QuestionPoint: 24/7 reference services

Session of the Week #7: Journal articles or overviews?

 

When assisting students with their research,  pointing to the library’s databases and recommending search terms isn’t always the best place to start, especially if the search results are too specific for the student’s needs.  In this session, the librarian works with the student to determine the effectiveness of a database search, suggesting more general resources (encyclopedias, etc). The student was delighted and commented (in the post-session survey):  “The person I talked to was extremely helpful! I figured they would just give me advice, but this person actually helped me research! Definitely above and beyond what I expected."

The complete session (anonymized) is below:

Patron: Hello. I'm trying to find a relevant article about a specific organism for my Microbiology paper that isn't as in depth as an analysis of its makeup. Do you have any suggestions to narrow down the results? Thanks in advance!

Librarian: Hello! Just a moment while I look at your question.

Librarian: I'm looking at a list of databases accessible to [name of patron’s library], and I'm wondering which one's you've already tried ...?

Patron: I'm currently on EBSCOHost; I haven't used any of the other databases before.

Librarian:  EBSCO is a vendor of databases, not a database, were you in Academic Search Premier by chance?

Librarian: your complete database list is here: http://www.Library.edu/databases

Librarian: I'm think that overviews might be more useful for you than journal articles, which focus on narrow aspects of topics - can you use online reference works, for example?

Patron:  Yep! Sorry, I normally don't use these, but I've been having trouble finding information on this organism in general, including a general websearch. I didn't notice the top of the screen said Academic Search Premier.

Librarian:  the Oxford Reference online sounds like it might offer subject encyclopedias that would give you an overview of microorganisms

Librarian: what is your specific genus and species name?

Patron:  In response to the second question, yes, my professor just asked us to use credible sources, so I thought searching on be would be a good idea, but they're a tad more in-depth than I need.

Patron: Okay, thank you! My organism is Micrococcus luteus.

Librarian: ok, hang on ...

Librarian: The Oxford entries were not specific to that organism, except a couple of brief references

Librarian: I notice you have access to Scientific American online; their articles tend to be comprehensible to educated readers without advanced degrees, you could try that next (keyword searching by genus and species)

Patron: I checked as well and the only results I found were the genus, not the species (which I can use as well) but they require a paid membership.

Librarian:  they shouldn't require a paid membership if you start at your library's database page: http://www.library.edu/databases

Librarian:  you should be able to get into any database there with your ID and PIN, as explained on this page: http://library.edu/PINs

Librarian:  I might try ProQuest next, although many of their articles are also highly technical - some are not

Patron: Oh, okay, thank you! I wasn't aware of that.

Librarian: hang on, still looking ...

Librarian:  I tried ProQuest, and found over 20 articles with m. luteus as a "subject" (better than searching keywords) but all were rather narrow focus research articles

Librarian: is there a common name for the micro-organism, or something that makes it interesting to laypeople?

Librarian: Wikipedia doesn't seem to think so ... (you can't use them as a source, of course)

Patron: I'm searching through Scientific American and haven't found anything so far. Unfortunately, no really. It's a pretty common microbe, as in it's always on our skin, and doesn't do much unless the person is immuncompromised. The most interesting fact I've found is that is causes the odor in stinky feet.

Librarian: that is interesting, I'm thinking general science magazines (like New Scientist, Discover, or Science News) might mention it in relation to recent discoveries

Librarian: to find those, I'd normally use the big aggregrate databases like Academic Search Premier or ProQuest, but you could try other all-topic databases in the library’s database list

Librarian:  perhaps the health-related databases

Patron:  Okay, I'll start searching some of those then. Thank you! The only website I could come up with was the CDC and they didn't have much unfortunately. I was just at a loss of where to look.

Librarian: in EBSCO you can do a combined database search, and that it improves your chances with obscure topics; look for the "choose databases" link after the database name (top left) of the advanced search screen

Librarian: you'll probably have to wade through a bunch of highly technical citations and abstracts until you can find one that is more general and comprehensible. For general overviews of scientific topics, I usually recommend science (or biology in this case) encyclopedias, which are often in print in the library

Librarian: they're considered credible, if not quite peer-reviewed

Librarian:  with this topic, all I'm finding tonight are highly technical research articles that won't give an overview

Librarian: wait, you have Grzimek's online, that might help

Patron: I think my professor was mainly hinting that she would not be impressed if we used Wikipedia as a source. She didn't seem overly concerned with where it came from, as long as the facts were right. I noticed, the combined databases pulled up over 4,000 results. I never would have thought of a biology encyclopedia, that's a great idea! That was my problem with Academic Search Premier. My target audience is supposed to be someone who has never taken Microbiology, so I have to simplify everything I come across.

