QuestionPoint: 24/7 reference services

Did you know . . .

You can find records in the knowledge base before they are activated (indexed)? A few of you have lamented over time that, until you (or someone) takes the time to edit and activate a record, you are unable to find it again. Maybe you have come up with additional information, the next day, that you want to add to the answer before it goes “live.” Or on the other side of the coin, maybe you’ve decided that the answer was not the best and you want to delete the record, or you’ve decided the Q&A is not appropriate for the knowledge base to which you submitted it. Or you’ve just had a question similar to one you already answered and submitted to the KB but cannot find by searching.

Whether or not you have editorial privileges, you should be able to find a known item before it completes the editorial process by browsing--if you remember anything at all about the question or answer. There are several effective ways to browse knowledge bases. Take a look at the Browse option in the Knowledge Base module:

1 From the My QuestionPoint home page, click on the “Knowledge Base” link in the left margin. It sits just above the search box for the Global Knowledge Base.

2 This takes you directly into the Knowledge Base module, where you have access to your local knowledge base and the Global Knowledge Base.

3 Click on the Browse tab in the top left of the page.

4 Now on the Browse page, take a look at the different ways you can browse.

Folder and Knowledge Base: If you’re looking for a Q&A you know was submitted, whether or not by you, you probably want to a folder (Active, Inactive, Submitted by Me). You can search all these folders at the same time if you can limit the retrieval in some other way. Are you looking for a known Q&A that was put into your local knowledge base? Then select that KB. Again, you can browse both the KBs at the same time, but you might want to limit the pool of choices when you get results.

If you are trying to find a Q&A that you submitted, just select the Submitted by Me folder. Results are returned in reverse chronological order, so you may find the record you need right away, by just browsing that folder. This folder includes both Active and Inactive records.

For Inactive records (remember, Inactive records have not yet been edited and activated by an editor; they are not yet searchable, only browsable), chances are only Requesting/Responding Institution and Date Range will really be applicable. In some workflows, the other values (Category, Subject and Subject Broad Class, and so on) are set during the editing process; in others, they are set during submission of a Q&A to the KB. Whether or not you can use them for Inactive records depends on your library’s practice. If you don’t know you can try using a value in them to limit your browse results; if you get zero results drop them from your browsing “equation.”

Requesting Institution: this is the library that received the question. If your library has answered questions from another library—maybe a partner library or through the Global Reference Network—and the Q&A you are looking for is one of those, select that library here.

Responding Institution: this is the library that answered the question. If several libraries actually participated in the particular Q&A you want to find, it is the final library to have used the Answer button that is associated as the Responding Institution. Maybe you’re looking for a Q&A that you had referred to another library; stipulating a library in this drop-down menu could help reduce the results list considerably.

When you are browsing in your own local KB, the above two limiting options may not be very important. But if you are trying to locate a record that was submitted to the Global Knowledge Base, stipulating your own institution as the requesting or responding institution will probably be essential.

Date Range: This is the limit option that may be most useful to narrow results when browsing. You can choose to browse only those Q&As Answered on a particular date or within a date range, or only Q&As Submitted to the KB during a certain period of time. “Modified” means when a Q&A in the knowledge base was edited, activated, or updated in some way. Unless you are an editor, this may be less useful, and the same with Update Required.

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Results of browse for KB submissions for a week in September 2008. Note that both Active and Inactive records (edited and unedited) and two knowledge bases (Global Knowledge Base and the local KB named Local Reference Group) are represented on this results page.

Did you know...

A knowledge base is more than a database of outdated answers? Eight reasons to use your QuestionPoint knowledge base.

Over the years since QuestionPoint’s introduction, we sometimes hear the question “Why the knowledge base . . . ?”  Why would I want to put answers to questions  in a knowledge base?   Why add to my workload when I don’t have to?  Why search the knowledge base?—no one ever asks the same question in the same way.

