when needed to the Coop librarians, but you also help us track issues both for individual libraries and the Cooperative as a whole.  If you have questions about quality, don’t hesitate to email me at mcglames@oclc.org

Free QuestionPoint training at OCLC training portal

We are pleased to announce that free QuestionPoint classes are available online, as part of OCLC's new training program. These classes will be conducted by OCLC trainers and various training partners (Amigos, WiLS, Minitex, MLNC, MCLS, OHIONET and LYRASIS, as appropriate) and are designed to help members refresh or maintain skills, ensure effective use of OCLC subscription services, and learn new applications to help members leverage their investments in the cooperative.

The QuestionPoint classes do not take the place of the original hands-on guidance that new QuestionPoint subscribers receive as part of Implementation, but instead are targeted toward exposing QuestionPoint users to new and/or unfamiliar facets of the program.

The QuestionPoint classes are available on a quarterly basis and will be conducted in English. To see the list of classes and scheduled dates, go to http://training.oclc.org/. Choose "Training Courses" then "QuestionPoint". You will need to register at the training portal in order to attend any of the classes, but registration and the courses themselves are free.

For your convenience, this quarter's schedule is copied below:

QuestionPoint Administration 1 - Starting Your QuestionPoint Service

• Wed 9/21/2011: 9/21/2011 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
• Thu 12/08/2011: 12/08/2011 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST

QuestionPoint Administration 2 - Generating and Interpreting Reports

• Wed 9/21/2011: 9/21/2011 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
• Thu 12/08/2011: 12/08/2011 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

QuestionPoint Librarian 1 - QuestionPoint Overview and E-mail Reference

• Mon 9/19/2011: 9/19/2011 from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
• Tue 12/06/2011: 12/06/2011 from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST

QuestionPoint Librarian 2 - Using Flash Chat

• Mon 9/19/2011: 9/19/2011 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
• Tue 12/06/2011: 12/06/2011 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

QuestionPoint Librarian 3 - Chat Follow-up, Referrals, and Managing Questions

• Tue 9/20/2011: 9/20/2011 from :00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT
• Wed 12/07/2011: from 12/07/2011 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST

QuestionPoint Librarian 4 - Personal Scripts, Co-browse, IM and Transfer

• Tue 9/20/2011: 9/20/2011 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
• Wed 12/07/2011: 12/07/2011 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST

We hope that this new OCLC benefit will assist our current QuestionPoint subscribers!

Community Outreach with QuestionPoint: webinar recording

Programs and events offered through virtual reference are a cost-effective way for libraries to engage with their community; with a virtual session, your users don’t need to visit the library to attend – and the speakers can be off-site as well. This webinar highlights several innovative programs conducted by various members of the Enquire group, the national virtual reference service for the UK, staffed by UK public libraries. 

Enquire coordinator Joanne John provides a brief overview of Enquire, then discusses how UK libraries have set up local chat services, in addition to their participation in the national Enquire service.  Among the different services discussed are homework help services, such as Essex County Council's popular Homework Helper.  In addition, some libraries use their local chat service to present special events, such as: Chat with an Author, Councillor Clinic (elected officials answer questions from their electorate) and Book clinic (customers discuss books, both general and genre specific).  Cornwall's local service allowed the library to completely reconfigure the way reference service is provided to the public.

The UK public libraries are increasingly adopting the “local service” model to provide services and programs unique to their communities, in addition to providing 24/7 help through the national Enqiure service.  Not only does this raise the profile of the library - it can open up many intriguing ways to collaborate with community leaders, artists and subject experts, regardless of their location.  And it can be a lot of fun, too!

The recording is available as a streaming link or you can download the file (you need an ARF player for the download).

This webinar is one of a series of programs hosted by QuestionPoint, designed to promote discussion of virtual reference best practices.  If you have suggestions for additional topics, please email Susan McGlamery at mcglames@oclc.org

Virtual User Group: notes of August 2011 meeting

The latest QuestionPoint virtual user group meeting was on 3 days at 3 different times (August 30, 31 and September 1) and attended by a total of 98 QuestionPoint librarians. Each meeting was facilitated by a member of the product team: Carol Bonnefil, Susan McGlamery, or Paula Rumbaugh. To listen to the recording of the September 1 session, access either the streaming version or the file (requires an Arf player).  Here are the PowerPoint slides used for all 3 meetings:

Aug 11 user group

View more presentations from OCLC.

Meeting notes:

We opened the meeting with an overview of the QuestionPoint community. We then discussed the enhancements to QuestionPoint’s Policy Pages, introduced in the 21 August install, including (1) , linking from specified fields in the Policy Pages to the WorldCat Registry and (2) new fields in the Policy Pages. Additional details on the 21 August release are available in the Release Notes published in this blog. We noted the revisions to the Policy Page guidelines and the latest Policy Page day, which we celebrated on September 2.

We then reviewed the new features and enhancements of the past year, including customized wait messages for chat queues and the knowledge base as a web service.

The update ended with a look to the future and what we are planning next for QuestionPoint. Based on our user survey (summer of 2010) we have identified several new initiatives, including a new texting option using Upside Wireless, further optimization of QP for mobile devices and improved forms management and form field reporting. We also announced plans for two pilot programs to test two new features: the ability to accept attachments from patrons and to forward email messages directly into QuestionPoint.

Following are some of the questions that were asked and answered during the three sessions.

Qwidget:

• Further development of the Qwidget to accommodate Android versions. This can be a moving target, but development continues for various devices, including additional Android versions and the iPad.
• Do you have technical experts who can help us set up the Qwidget for Facebook? Our support@oclc.org can help a great deal, and they will pass any questions they cannot answer on to one of us in the product area.
• Is it possible to have a practice Qwidget? Suggestions include placing the Qwidget on your intranet, with an organized practice day, or on any page that’s not publicized.