Librarian: that explains some things (virtually no instructors like Wikipedia as a source, incidentally)

Librarian: The Grzimek's didn't work because a bacterium isn't an animal

Librarian: you might also try textbooks (but probably not the one used in your class)

Librarian: they tend to simplify and generalize a bit

Patron: I can see why, I've gotten some bad (or just incomplete) information from Wikipedia before, but it's occasionally nice for a brief overview. I tried my class textbook, but like you said, it was too generalized for my purpose. Very true, thank you for all of your help!

Librarian: You’re welcome.  I hope the session was helpful and that you'll use this service again soon! If you provided an email, you will receive a transcript of this session shortly. You may also see a link to a survey, which you may use to rate this service. Thanks!

Librarian coded session for Follow Up 

If you have a session to recommend a session for Session of the Week, or if you have any comments/concerns about any chat sessions, send it Quality [click on the Send to Quality link in the complete session view in the Review Transcripts tab, or email either[email protected] or [email protected]]. Thanks to all who have submitted a SOTW!

QuestionPoint maintenance install Thursday June 12, 204 6:00 UTC (2:00 AM EDT)

Please be advised that the QuestionPoint service will be unavailable Thursday June 12, 2014 from 6:00 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) to 6:30 UTC (2:30 a.m. EDT), in order to correct some behavior of the new WYSIWYG editor in QuestionPoint.

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. Details regarding the WYSIWYG corrections are  available  here.

Notes d’installation Date d’installation: 12 juin 2014

Correctifs

En mai 2014, nous avons intégré un éditeur WYSIWYG dans QuestionPoint (voir : 5/18/2014 Notes d’installation QP).  Malheureusement, quelques problèmes ont été découverts. Ils sont maintenant  corrigés.

 

A.   Bris de ligne dans les messages préenregistrés (scripts) lorsqu’utilisés dans l’éditeur WYSIWYG

Les messages préenregistrés qui sont disponibles dans le module Service de référence sont actuellement rédigés en format texte (brut). Les lignes peuvent être brisées lors de l’utilisation de la touche « Entrée » ou de la balise <br>. 

Malheureusement, le retour à la ligne avec la touche « Entrée » n’était pas reconnu par le nouvel éditeur WYSIWYG.  Par conséquent, les messages préenregistrés n’étaient pas correctement affichés lorsque des balises <br> n’avaient pas été utilisées. Ces messages nécessitaient des corrections manuelles.

Nous avons résolu ce problème : les messages préenregistrés qui contenaient des retours à la ligne créés avec la touche « Entrée » sont maintenant correctement affichés dans l’éditeur WYSIWYG lors de l’envoi de réponses, de demandes de clarification ou de messages. À partir de maintenant, l’utilisation de la touche « Entrée » ou de la balise <br> créera un retour à la ligne unique dans les messages préenregistrés de tous les niveaux (individuel, établissement, et groupe d’abonnement).

B.   Bris de ligne dans l’éditeur WYSIWYG

À l’origine, l’utilisation de la touche « Entrée » dans l’éditeur WYSIWYG devait créer un double retour à la ligne (paragraphe). Pour créer un retour à la ligne simple, il faillait utiliser les touches « Maj » + « Entrée ».  Toutefois, cette pratique ne s’est pas avérée intuitive.

Dorénavant, un retour à la ligne simple sera créé avec la touche « Entrée ».  Pour créer un double retour à la ligne, cliquez deux fois sur la touche « Entrée », ou cliquez sur « Maj » + « Entrée ».

 

C.   Jeux de caractères non latins maintenant reconnus lorsque des sessions de QuestionPoint sont transférées dans la base de connaissances

Alors que nous allons de l’avant pour implanter le format HTML dans les réponses des bibliothécaires et des utilisateurs, les demandes de clarification et les autres messages dans QuestionPoint,  certains processus qui importent le texte des zones qui utilisent encore le format texte brut ne reconnaissaient pas les jeux de caractères non latins ou les signes diacritiques. Nous avons découvert que certaines réponses ajoutées à la base de connaissances et certaines questions acheminées à d’autres bibliothécaires contenaient parfois des caractères illisibles. Ce problème a été réglé.

Dorénavant, les textes rédigés en caractères non latins ou contenant des signes diacritiques (pour les langues prises en charge par QuestionPoint) seront correctement affichés lorsqu’importés dans les bases de connaissances et lors de l’envoi de messages ou d’avis.

QuestionPoint Release Notes, June 12 2013 Install

  Bug Fixes

 

 In May of 2014 we introduced a WYSIWYG editor into QuestionPoint.  (See: 5/18/2014 QP Release Notes).    Unfortunately a few bugs were discovered that are now repaired:

 

A.                Line breaks in Scripted Messages when used in WYSIWYG

The Scripted Messages configured for the Ask module are currently written in plain text.   Line breaks can be created by using the “Enter” key on the keyboard, as well as by using the <br> tag.  