 

Well, here are some of the reasons other librarians have given for using their local (and sometimes Global) knowledge base:

1. To answer repeat questions.  We all know that librarians can get the same question over and over again, especially when there is a “class bomb.”  (I just heard this phrase in recent postings to the QuestionPoint-L listserv, when the 24/7 Cooperative was suddenly overrun by a class of students who, exhorted to use chat to “talk” to a librarian, all clamored at once to get a question answered.)  There is little point in each librarian repeating the same research—unless they, too, are in training.  Why not use what has already been found by the first librarian, and perhaps add to it? 

Contests are another source of repeat questions, and some of these are downright difficult to answer!   Chances are, when dealing with hard-to-find answers, one librarian might have just the right background or experience or intuition to lead her to the answer, and another may not.  In fact, even when you’re sure a question will never be asked again, chances are it will, at some time, in some form, of some librarian.

2. To store lengthy instructions on how to use the library’s resources.  For example, if you continually need to tell students how to select a database, log in, and use keywords to search it, you might want to type these up once and store them in your local KB.  A huge advantage to having oft-repeated instructions stored within easy reach is that it saves you from retyping the same information over and over.  You can always modify the instructions as necessary once copied into your message box or, when necessary, you can update or add to the record in the KB.

3. To record “institutional memory.”  Sometimes this is referred to as knowledge management.  At a more individual level, this has sometimes been called “tacit information”—that knowledge that is in someone’s head, knowledge that is part of their experience.  Knowledge that can be lost upon retirement—knowledge that isn’t available when that person is not available.  The local knowledge base, because it allows metadata assignment and because it’s searchable, is a great way to begin to record those snippits of information so they are accessible to all.

 

4. Consistency in answers.  Sometimes delivering answers or instructions isn’t enough.  You want your library’s answers to be accurate, comprehensive, and courteous.  Drawing on the same content, or template, facilitates consistent and courteous answers.  You can always add your own personalized openings, closings, and phrasings, but your patrons receive consistent service for similar needs.

5. To collaborate on answers.  One of the criticisms of knowledge bases is that the answers so quickly become outdated.  But this doesn’t have to be the case.  Answers can be edited, updated, added to . . . and addenda can be appended.  As you encounter a KB record for which you know of additional sources or have new information, add it.  Don’t settle for out-of-date and incomplete

6. To train new staff about resources and strategies.  Although staff can refer to your library’s actual transcripts in QuestionPoint proper—that is, in the Ask module—reading through questions and answers may be an easier way to follow the work that has been done.  In the KB the transcript has probably been “scrubbed” a bit, taking out extraneous material and correcting typos.  Work that other staff has done, and in particular other libraries (by looking at Global Knowledge Base records), is a kind of continuing education.

7. To provide patrons access to answers as a first stop.  You can offer your local knowledge base or the Global Knowledge Base as a search option to your patrons.  In fact, you can set up the link or the search box to search both at once.  Don’t forget, in your local KB, records you don’t want the public to see can be indicated as Not Public when they are added to the KB.  A search box can even be positioned on your intake form or on any web page under your institution’s control. 

8. To publish rather than perish?  Well, maybe not quite a substitute for the age-old university publish-or-perish method for increasing visibility and furthering your academic career, but have you ever thought of using the knowledge base to show not only how much but how good your research work is?  Maybe your library would even consider contribution to the Global Knowledge Base—where potentially libraries and patrons around the world can see your research—as one kind of publishing activity.

QuestionPoint makes it easy to re-use information from the KB.  And it tracks that usage, as well.  When you search the KB from your Answer Question page (click on the Search KB button in the upper right of the page) and find a useful record, Forward Answer and Copy Answer buttons allow you to forward directly to your patron or copy the answer to your Answer message box.  In either case, you can edit the answer and add to it before it is sent. 