Full Transaction Searching:

• Is it possible to have full transaction searching on the Review Transcripts area? In order for libraries to perform actions on search results (such as Follow Up), the search is not available from Review Transcripts, as this area does not permit actions on questions.
• Will transactions search allow me to see questions that belong to other libraries? Yes, if you had a “relationship” with that question then the transaction will be searchable.

Chat:

• Are wait messages only for when patrons are not picked up? Yes. We do not yet have automated “still searching” messages.
• Why can I not see the IP address for Qwidget sessions? If the Administrator has set up the Qwidget to permit IP addresses to be gathered, the IP addresses are seen in the “Review Transcripts”area. They are currently not available in the Chat monitor.
• Are our scripts at the institution or the group level? In a cooperative situation – where the librarians may be answering questions from non-local patrons, the chat librarian sees the patron library’s scripted messages at both the group and institution level. The chatting librarian always sees his or her own personal scripts and institution’s scripts.
• Is it still recommended that we assign descriptive codes ONLY to questions from our library’s patrons and NOT other library’s patrons? Yes, if you are a member of the 24/7 Cooperative.
• How can our librarians practice chat? See the the practice link on the My QuestionPoint home page.

Policy Pages:

• A comment from one librarian for everyone: it is very helpful if everyone puts out a username and password for their databases/access to catalog & pages. When we do NOT have that, we are limited in what suggestions we can make to students.  For members of the 24/7 Reference Cooperative: it is very helpful if you can provide access to your databases to Cooperative librarians – this helps the Cooperative provide better service.
• Another librarian urges all 24/7 participants to link to a list of all databases available at the library. If you cannot provide a link, then do list your databases in the policy pages.
• After linking to the Registry and then clicking to enlarge the map, the wrong location was displayed. It is possible that your institution Registry maps the center of the zip code area rather than your address. This may be because the geolocation utility originally used to populate the Registry field used the coordinates of the center of the zip code area rather than the exact address. Suggestion: Copy from the Registry instead of Linking. This uses the address rather than the coordinates. You may also manually input the address. The WC Registry editor at your library can use the easy fix in the Registry to correct the map. Contact support@oclc.org for more information.
• One attendee used Google map’s code to embed the map in the policy pages directly, rather than linking to the Registry.
• Is it possible to embed more than one map in the Map field? No, not at this time. 

Miscellaneous:

• Are there plans to provide the option to mark a New question as Active? When a patron responds "thank you" to an answer, the question doesn't need more info/action, but stays in the New list. We keep our questions open for about 2 weeks. Questions do go from bold type to regular type after they’ve been opened. We have logged this enhancement request for later review.
• Are there plans to modify reports to allow us to export data to Excel? Highlight, copy, and paste into an Excel cell is usually faster and just as good as an export. But we do have this enhancement logged.
• Can we call the knowledge base something else? Absolutely. Please feel free to call any patron-facing feature whatever you like.
• What about other new additions we would like to see? We are following the 2010 QuestionPoint survey responses closely and are happy to say we’ve implemented or are actively working on the top 6 or 7 options. We hope to do another survey next summer.
• How do we set up email notification? This is done in the Administration module, Institution tab, Settings link.

Many thanks to all who attended!

Monthly Report for August 2011

 

QuestionPoint Members

        1,937    Active SUPs (service unit profiles)

        1,274    SUPs in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative

             29    Languages can be handled by QuestionPoint libraries 

6,948,840    Transactions have been received by QP libraries since 2002 (as of

                     August  31)

3,168,049    Patrons have asked questions via libraries with QP since 2002*

     29,391    New patrons asked for help via QP libraries' websites in August*

     24,777    Active records in the Global Knowledge Base

          525    Libraries have contributed active, searchable records to the GKB

*These numbers are lower than actual, as they do not include texting patrons or chat patrons who have not provided email addresses.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QuestionPoint libraries are in the 33 countries listed below by region. 

Australia                                   United Kingdom   

New Zealand                                 England

---------------                                Scotland

China                                           Wales

French Polynesia                      ---------------------

Japan                                        Croatia  

India                                         Serbia

Thailand                                    Slovenia

--------------                             --------------------

United Arab Emirates                  Russia

----------------                           -------------------

Botswana                                   Canada

South Africa                               Mexico

--------------                               United States

France                                     --------------------

Greece                                      Costa Rica

Germany                                    Jamaica

Italy                                           Martinique

The Netherlands                         Puerto Rico

Spain                                         Trinidad & Tabago

--------------                              ---------------------   

Republic of Ireland                       Chile

                                                  Colombia

                                                  Peru

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QuestionPoint Statistics for August 2011

37,170   Questions received via E-mail and Text Messages

29,333   Chat sessions requested

  9,031   Chat sessions requested via Qwidget

28,228   Chat sessions accepted

  6,655   Chat sessions requested at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

     652   Sessions requested after hours at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

       46   Most concurrent chat sessions (down 4 from last month)

       14   Average concurrent chat sessions (down 1 from last month)

24/7 Reference Cooperative Statistics

72%  Overall “Answering Percentage”!  Cooperative libraries picked up 72% of all chat sessions, and Back Up staff picked up 26%, for a total of 98% pick-up.  See Sessions Abandoned, below.

  7,876  Academic sessions requested; Academic members answered 6,020 (76.4%)

14,802  Public sessions requested; Public members answered 10,326 (69.76%)

    479  Sessions Abandoned (Patron disconnected before librarian picked up, may include some practice sessions)

August Questions of Note

Just activated for you to search: students at the Highline Community College in Washington state asked who the “most famous librarian in history” is . . . or was.  A back-up librarian picked up this question in a chat session (KB record 199606), and immediately found two sources of the same top-25 list.  What makes this KB record worth pointing out here is how it illustrates the ability to update existing records by adding an Addendum to the original.  In this case, at least two other librarians answered the same question; the editor was able to combine the three KB records into one by adding the additional information as addenda.  You can search for “most famous librarian” using the search box in the left pane of this blog page.