Unfortunately, the carriage return “Enter” key method was not recognized by the new WYSIWYG editor.  As a result, formatted scripts were suffering “run-on” appearance if <br> tags had not been used, and therefore had to be manually edited from within the editor. 

A temporary work around was offered, suggesting that <br> tags be used until the previously used formatting became available in WYSIWYG. 

We have implemented a retroactive fix, and “Enter” key returns are now preserved, allowing those previously formatted scripts to behave correctly when added to the WYSIWYG editing screen in Answers, Clarification Requests, and Messages.  Going forward, both “Enter” key returns and /or <br> tags will create a single space line break in all three levels of Scripted Messages (Individual, Institution, and BME Shared Messages.)

 

B.                Line Breaks from within WYSIWYG

When using any of the WYSIWYG screens,  the original default behavior line break implemented by using the “Enter” key was to create a double line break space (i.e. a paragraph break).  It was only possible to create a single line break by using Shift+Enter.  This was deemed counter-intuitive to expected behavior; therefore we have reversed this rule.  

Enter key now creates a single line break. To create a double line break, use Enter key twice, or Shift+Enter.

 

C.                Foreign Language sets now recognized when QP sessions are moved into KB.

As we proceed with the process of updating QuestionPoint features to use html in Answers, Patron replies, Clarification Requests and Messages, some processes sitll using plain text that import content from QP sessions were negatively affected when foreign language sets or diacritics were used.  We discovered that Answers promoted to the KB, emails received by librarians upon referral, and those sent to email partners contained some unreadable text under certain conditions.   That has been repaired and character sets of our supported languages will now render correctly when imported to the Knowledge Bases, and when sent out via email. 

Session of the Week #6: Readers’ Advisory success story

Although there are many sites with suggestions on what to read next, it can be tricky for patrons to locate a fondly remembered book when, alas, they don’t remember the author or the title.  In this session, the patron can remember the cover of the book and some key plot points, and the reference librarian uses this, along with information gleaned in the reference interview, to find that book:

Patron: I'm looking for a book that I read about 4 or 5 years ago. I don't remember the title or the author, but I remember that there was a girl on the cover who had on like a simple, dark dress and dark, black hair. I also remember that she was about 16, she was living with her great aunt and uncle because her parents had died...I feel like in some sort of hiking accident. It was during the summer and she ended up getting a job at a bakery. I would greatly appreciate your help in finding this book. Thank you!

Librarian:  Hello, I'm reading your question and will be with you in just a moment.

Librarian: Unfortunately we can't search by cover art or color, so let's focus on what you remember about the story.

Librarian: Did you get the book from your library? Was it a book for kids, teens or adults?

Patron: I got it from my school library, it was for teens. I'm pretty sure.

Librarian: Here is a likely description: When sixteen-year-old Martha Venable Sexton gets a summer job at a bakery, her whole life changes as she finds friends, discovers men, learns to balance individuality with "blending in," and comes to terms with her guardian aunt and uncle.

Librarian:  The title is "M.V. Sexton speaking " and the author is Suzanne Newton

Patron: I think that's it!!!

Librarian: Good! Glad to help.

Librarian: Do you want to check if your public library has it, or are you going to look at school library now?

Patron: Thank you so much! I would like to check if my public library has it.

Librarian: I just checked and did not find it. It is published in 1981, so it might not have survived 33 years in a public library.

Librarian: If your school library doesn't still have it, look into Interlibrary Loan at your public library.

[Librarian sends link to ILL for patron’s public library']

Patron: Okay, thank you so much. I've been looking for this book for ages it feels like.

Librarian: You're very welcome.

Librarian: Bye! It's been a pleasure serving you. If you need further help, please feel free to login again. If you have provided a valid e-mail address, you will receive a transcript of this chat session in your e-mail. Please take a moment to complete the survey!

The patron commented, via the survey: “I had been looking for a book that I couldn't remember the title or author of. Needless to say, I wasn't having much luck finding the book. All I could remember was what the book was about, but just plugging that into search engines wasn't working. I found this and figured it was worth a shot and within a few questions, my book was found! I was elated. This is an amazing tool."

Congratulations to the librarian who, using reference interview techniques and the patron’s library’s readers’ advisory database, was able to locate the book (and sent the ILL form so the patron could read the book once more).

If you would like to nominate a session, send it Quality [click on the Send to Quality link in the complete session view in the Review Transcripts tab, or email either [email protected] or [email protected]]. Thanks to all who have submitted a SOTW!

ALA 2014: QP user group meeting

If you are attending ALA Annual in Las Vegas, please join us for the QuestionPoint user group meeting! The meeting will be held on Sunday, June 29, 10:30 – 11:30 am at the Paris Hotel, Loire Room

We will provide a QuestionPoint update 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 [email protected]

If you are planning on attending the meeting, please register on the OCLC Web site at http://oc.lc/ALA2014. And, be sure and drop by the OCLC booth too - Booth 913 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!