When you use either the Forward or the Copy button, the activity is logged as a re-use of that record and noted on the record itself.  Total re-uses and total records re-used are logged in My QuestionPoint >> Reports >> QP Usage, in the Knowledge Base and the Administration sections.

Please contact paula_rumbaugh@oclc.org if you have questions.

Did you know . . .

You can put non-QuestionPoint content into your local or Global Knowledge Base?

 

QuestionPoint’s searchable knowledge base feature enables you to enter content into the database directly, without having handled a question or chat session first. This makes the knowledge base useful as a repository for all your reference transactions (walk-in, telephone, e-mail messages, and so on), as well as for the many frequently asked or hard-to-find answers you’ve undoubtedly been collecting on cards or paper slips or in notebooks or personal computer directories.

To enter content directly into the knowledge base:

1. Log into QuestionPoint and go to the knowledge base module. You can do this either by using the link in the left navigation bar on the My QuestionPoint home page or by selecting it from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the home page.
2. Click on the Add/Edit tab.
3. Complete the top portion of the Add New Record form, including the Knowledge Base Copies radio buttons, and click the Create Record button.

Depending on your permissions level, you might even be able to activate (initiates nightly indexing) the record. Be sure to indicate whether you think this record is OK for potential public viewing or for internal use only.

You can Save Draft instead of creating a record, if you’d like to do more work in the Question or Answer boxes at a later time.

To increase the ease with which the record can later be searched, you can also complete the lower portions of the Add New Record form.

Within 24 hours, your new records will be fully searchable.

If you decide to use the knowledge base feature in this way, you can also set it up for other librarians to search. Maybe you work in an institution in which only some of the librarians work through QuestionPoint; but doubtlessly all the librarians and paraprofessionals would benefit from the information in the KB. Just use the instructions at http://questionpoint.org/support/documentation/templates/search_globalkb.html. You can mount the link or search box on your intranet site, or you can share the KB with your patrons, as well, by mounting the link/search box on your public site.

If you have some records you want librarians to see but not patrons, make those records non-public.

• When completing the Add New Record form, just click No at the Make Public field. This is at the bottom of the first section of the form.

Do you think you should have access to the knowledge base feature but cannot find the appropriate links or menu options? Ask you administrator or supervisor. Initial permission must be set in the Administration module.

Please contact paula_rumbaugh@oclc.org if you have questions.

Did you know . . .

There really is a man behind the curtain . . . or a woman?

Have you ever gotten a question that you worked on pretty hard and now wish you could share with others? Maybe you think others outside your institution could benefit from the research. If you even think it, it’s probably true!

But who has the time to stop and think about the best way to word the Q&A for posterity? And who has time to think about the best way to assign a subject class heading or a question category or good keywords? Also, what about all that self-disclosure the patron did to explain his question—you don’t want just anyone to see that.

The Global Knowledge Base has editors behind the scenes—volunteer editors, actually, who do a terrific job of reviewing submitted records before activating them for indexing and searching.

You see, when you submit a Q&A to the GKB, you are really contributing the transaction for consideration. It is not immediately visible to or searchable by others.

An editor sees an “Inactive” record—s/he sees the institution that got the question and the institution that answered it, but s/he doesn’t see who the individuals at the institution are. S/he sees the question, but s/he doesn’t see the patron name or the patron e-mail. S/he knows only as much personal information about the patron and the librarian as was disclosed in the question or answer text.

• The editor evaluates the record for appropriateness and completeness. If the question is asking for hours of the library, it probably won’t be included in the Global Knowledge Base. (Note: This might be a perfect, often-asked question, however, for your local KB!)
• The editor checks for any spelling or grammatical errors, but will maintain British versus American spellings and usage.
• The editor reads the question and answer for sense. S/he will often delete a lot of text that isn’t necessary to understanding the query; sometimes s/he’ll rephrase the text to “cut to the chase,” thus improving the eventual searchability of the record.
• The editor deletes any personal names or any information that could identify the questioner or the librarian.
• The editor adds the following to facilitate later searching:
  • Keywords to a Keyword field
  • LC subject classification headings, but only to the second level (e.g., CT for biography)
  • Question type or category, such as FAQ, Ready Reference, or Bibliography
  • Link to the title in WorldCat.org (when a title is mentioned), so another user would be able to find the WC record and, thus, a nearby library that holds that title
• The editor indicates whether the record is appropriate for the general public, should a library offer the GKB on its website(s)
• The editor makes sure URLs are hotlinked, after checking to make sure they are valid