This new addition may get a smile from some of you: Someone contacted the Library of the American Library Association asking, "Is it true NYPL staff make $600,000?' Could you send information on the average salary, or posted salary range, for a "typical" reference librarian, or similar position. Also for a branch head.  To find out if there are reference librarians lurking somewhere with such attractive salaries, search for “salary reference librarian.”  You may see some other interesting questions and answers regarding librarian salaries in the same results list.

Don’t forget to submit answered questions to the Global Knowledge Base.  Your answers may contain research that could be of use to your colleagues around the world.  All submittals are reviewed for appropriateness for the global community, corrected for spelling, scrubbed of personal information, and sometimes summarized for succinctness.

Celebrate Policy Page Day! September 2, 2011

We’ve made some changes to the QuestionPoint policy pages: see the August 21 release notes posted to the QP blog for more information: http://questionpoint.blogs.com/  and our newly revised Policy Page Guidelines: http://wiki.questionpoint.org/Policy+Page+Guidelines

We’ve set aside this Friday, September 2, as Policy Page Day.  On this day, we ask that you review your library’s policy page (and, if you are a group or BME administrator, that you be sure the institution administrators in your group check their policy pages).   This is an opportunity to take your policy page for a spin – check all the links, be sure the information is up-to-date, and generally make sure it’s performing as expected.

A library's policy page is one of the key resources that ensures the proper working of the 24/7 Reference Cooperative. An informative policy page helps the Cooperative librarians do a better job answering questions for your patrons.  However, over the course of time, we have found that libraries are not always consistent in how the policy pages are completed.  So, to reduce confusion and ensure greater consistency, we have provided guidelines to help you fill out your library's policy page.  You can find the guidelines in the QP wiki, at: http://wiki.questionpoint.org/Policy+Page+Guidelines.  To celebrate policy page day, please take a few moments on Friday to review your library's policy page and make sure it is consistent with these guidelines. 

Questions or comments?  Chat with us online!  Quality team members Wren, Gillian and Susan will be available via QP chat on Friday to answer any questions you have as you review your policy page.  Just visit the QP Quality Qwidget  at: http://www5.oclc.org/questionpoint/quality/ask.html  (if we aren’t online, please do leave us an email question and we will get back to you. You can send us email via the Qwidget or use our new question form: “Send us your questions or comments about Quality”.   You can use this same form anytime (not just on Policy Page Day) to send suggestions about policy pages or anything relating to the Cooperative.  Note that this Quality page also has links to the Policy Page Guidelines, the 24/7 Policies and the Best Practices.

Thanks in advance for helping our Cooperative provide the best service possible to your users by updating your library's policy page!  If you have any questions about your policy page, please come chat with us on Friday, or send us an email via our new webform!

QuestionPoint Release Notes for 21 August 2011

We will install a QuestionPoint upgrade this Sunday that will include new features and fixes.

Please be advised that the QuestionPoint service will be unavailable for one hour: 0600 – 0700 (GMT), Sunday, August 21. It is imperative that you end any in-progress chat sessions at least 2 minutes prior to the scheduled system outage to avoid sudden communication interruptions to your patrons and potential "hung" sessions.

When service is restored, please check your "New" questions lists for any unanswered email questions. If you experience any outage after the projected service period, please contact your Customer Service Provider for further assistance.

1. New

1.1 Reports in Drop-down Navigation Menu

A Reports item has been added to the drop-down navigation menu in the upper right of every QuestionPoint page. Clicking on this will take the user directly into the Reports module, to the same default page as if s/he had clicked on the Reports tab from the My QuestionPoint home page.

1.2 Policy Page Enhancements

The following enhancements to the Policy Page feature of QuestionPoint are the first of a project to more closely integrate QuestionPoint with other OCLC services to reduce duplication and inconsistencies across an institution’s services and take advantage of centralized sources of data. 

The WorldCat Registry is a database maintained by OCLC for libraries around the world. All QuestionPoint libraries have an institution record in the Registry. The information in your institution’s Registry record can be changed at any time by an authorized person(s) from the library. You or other administrators in your library can request edit access to the Registry or other OCLC electronic resource services at http://www.oclc.org/us/en/access/prepare.htm.

Several data elements in the Registry – such as institution name, address, home page and catalog URLs, IP addresses, and more – are used by several OCLC services. This data may be read directly from the Registry, eliminating the need to maintain such information in multiple places.

New text, forms, and buttons in the Profile module. The QuestionPoint Profile module, Institution Services tab, Inst Info link, displays two new fields:

 OCLC Symbol, which displays the symbol associated with your library

WorldCat Registry Record, which displays the name of the Registry record associated with your library.

If this information is not correct, you can click on the Correction Form link to report the error.

New text, forms, and buttons in the Policy Pages. The Policy Edit Page (renamed from the current Policies page) includes instructions at the top of the page. They describe:

o How to see the Policy Page Guidelines

o How to see the same view the chat librarian will see

o How to view the Registry record associated with your account and how to request a change if that is not correct

o For Cooperative libraries only: instructions for submitting your completed policy page

A new button on the blue bar beneath your library’s name, the View WorldCat Registry button, opens the entire public view of the Registry record affiliated with your institution in a new window.