So, you see, you don’t have to worry about how well formatted or worded your Q&A is. The important thing is to submit it to be shared for the benefit of your worldwide colleagues and let the editors do the clean-up.

By the way, if you’d like to be a Global Knowledge Base editor, please contact paula_rumbaugh@occ.org.

Did you Know Your QuestionPoint Knowledge Base

Did you know that QuestionPoint has a knowledge base component where you can store research that you’ve done for your patrons, search through those answers, and re-use appropriate information?

It’s possible that some of you have not been aware of your local knowledge base, nor of the Global Knowledge Base that is shared by all QuestionPoint users. This series of Did You Know . . . ? notes are intended to increase awareness of the knowledge base module and promote the sharing of research with one another to enhance your service to end users.

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Did you know . . .

That you can save answers to questions (Q&As) that you know you or others might need again?

This might include answers on which you did a great deal of research and would not like to have to repeat . . . or maybe you’d like to spare others the need to duplicate your research. Some users save lengthy instructions on using the catalog or databases, so they don’t have to type the information over and over again.

There are three ways you can same information in the KB.

Method 1: In the Ask module:

1 Click on the question you want to save to open it to the Full Question view.

2 In the upper right-hand area of the question transcript, click on the drop-down menu Move To. Select “Knowledge Base,” and click the arrow button beside the menu.

3 Complete the top portion of the “Add New Record” form, including the Knowledge Base Copies radio buttons, and click <Create Record>.

Depending on your permissions level, you might even be able to activate (generates nightly indexing) the record. Be sure to indicate whether you think this record is OK for potential public viewing or for internal use only (Make Public: Yes or No).

You can click <Save Draft> instead of creating a record, if there is more work you’d like to do in the Question or Answer boxes.

To increase the ease with which the Q&A can later be searched, you can also complete the lower portions of the “Add New Record” form

Within 24 hours, your new record will be searchable. To search your knowledge base:

• Click on the Knowledge Base link in the left navigation bar of the My QuesitonPoint home page. You can even enter a search term right there and click the arrow button.
• OR, you can select “Knowledge Base” from the upper right corner drop-down menu. This takes you to the basic search page.

There’s another way to save your Q&As:

Method 2: In the Ask module, on the questions list page:

1 Click the check box of the question(s) you want to save. You can click more than one box, so this is a good way to save multiple Q&As at one time.

2 In the lower left of the list, click the drop-down menu Select Action. Select “Submit to KB,” and click the arrow button beside the menu. NOTE: A question must have an answer of some kind to save it to a KB.

3 Select the options you want on the new page.

Do you want to edit? Select Yes or No. You can always edit later if you want.

Add to: Choose which knowledge base(s) you want to put the Q&As in. You will probably have access to a local KB and the Global KB. If you do not, and you want to contribute records, check with your QuestionPoint administrator.

Make Public: Select Yes or No. Yes means these records will be accessible to your public if your library decides to enable a KB link.

Do you want to close? And, finally, you can decide whether or not you want to close the Q&A(s) at this time, saving an extra step.

4 Click <Submit>.

Method 3: Coming in next week’s tips!

If you believe you should be able to contribute records to your local knowledge base or to the Global Knowledge Base, but you don’t see the appropriate links or menu options, ask your administrator if you could have access. They may not be aware that they need to give permission in the Administration module.

Please contact paula_rumbaugh@oclc.org if you have questions.

New QuestionPoint Release coming Sunday

Dear QuestionPoint subscribers: 

We are planning to install an important new release of QuestionPoint this coming Sunday, March 2, in the early morning. 

The system will be brought down at 0800 GMT and is planned to remain down for 60 minutes. As always, the announced duration of downtime is an approximation: the system could be available in less than an hour, or it could extend beyond that. Should we become aware of the need to remain down longer, we will notify this list. 

At the end of this post will be a brief description from the release notes of the new features and changes to existing features. Most of the additions will have little immediate effect on your daily work; they are capabilities that your institution can choose to implement if it wishes. 

Exceptions for some users are the chat patron viewport change from left to right (section 1.1) and the enhancement to queue management (section 1.7). The impact of the feature changes, Section 2 in the attached, is also likely to be minimal to your daily workflow, but you should read about them to be aware of the changes. The attached file will also be posted to the QuestionPoint blog at http://questionpoint.blogs.com. 

We will hold two virtual user group meetings the second week of March, to discuss the new features and answer any questions you have. The first meeting is planned for March 12, 1400 - 1530 GMT. The second will be March 13, 2200 - 2330 GMT (March 14 for our Australian and Asian institutions). To register for one of the meetings, please follow the appropriate link: 

March 12, 10 - 11:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (1400 - 1530 GMT) 

https://www.sporg.com/pom/registration?cmd=event_info&event_id=103177 

March 13, 6 - 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (2200 - 2330 GMT) 

https://www.sporg.com/pom/registration?cmd=event_info&event_id=103179 

We look forward to your reactions to the new features of QuestionPoint. 

Paula Rumbaugh on behalf of the QuestionPoint Team 

1. New Features

1.1 Chat Infrastructure 

The patron chat interface will now more closely resemble what has been available for preview as Chat 2. To meet accessibility requirements, the viewport and chat box/transcript area have switched sides: the viewport for the patron will now appear on the right side of the screen, and the chat box and transcript on the left. Co-browsing will also take place on the right side instead of the left.

In addition, patrons will be able to set preferences, changing font faces and sizes, color combinations, and whether or not they want an audible signal when a new message comes in.

1.2 Forms Manager

The first phase of the QuestionPoint Forms Manager is now available to create email web forms.

Institution Administrators can now have QuestionPoint host all patron email web forms for your library’s QuestionPoint service. Further, the administrator can set up the forms that are e-mailed to the QuestionPoint service exactly as they want them to look. (In the future, they’ll be able to do the same with the chat forms.) Having QuestionPoint staff manage your chat forms for you remains an option until the chat form manager becomes available in future releases. 

Advantages in having QuestionPoint host your forms and managing them yourself are:

· Easy to use and reduces the need for IT staff involvement in your forms. 

· Lets you customize your forms. 

· Provides forms in multiple languages. 

· Supports improved access to data about reference transactions. 

· Provides improved protection against spam.

Complete instructions for form set-up will be available in Administration module Help, as well as at http://questionpoint.org/support/documentation . A walkthrough tutorial will also be provided. Forms management is accessible at Administration/Institution/Forms/Forms Manager. Administrators will be able to control the logo and colors of the form, the elements for which they want to collect information from the patron, the order of the fields (e.g., Zip Code, status), and whether or not they are required fields

1.3 Widget for Point of Need Communication

With this install, the QuestionPoint team introduces the Qwidget, a Meebo-Me-like chat box that libraries can place anywhere on their website, at the patron’s point of need. Like similar widgets (see below), the Qwidget will enable the library to indicate when a librarian is on duty and when not. You’ll also be able to set the widget up to give the patron the option of redirecting a question through e-mail if chat is not “open.” But unlike the familiar, commercially available widgets, the Qwidget will allow multiple concurrent sessions on the librarian side.