Link to WorldCat Registry record field or copy data. Seven policy page fields are linkable to similar fields in the Registry. The linked fields are highlighted in light yellow in the policy page edit view. To view data in your associated Registry record, click “edit” on one of the highlighted fields. This will display the link to the Registry data, which is viewable when you click the accompanying arrow.

The advantages of linking to your institution’s Registry data are that you won’t need to rekey data and any updates to the linked Registry field will automatically be reflected from your policy page when chat librarians view your policies. Rather than link directly to the Registry data, -you can instead copy the information to your policy field. Once the information is copied, you can then place it wherever you want or edit it. Copying does not provide automatic updating should that information change for your library.

If your library currently has no data in one of the linkable fields in the Registry, a message appears in place of data: “This WorldCat Institution Registry field has not been completed or the data has been deleted.” Your only option is to cancel and return to the field edit page. (You cannot update your library’s Registry information directly from the policy page.)

Once linked, a new Unlink button replaces the Edit button for that field. You cannot edit that field without first unlinking it. Note: If you already have considerable information in a linkable field and you then link the field, the linked data replaces all existing information. However, if you wish to return to the previous manually entered information, just click the Unlink button.

Finally, a new Reset button has been added to the field edit page. While entering and editing information in the field, the Reset button will return the contents to what it was, provided you have not clicked the Save button.

New fields for the Policy Pages. Three new fields have been added to the Policy Edit Page:

· Map follows the Locations field. Linkable

· Wifi Access? follows the Available Technology and Equipment field. Linkable

· e-Books follows the Databases field. Not linkable.

As always, libraries that participate in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative should consult the Policy Page Guidelines for each field to learn about the specific contents and/or the nature of the contents expected by the users of the policies .

The new Map field will render a Google map based on the data in this field. If you link to the Registry, the map is based on the latitude-longitude coordinates stored in the Registry. If you copy from the Registry, the actual address stored there is copied into the field, and the map is based on that. Finally, you may enter your address manually in the field; the map will then be based on the address you enter.

The Wifi Access field can hold any information you wish to display there. If you choose to link to the Registry, you will simply get a “Yes” or “No”.

The e-Books field will hold whatever information you think chat librarians will need. Please consult the Policy Page Guidelines.

Hotlinking URLs no longer requires HTML. Until now, in order to hotlink a URL in the policy page, the editor needed to enclose the URL in “href” HTML code, then specify the actual text to be hotlinked. It is now only necessary to enclose the URL in angle brackets, for example: <http://www.anywherelibrary.org>. This will then appear to users of the policies as a hot link.

What will happen to existing policy pages? There will initially be no change to existing policies. Only policy page editors will note the new instructions, buttons, and highlighted, linkable fields. URLs for which editors have used HTML code to hotlink them will still appear as hot links. If you are happy with your policy page as it now stands, you need do nothing.

 

2. Fixes

2.1 Reports of Sessions

Session reports no longer link incorrectly when you have not set a date range. The default when you first open a Report of Sessions is based on all data currently in the 90-day database. If you click any of the numbers, you no longer receive the “Invalid” error message with table data that includes transcripts not requested. Instead, you will receive table data that exactly matches the hotlinked number you clicked on.

2.2 Full Transaction Searching Highlighting

Currently keywords in a librarian-to-librarian message are not highlighted when they are used as search terms. With this install, they will correctly highlight.

Monthly Report for July 2011

QuestionPoint Members

       1,936    Active SUPs (service unit profiles)

       1,274    SUPs in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative

           29    Languages can be handled by QuestionPoint libraries 

6,882,337    Transactions have been received by QP libraries since 2002 (as of July 31)

 3,138,658    Patrons have asked questions via libraries with QP since 2002*

     30,295    New patrons asked for help via QP libraries' websites in July*

     24,721    Active records in the Global Knowledge Base

         524    Libraries have contributed active, searchable records to the GKB

*These numbers are lower than actual, as they do not include texting patrons or chat patrons who have not provided email addresses. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QuestionPoint libraries are in the 33 countries listed below by region.  

Australia New Zealand --------------- China French Polynesia Japan India Thailand -------------- United Arab Emirates ---------------- Botswana South Africa -------------- France Greece Germany Italy The Netherlands Spain -------------- Republic of Ireland

United Kingdom     England     Scotland     Wales --------------------- Croatia Serbia Slovenia --------------- Russia ------------- Canada Mexico United States ----------------- Costa Rica Jamaica Martinique Puerto Rico Trinidad & Tabago -------------------- Chile Colombia Peru

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QuestionPoint Statistics for July 2011

38,956   Questions received via E-mail and Text Messages

28,533   Chat sessions requested

 8,154    Chat sessions requested via Qwidget

27,433   Chat sessions accepted

 6,252    Chat sessions requested at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

    579    Sessions requested after hours at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

      50    Most concurrent chat sessions (just up 1 from last month)

      15    Average concurrent chat sessions (down 2 from last month)

24/7 Reference Cooperative Statistics

67%  Overall “Answering Percentage”!  Cooperative libraries picked up 67% of all chat sessions, and Back Up staff picked up 31%, for a total of 98% pick-up.  See Sessions Abandoned, below.

7,628  Academic sessions requested; Academic members answered 5,305 (69.5%)

14,653  Public sessions requested; Public members answered 9,593 (65.47%)

    631  Sessions Abandoned (Patron disconnected before librarian picked up, may include some practice sessions)

July Questions of Note

Did you ever try searching the Global Knowledge Base when you thought you'd exhausted resources to answer a question at hand?  It may still be rare that the GKB has the directanswer to the question you're researching--after all, there are numerous aspects to all areas of inquiry and except for ready-reference facts, it's unlikely that most Q&A databases will have exactly the question you're asked.  But previous research in a subject area may well note a book or newspaper or journal or web site that you had not encountered before.

Browsing through the GKB recently, we decided to focus on answers contributed by the Library of Congress's Science and Technical Reports reading room.  Not only are they thrown some real curiosities (Is the pinky finger fractured more than any other finger? QID 209616), but they are also often called on to answer very practical questions (What speed should one drive to obtain the best mileage? QID 209594) and to provide resources for graduate-level research (What were the contributions of the Jeep to the Allied defenses in World War II, with particular reference to Normany? QID 91706). 

Over the almost 10 years since QuestionPoint's introduction, the Science and Technical Reports reading room has contributed 327 records to the Global Knowledge Base.  In fact, in June 2002, the month QP was introduced, this reading room submitted a question about Bulldog vehicles.  It's 327th contributed record to date is about telling the temperature by the sounds made by insects (QID 210185).

In July, 28 French-language records were made active in the GKB, 23 English-language, and 5 Spanish-language.  Don't forget to submit your own answered questions, via the QuestionPoint Ask module, if you think they could be useful to others.  Even if they are about local matters, they may provide just the information someone else is looking for.  Editors will correct spelling and standardize the formatting for the GKB.

Quality Tip: Can’t access patron’s library databases? Try Google Scholar and other open access sources

The 24/7 Reference Cooperative Best Practices recommend that Cooperative librarians should “choose resources at the appropriate level for the patron's research. In general, databases are preferable to Google or other general web sources when assisting students with research projects.”  The QuestionPoint policy pages have a specific field for libraries to provide access to its databases for Cooperative librarians; it’s the “Guest Login/PIN for Coop librarians” field (see the Policy Page Guidelines for details).  But, when staffing for the Cooperative, you may find that the patron’s library has not provided access to their databases.  Or, you may have enough information from the policy page to access the databases, but alas – the database is not available at the moment.  What to do?

Try Google Scholar. Google Scholar covers peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, technical reports and books from many subjects – so it is possible to do broad, cross-subject searching.  Do a few searches on the patron’s topic to find some good keywords, then use those keywords to look for articles or citations that look helpful.  When you find something promising, send the link to the best article/citation to the patron.  Be sure and get feedback from the patron, to check that the item(s) you send are what the patron needs.  The patron may be able to access the specific item through the library’s databases.  If you find useful items in Google Scholar, this will also provide you with good keywords to recommend to the patron, to use in additional searches directly in the library databases.

Also try Directory of Open Access Journals, which covers scientific and scholarly periodicals that publish research or review papers in full text. Over 6,000 journals are indexed in the directory, and all are free to access.  And of course, OCLC’s WorldCat is a great source.  WorldCat indexes, among many other things, OAIster:  a union catalog of millions of records representing open access resources that was built by harvesting from open access collections worldwide using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). Today, OAIster includes more than 25 million records representing digital resources from more than 1,100 contributors.  These resources will assist you in locating information from scholarly sources, both as an end result (the articles you find may entirely satisfy the patron’s information need) and as sources for good search terms for further searching directly in the library’s databases.

So, don’t worry if you can’t get access to a library’s databases – you can still provide useful information to the patron through judicious use of high quality open access resources.

Dates Set for Next QuestionPoint Virtual User Group Meeting

We look forward to “seeing” you at the Second 2011 QuestionPoint Virtual User Group meeting.  This meeting will be held in three sessions 30-31 August and 1 September, to accommodate the many time zones of the QuestionPoint global community.  We will cover the enhancements that have been implemented since our last meeting in February 2011, including our next scheduled install on 21 August, and answer any questions you may have.   We’ll also share feedback from the User Group meeting held at ALA Annual.

Our update should take 20-30 minutes.  The remaining hour will be yours to discuss topics of interest to you.  Between now and 26 August, please e-mail me topics you’d like the group to discuss.  Send your requests to paula_rumbaugh@oclc.org.

Please choose one of the following sessions. (Times are shown for both the Eastern time zone in the U.S. and GMT time for international participants.)  Registration is required so we can distribute the necessary log-in/call-in information to you.  Please be sure that messages from messenger@webex.com are allowed through to you so your confirmation and log-in information is not caught in a spam blocker.

Tuesday, 30 August, 11:00 to 12:30 ET (15:00 to 16:30 GMT)  Best for eastern and central North America and South America.  Please register at https://oclc.webex.com/oclc/j.php?ED=159769037&RG=1&UID=1238067797&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D   

Wednesday, 31 August, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET (4:00 PM to 5:30 PM PT; 23:00 to 00:30, 31 August, GMT)  We expect western North American and Central American users to find this time best for them, as well as Australian and Asian users.  Please register at https://oclc.webex.com/oclc/j.php?ED=159769852&RG=1&UID=1238073907&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D

Thursday, 1 September, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM ET (12:00 to 13:30 GMT)  We hope this time will be convenient for European, South African, and Middle Eastern users. Please register at https://oclc.webex.com/oclc/j.php?ED=159772277&RG=1&UID=1238084842&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D. 

Sessions will be conducted in English and recorded for those who cannot attend.

 

 

Webinar: Community Outreach with Virtual Reference: special events at the library

Please join us for this free webinar: Community Outreach with Virtual Reference: special events at the library, scheduled for Thursday August 18, 11:30 AM ET.

Libraries often stage special events for their community, such as author talks, small business workshops and other topics of general, or special, interest.  Virtual reference provides an opportunity for libraries to present these events via the web.  This webinar will look at how diverse UK public libraries are offering a variety of special programs and events using QuestionPoint. 