For the librarian, the Qwidget is another entry point into the chat queue they already monitor. The only difference apparent to the librarian is the term “[Widget]” displayed at the beginning of the patron name. The librarian will also see in the Info area that this patron’s connection has no co-browsing capability

Mounting of the Qwidget is a decision each library can make. Only the library’s primary queue will see sessions coming in via the Qwidget. Libraries must be using the Flash-based chat to see Qwidget sessions.

What Is a Widget? A widget is a small application that adds utility or other information from external sources, via html code that you add to your webpage.  For additional information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_widget. A common widget used by several libraries is the MeeboMe widget (Meebo is a web-based IM service).  Widgets are popular among users:  according to Jupiter Research (Oct. 2007), awareness and use of Widgets among online users, which was less than 5% in early 2007, has now increased: 39% of online users are aware of widgets, and 26% have used them

Institution Administrators will find the Qwidget set-up at Administration/Institution/Forms/Forms Manager/ Create Qwidget (Preview). Complete instructions for set-up will be in Administration Help and at http://questionpoint.org/support/documentation .

1.4 Branding for the Patron Interface

Group Administrators will now have the ability to brand QuestionPoint’s patron interface. The Administrator can add the logo of the group (or institution, if only one) and change the colors to more closely resemble other group websites and marketing pieces. Links to other group resources can be added as tabs to the top of the pages.

The following illustrations show the set-up page and the page as it will appear to your users. Complete instructions for set-up will be in Administration Help and at http://questionpoint.org/support/documentation .

1.5 CAPTCHA Spam Filtering

Institution Administrators will have three options to help control spam coming into your QuestionPoint service:

1. Have QuestionPoint host the library’s patron intake forms. Although not 100% guarded against spam, the OCLC firewall has proven quite reliable for the 24/7 Cooperative hosted chat forms, and similar results are expected for the newly available hosted webforms.

2. Select the option for QuestionPoint to validate the referrer page before accepting the form information into the system. You may enter more than one URL, to cover all those pages on which you have a form. Since many spam bots are using a cached or a local version of your web form, their submitted forms will not match the referring URL(s) you list. Any form data coming from any site other than those you indicated will be ignored.

3. Use the Captcha tool to force the user to enter the characters they see in the randomly generated graphic. This kind of recognition still requires the human eye, so bots cannot pass the test.

Administrators will find the second two options at Administration/Institution/Forms/Spam Filter. The first option is automatic when you choose to “publish” a form through forms set-up at Administration/Institution/Forms/Forms Manager.

1.6 Offline Reports for Service History

Institution, Group, and Ask Administrators can now produce reports for the institution’s older transcripts and transactions in Service History.

1.7 Queue Management

The first phase of “queue management” to be implemented will make it easier for librarians to claim their own patrons from the chat queue before they are picked up by librarians in the next level queue, e.g., by a Cooperative librarian.

Session requests will first appear only in the home library’s primary queue for 40 seconds. If the patron has not been picked up in that time, the session will roll to the next level queue (e.g., the Cooperative queue), where any monitoring librarian can claim the session. For the Cooperative, as always, only after two minutes of waiting will the patron be picked up by a Back-up librarian.

Important note: There will no longer be an asterisk to let librarians know the home library of a waiting patron is monitoring. Once a session appears in a librarian’s monitor, that session may be picked up by that librarian. No further waiting is necessary.

2. Feature Changes

2.1 Reports Simplification

As QuestionPoint developed and grew, different reporting needs were identified and added to the existing interface. These additions and enhancements eventually resulted in three locations within QuestionPoint from which to retrieve statistics on your usage. Adding to the complexity was the fact that access to reports is based on permissions level. So not only were users sometimes not sure where to go to get which statistics, some librarians could see institution statistics and some could not.

The March 2008 release brings all QuestionPoint statistics together into one module, accessible from the My QuestionPoint page.

Behind the Reports tab, all users will see report links, based on the permissions level of their login number.