Our speaker, Joanne John, is the coordinator of Enquire, the UK's national virtual reference service, available at http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk.   Many Enquire libraries have set up a local chat service, in addition to their participation in the national Enquire service.  Jo will provide examples of the diverse local services offered by UK public libraries, such as Essex County Council's popular Homework Helper service.  Some libraries use their local chat service to present special events, such as: Chat with an Author, Councillor Clinic (elected officials answer questions from their electorate) and Book clinic (customers discuss books, both general and genre specific).  Cornwall's local service allowed the library to completely reconfigure the way reference service is provided to the public.

Programs and events offered through virtual reference are a cost-effective way for UK public libraries to engage with their community.  The users do not need to visit the library in order to fully participate, and in many cases the speakers are offsite as well.  Not only does this raise the profile of the library - it can open up many intriguing ways to collaborate with community leaders, artists and subject experts, regardless of their location.  And it can be a lot of fun, too!

This webinar is one of a series of programs hosted by QuestionPoint, designed to promote discussion of virtual reference best practices.

Registration:

The webinar will be presented on Thursday, August 18 at 11:30 AM US Eastern Time (UTC-4 hours)and will last for approximately one hour.

To join this webinar, please register at: https://oclc.webex.com/oclc/j.php?ED=159989392&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MTgjMjE%3D

Registration is required so we can distribute the necessary log-in/call-in information to you. Please be sure that messages from messenger@webex.com are allowed through to you so your confirmation and log-in information is not caught in a spam blocker.

The webinar will be recorded for those not able to attend.  Check back at the QuestionPoint blog for details on how to access the recording.

For more information: Contact Susan McGlamery, QuestionPoint senior product manager at mcglames@oclc.org

Did You Know . . .

Many of you have noted that replies coming into QuestionPoint from outside the service are sometimes difficult to understand because the question history is repeated.  Since QuestionPoint isn't an e-mail server, it can't recognize one kind of text from another--for example, it cannot tell a header from a message, so it also cannot tell where a reply stops and an original message begins.

A patron reply is simply an e-mail message.  If the patron has his e-mail client set to include the original message in a reply, any reply from him will include the original message.  Most clients do work this way unless the user purposely changes the setting--this makes it easy to follow the entire thread of a back-and-forth exchange by reading just the most recent e-mail.

Look at the first illustration below, an answered question to which the librarian first responded with a request for clarification.  When the patron replied, the question history he'd received with the librarian's request was appended to his reply; then the librarian saved the e-mail without any editing.  Now the question history has not only the original question and librarian clarification request, but it has the whole e-mail, which repeats that history.  This was the first duplication. 

When the librarian finally answered the question, all question history was again included for the patron, but this time the history contains duplicate material.  This can be difficult for the patron to navigate through, if they wish to review their question history.  To make matters worse, if the patron responds with a Thank you! and the librarian again saves the reply without editing it, the library's copy of the entire transaction is three times as long as it needs to be, with duplications of duplications!

. 

 

To ensure a more readable history for both the patron and librarian, some quick editing of the patron's reply can be done before any more action is taken. As you see in the next illustration, the patron's actual reply text is very brief.  The second line is an e-mail "header"--Original Message--to the librarian's clarification request, followed by question history.  We've highlighted the header information in orange here. 

 

 

 

Here's a close-up: 

 

 

Some clients may display the header information a little differently, but it should be recognizable as such. 

There's no need to keep all of the message because it's already recorded in the library's view of the question history. 

So, click on the Edit key.  With your mouse, highlight everything from the original e-mail header to the very end of the message (the only part not highlighted is the patron's reply text at the top).  Then Delete using your keyboard Delete key.  And now click Save.

 

Here's a close-up of the highlighting for deleting:

 
 

Now continue with answering the question as you normally would. 

As opposed to the first illustration, which has line after line after line of duplicated history, here we have the typical, succinct history you are accustomed to.

 

A possible exception is when a patron inserts their answer within the text of the clarification requested.  In this case, there is usually some indication where the patron's reply begins.  Even here, however, once you find the beginning and end of the patron's reply, delete everything else.  

The following illustrates such an inline response to the clarification request and the highlighting (in blue, this time) necessary for deleting.

  
 

If you have questions about this feature, please contact Paula Rumbaugh at rumbaugh@oclc.org.

 

Quality Tip: If you see them, pick them up

The 24/7 Reference Cooperative is set up so that Cooperative librarians are monitoring all chat queues of all member participants at all times.  The Cooperative is there whether your librarians are monitoring or not, not just when your librarians are offline.  If you are busy helping local patrons, then the Cooperative is ready to back you up and help out.  And of course the Cooperative is always there during times your librarians are not online – after hours, during holidays, and during snowstorms when your library is closed.   This is why libraries value the 24/7 Reference Cooperative – it is available 24/7! 

One complaint we used to get was when the Cooperative librarians were too quick and picked up a patron before the local librarian had a chance.  We tried several different approaches to solve this issue.  First we told Coop librarians to check before picking up to see if any local librarians were online. Then we enhanced the software, so an asterisk would appear in the chat monitor next to patrons whose local librarians were online.  Then we set a 40 second delay, such that all patrons whose local librarians were online would not be seen by Coop librarians until 40 seconds had elapsed – giving the local librarians a 40 second window to pick up. But, the 40 second delay was not long enough in some cases; the Enquire group (UK public libraries) requested that Coop librarians wait an additional amount of time before picking up UK patrons, if UK librarians were online.

But those rules are all in the past.  In September 2010, we added an enhancement to the chat queues which allow the group administrator (also known as the BME admin) to define the amount of time the local patrons should appear to local librarians only.  See the Sept 19 2010 Release Notes posted earlier in this blog. So, a patron from a public library in California may have a 40 second delay, while a patron from a UK public library may have a 120 second delay.  As a Cooperative librarian, you don’t need to calculate how long to wait – the software does that for you.  So, if you see a patron in your chat monitor, that means any delay set by the local library has already expired -- and you can go ahead and pick up that patron.  Now we never hear complaints that the Cooperative librarians are picking up patrons too quickly – instead, we hear when librarians aren’t picking up quickly enough.