All librarians, regardless of permissions level, will be able to see statistics of their own usage and statistics for their institution-wide usage. The next illustration shows that users with institution administrator authorization will see more reports, including those for each librarian of the institution. They will also see a link for suggesting new reports.

Librarians without the administrator permissions will not see those links. But everyone will have access to the system-wide statistics and QP Usage.

Institution and Group Administrators will find that all reports previously available in the Administration module, now appear here, under the Reports tab on My QuestionPoint. All Administrators: Four reports previously available in the Ask module were also moved to the new location.

Old Location	New Location in My QuestionPoint Reports
Administration Module
History Tab	Activity Statistics
Current Tab	Counts of Current Data
Ask Module
Reports Tab
General	No change*
Sessions	Counts of Current Data
Sessions by Authorization	Counts of Current Data
Descriptive Codes	Counts of Current Data
Resolution Codes	Counts of Current Data
Form Fields	No change
Offline Reports	No change

*The location has not changed, but the tab that previously read Reports now reads

Review Transcripts.

2.2 Review Transcripts (previously, Ask/Reports)

Administrators: In the illustration below, you see that Review Transcripts has replaced the old Reports tab. In addition, note that several of the reports that just gave statistics no longer appear as links in this area. Instead, only those features that truly allow you to review transcripts, rather than numbers, appear here.

A second change is for the table on the General Reviews page. A new column, called Chat Librarian, appears. Together with the Librarian column, administrators can see who picked up a chat session originally, as well as who the most recent librarian to have handled the session or transaction is.

 

2.3 OCLC Logo Change

If your institution or group has not substituted your own logo on the QuestionPoint interface, you will note the new logo in the upper right of every page. This represents OCLC’s new, global look!

2.4 Additional Descriptive Codes

Additional Descriptive Codes have been added to more accurately describe transactions. The new codes are:

• e-learning
• Email
• Excel
• Network
• Passwords
• Powerpoint
• Printing
• Settings
• Software
• Word

3. Fixes

3.1 Chat Librarian in Session Reports and Transcript Review (previously, Ask/Reports)

Administrators: Prior to this install, only the most recent librarian to have touched a transcript/transaction was reported in the reports available in Ask (now renamed My QuestionPoint/Reports and Ask/Review Transcripts). This sometimes caused unexpected results when looking at the Sessions reports, especially in reporting how many patrons from other libraries your librarians helped.

After the March install, QuestionPoint will be able to report chat librarians. Thus, the counts and linked transcripts you see for Sessions and Sessions by Authorization should deliver the expected results for transcripts created from the time of the install forward.

3.2 No Status Limit in Transcript Review (previously, Ask/Reports)

Institution and Ask Administrators: Since April 2007 the General report default search had a limit set, Status = All (Not deleted). The Status field has been set to All, or no limit. This should fix the problem in which administrators were unable to see certain transcripts their librarians participated in unless they changed the Status limit.

3.3 Librarian chat not appearing. Back end changes to the system were made to improve method by which librarian chat is recorded and stored. This should resolve the intermittent (and rarely seen) phenomenon of librarian chat not appearing in chat history or transcripts.

Reminder of upcoming Global Knowledge Base sessions

This is a reminder that Peter Armenti, a librarian at the Library of Congress and a long-time member of the QuestionPoint team, will offer two sessions on Tuesday, August 14, at 1500 GMT and at 1800 GMT.  Both sessions will cover the same content:

       An introduction to the knowledge base concept
       The benefits to you of using the knowledge bases
       How to submit answered Q&As from the Ask module
       How to add information directly into new KB records
       How to reuse KB records in your chat sessions and e-mail answers

       Setting up your local knowledge base
       Offering your local KB and/or the Global KB to your patrons

Each session will also have ample time for questions and discussion following the orientation.  To sign up for one of the sessions, please go to:

August 14 - 1500 - 1630 GMT
https://www.sporg.com/pom/registration?cmd=event_info&event_id=91126
 

August 14 - 1800 - 1930 GMT
https://www.sporg.com/pom/registration?cmd=event_info&event_id=91128
 

ANNOUNCEMENT: Introduction to QuestionPoint Knowledge Base Features

Dear QuestionPoint subscribers:

On the knowledge base survey of June 2006 and throughout this past year, we've had requests from QP users for more information about the QuestionPoint knowledge bases.  Some have said they would welcome a training or orientation session.

Peter Armenti, a librarian at the Library of Congress and a long-time member of the QuestionPoint team, will offer two sessions on Tuesday, August 14, at 1500 GMT and at 1800 GMT.  Both sessions will cover the same content:

        An introduction to the knowledge base concept
        The benefits to you of using the knowledge bases
        How to submit answered Q&As from the Ask module
        How to add information directly into new KB records
        How to reuse KB records in your chat sessions and e-mail answers
        Setting up your local knowledge base
        Offering your local KB and/or the Global KB to your patrons

Each session will also have ample time for questions and discussion following the orientation.  To sign up for one of the sessions, please go to:

August 14 - 1500 - 1630 GMT
https://www.sporg.com/pom/registration?cmd=event_info&event_id=91126

August 14 - 1800 - 1930 GMT
https://www.sporg.com/pom/registration?cmd=event_info&event_id=91128

Call for Volunteer Global Knowledge Base Editors

The Global Knowledge Base (GKB) is in need of QuestionPoint librarians to help review and activate submitted records! Because of your interest in supporting the work of all librarians by sharing your research and sources with them, the GKB has been growing steadily. In fact, it's growing so fast that we have a backlog of some 2,000 Q&As waiting to be edited and activated so they are searchable.

Editors review submittals Q&As for appropriateness and check them for spelling or grammatical errors. They hotlink URL citations and "scrub" any personal information from the text. We do not ask editors to confirm accuracy or update information, but you are able to do so if you wish.

This is a good opportunity to see what others are doing in the online reference world! You can learn about new resources and search strategies while making QuestionPoint librarian research available to others. Some of the kinds of Q&As you will review are:

1. Factual Q&As
2. Bibliographies and pathfinders
3. Hard-to-find Q&As
4. Frequently Asked Questions, sometimes seasonal
5. Local history, government, agencies, lore
6. Genealogy, especially for sources used

 

For more information and to volunteer, please contact Paula Rumbaugh at

Email: paula_rumbaugh AT oclc.org

Phone: 614-764-6433, or 1-800-848-5878 Ext. 6433.

 

Let us know what you think: Have a voice in QuestionPoint

This must be the season for surveys!  We want to gather as much information as possible about your usage and opinions on the QuestionPoint Knowledge Base features.  This brief survey will help us understand levels of Knowledge Base awareness, as well as elicit your thoughts on the feasibility and usefulness of question-and-answer repositories, in general.

We encourage all QuestionPoint librarians to complete the survey, which should take about 15 minutes.  Please answer from your point of view, not that of your institution.  You can stop at any time and return to the survey later.  Even if you do not use the Knowledge Base feature at all, please go through the survey--you will be able to skip questions not applicable to you.  Your input will help us determine the future directions of this particular QuestionPoint feature.

Click the link below to fill out the survey.  The survey will be available until July 15.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=169552279902
[Please respond in your native language if you prefer.  Translations of the survey will be made available upon request.]

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Speaking of surveys . . . there is still time to have a voice in the prioritization of upcoming features and enhancements to QuestionPoint, in general.   That survey will be available to you through June 30.  If you have not already completed that 10-minute survey, please consider doing so.  We need feedback from all users, email and chat users alike.

Here is the link to that survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=113032200129
[Please respond in your native language if you prefer.  Translations of the survey will be made available upon request.]

Thank you for taking part in the future of QuestionPoint!

Paula Rumbaugh