The rule today:  if the patron appears in your chat monitor, pick him up!

Quality Tip: Dive right in and pick up the patron!

Librarians staffing the 24/7 Reference Cooperative have the opportunity to chat with patrons from London to Los Angeles – and the questions can range from complex research questions to questions about the library’s open hours.  The range of questions and patrons is far beyond what would typically cross your library’s reference desk, and this variety offers wonderful opportunities to explore new topics with online users.  However, some chatting librarians hesitate in picking up patrons.

QuestionPoint provides librarians with the ability to scan the patron’s question before picking up.  It is fine to glance at this information, as this allows you to start thinking about possible suggestions for the patron even as you are selecting them from the waiting queue.  But don’t hesitate too long:  it is a disservice to our patrons (who have to wait longer) and the other librarians (who may have to pick up too many simultaneous sessions) if any staffing librarians hesitate too long before picking up or – worse -- don’t pick up at all.

Why not just pick up the patron?   Many librarians hesitate if they feel they can’t completely answer the question.  But, "answering" a chat question does not mean knowing the answer to a question before picking up the call. When you "answer" a telephone, you pick it up and engage in a conversation.  The same should occur in a chat session.    In this context, the librarian's job is not so much to answer questions, but to ASK questions.  Even "answering" a question involves a question: "Is this information useful to you?"

Next time you staff the service, pick up the patron who has been waiting the longest, regardless of the question.   Once you pick up, just follow these steps:

1. Send hello message.
2. Read what the patron wrote.
3. Scroll through the "Patron Info" tab.  This lets you know if the patron left an email address (important for Follow Up) and sometimes provides information on what library the patron is using.  [Hint:  the information provided in the Patron Info tab depends on the questions asked in the library’s question form.]
4. Click "Policies" link to open the Policy Page.   The policy page link is matched to the queue that the patron used to enter the service and will contain links to policies and resources available to the patron from their library.
5. Ask the patron a question:  usually to clarify the patron’s request, or to find out more information. For example, if it is a local question, you may need to verify the patron’s local library if it is not clear from the patron info tab or the policy page.  The librarian should have a clear idea of what the patron really wants before starting to answer the question.
6. Send a resource (or paste specific information from Policy Page).   This resource does not need to completely answer the question – it can merely help the patron get started.  If the patron has asked a complex research question, the link you send may be a link to a database or research guide.
7. Ask the patron if the information is useful.   It is important to get feedback from the patron, and a negative response from the patron may be an indication that more query clarification is needed.
8. Repeat steps 5-7 until the patron is satisfied, or choose a follow up option.   If follow up is needed, be sure to verify the patron’s email address.
9. Send a goodbye message. 
10. Close session using the appropriate resolution code.  

By following these steps, you will be able to confidently pick up any patron, regardless of where the patron is from or the type of question.  It is ok if you need to code the session for Follow Up – the important thing is to pick up the patrons in a timely manner and clarify their questions.  This will help you provide the best information to fulfill the patron’s information need or, if follow up is needed, provide sufficient information for the patron’s local librarian to take it from there.

In the next Quality Tip, we will explore things to try when the patron asks a complex research question and you don’t have access to the patron’s databases.

Seeking Synchronicity: Revelations and Recommendations for Virtual Reference

A new report from OCLC Research suggests that by transforming virtual reference (VR) service encounters into relationship-building opportunities, librarians can better leverage the positive feelings people have for libraries. This is critically important in a crowded online space where the biggest players often don’t have the unique experience and specific strengths offered by librarians.

The report—Seeking Synchronicity: Revelations and Recommendations for Virtual Reference—demonstrates that today’s students, scholars and citizens are not just looking to libraries for answers to specific questions—they want partners and guides in a lifelong information-seeking journey.

Seeking Synchronicity: Revelations and Recommendations for Virtual Reference, from OCLC Research, in partnership with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and additionally funded by the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS), distils more than five years of VR research into a readable summary featuring memorable quotes that vividly illustrate very specific and actionable suggestions. Taken from a multiphase research project that included focus group interviews, online surveys, transcript analysis and phone interviews, with VR librarians, users and non-users, these findings are meant to help practitioners develop and sustain VR services and systems. The report asserts that the “R” in “VR” needs to emphasize virtual “Relationships” as well as “Reference.” Among the topics addressed are:

· How convenience is the “hook” that draws users into VR services

· The exaggerated death of ready reference

· The importance of query clarification in VR

· Ways to boost accuracy and build better interpersonal relationships in VR

· What can be learned from VR transcripts

· Generational differences in how people perceive reference interactions and determine success

· The need for more and better marketing of a suite of services – a “multi-asking” approach

The report’s two primary authors, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D., OCLC Senior Research Scientist, and Marie L. Radford, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Communication & Information, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, said that the goal of their work together, which began in 2005, has been to deliver research-based recommendations that improve the VR services provided by  information professionals.

“The purpose of this new publication,” Connaway said, “is to showcase several years’ and several hundred pages’ worth of work with a few very specific, practical suggestions for sustaining and developing VR services and systems. This short report is designed to be a quick read that is informative in boiling down results from our multi-year research project involving two teams of researchers, at OCLC and Rutgers University.”

“It is organized into topical chapters that are illustrated with graphs and quotations that bring our findings to life,” added Radford. “We also provide an introduction that serves as an executive summary so that readers can quickly understand and apply our research findings and recommendations to immediately improve VR experiences for all users.”

View and download the report at http://www.oclc.org/reports/synchronicity. More information on the “Seeking Synchronicity” project is available at http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synchronicity/, and other OCLC membership reports can be found at www.oclc.org/reports/.

Monthly Report for June 2011

QuestionPoint Members

       1,931   Active SUPs (service unit profiles)

       1,258   SUPs in the 24/7 Reference Cooperative

            29   Languages can be handled by QuestionPoint libraries 

 6,814,848   Transactions have been received by QP libraries since 2002 (as of June 30)

3,108,363   Patrons have asked questions via libraries with QP since 2002*

     30,097  New patrons have asked for help via QP libraries' websites in June*

     24,633   Active records in the Global Knowledge Base

         523   Libraries have contributed active, searchable records to the GKB

*These numbers are lower than actual, as they do not include texting patrons or chat patrons who have not provided email addresses. 

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QuestionPoint libraries are now in 33 countries (listed below by region). Costa Rica remains the newest country with a QuestionPoint institution. 

Australia New Zealand --------------- China French Polynesia Japan India Thailand -------------- United Arab Emirates ---------------- Botswana South Africa -------------- France Greece Germany Italy The Netherlands Spain -------------- Republic of Ireland

United Kingdom     England     Scotland     Wales --------------------- Croatia Serbia Slovenia --------------- Russia ------------- Canada Mexico United States ----------------- Costa Rica Jamaica Martinique Puerto Rico Trinidad & Tabago -------------------- Chile Colombia Peru

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QuestionPoint Statistics for June 2011

37,312     Questions received via E-mail and Text Messages

33,413     Chat sessions requested

 9,689    Chat sessions requested via Qwidget

32,225   Chat sessions accepted

 8,075    Chat sessions requested at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

    558    Sessions requested after hours at non-24/7 Reference Cooperative libraries

      49    Most concurrent chat sessions (down from 65 last month)

      17    Average concurrent chat sessions (down from last month)

24/7 Reference Cooperative Statistics

71%  Overall “Answering Percentage”!  Cooperative libraries picked up 71% of all chat sessions, and Back Up staff picked up 27%, for a total of 98% pick-up.  See Sessions Abandoned, below.

8,420  Academic sessions requested; Academic members answered 6,191 (73.53%)

16,918  Public sessions requested; Public members answered 11,795 (69.72%)

    609  Sessions Abandoned (Patron disconnected before librarian picked up, may include some practice sessions)

June Questions of Note

In June, 152 records were added to the Global Knowledge Base: 75 are French-language questions and answers; 48 are English-language, and 29 are Spanish-language.  Of the 152 total, 90 records were coded with the LC class headings: 32% were coded as Z, or Bibliography and Library Science; 13% were in the Social Sciences, and 11% in Language and Literature. 

This month we are indebted to librarians from the Library of Congress (Jennifer Harbster), the New York Public Library (Bernard Van Maarseveen), the L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de l'Information et des Bibliothèques (Claire Margaron, Pierre Moison, and "Les Radis"), and OCLC (Larry Olszewski) for editing these records and making them available to you and potentially to your patrons through your portal.

In addition to searching from the QuestionPoint home page, you can perform a search in the GKB from this blog page: enter a keyword or phrase in the search box at the top of the left pane.  And don't forget to submit your own answered questions, via the QuestionPoint Ask module, if you think they could be useful to others.  Even if they are about local matters, they may provide just the information someone else is looking for.  Editors will correct spelling and standardize the formatting for the GKB.

Installation d'entretien prévue pour QuestionPoint le 10 juillet, 2011

Chers utilisateurs de QuestionPoint,

Veuillez prendre note que le service QuestionPoint ne sera pas disponible le 12 décembre, de 05hr TU à 5 :15 hr TU, le temps d’une installation d’entretien du service. Vous devez absolument mettre fin à toutes vos sessions de Chat en cours au moins deux minutes avant le moment prévu de l’interruption afin d’éviter que la communication avec vos utilisateurs soit coupée et éviter de potentielles sessions « accrochées ». (Vous ne pourrez pas cliquer sur les sessions coupées mais visible «en cours » pour obtenir les informations afin de communiquer avec les utilisateurs.)

Lorsque le service sera rétabli, veuillez vérifier dans la liste de vos Nouvelles questions si des sessions de Chat ont été interrompues ou si vous avez reçu de nouvelles questions par courriel. Si vous éprouvez des problèmes après l’interruption du service, veuillez contacter votre fournisseur de service pour de l’aide.

Nous nous excusons des inconvénients causés par les interruptions de service pour entretiens et vous remercions de votre patience.

 

QuestionPoint scheduled Maintenance Sunday morning July 10

Please be advised that the QuestionPoint service will be unavailable Sunday morning, July 10, for the following time period for OCLC- scheduled maintenance and service: 05:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. EDT) to approximately 05:15 UTC (1:15 a.m. EDT). It is imperative that you end any in-progress chat sessions at least one minute prior to the scheduled service interruption to avoid sudden communication interruptions to your patrons and potential "hung" sessions. (You will be unable to click on any in-progress sessions to get information to communicate with the patron.)

If you experience any outage after the projected service period, please contact your Customer Service Provider for further assistance.

 

We regret any inconvenience.

 

Scheduled maintenance Friday morning

Please be advised that the QuestionPoint service will be unavailable Friday morning, July 1, for the following time period for scheduled maintenance and service: 06:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) to approximately 06:15 UTC (2:15 a.m. EDT). It is imperative that you end any in-progress chat sessions at least one minute prior to the scheduled service interruption to avoid sudden communication interruptions to your patrons and potential "hung" sessions. (You will be unable to click on any in-progress sessions to get information to communicate with the patron.)

If you experience any outage after the projected service period, please contact your Customer Service Provider for further assistance.

 

We regret any inconvenience.

 

Regards

The QuestionPoint Team