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Volume 4, No. 4

Coordinator's Corner: Texting - Something (Not So) Completely Different

And now for something completely different.
~ coined by Christopher Trace (1933-1992), founding host of Blue Peter, a BBC children's program. The phrase was subsequently parodied by Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Options are most always good things to have. Currently, we offer several options for connecting patrons to Ohio's online reference service: knowitnow.org, one of our IM libraries, or leaving a message for follow-up by email. We are now exploring the addition of another option: text messaging. Text messaging (also known as SMS) would provide users of mobile devices another avenue to get answers to their questions.

Caleb Tucker-Raymond, the coordinator of Oregon's statewide L-net service, has been experimenting with several possible SMS options to integrate into the existing software platform used by L-net and KIN24x7. Caleb initiated contact with Text-A-Librarian and has now assembled a trio of videos to explain Oregon's new texting service: http://www.oregonlibraries.net/staff/2010/09/17/three_texting_videos. As you'll see, the text arrives for Oregon librarians in SparkRef as a link (which can be routed like the regular chat invitation). By clicking the link, the Text-a-Librarian interface (which includes a character count and archive of messages) is opened in one's browser. The procedure will not be that different from how web chats are handled now on SparkRef, and detailed instructions (and training materials) will be made available for the differences that are applicable.

Oregon is going live with their text-messaging service in early October. KnowItNow24x7 is currently in conversations with Text-a-Librarian. We are still discussing specifics but hope to have more information available in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Caleb has done an outstanding job in exploring the technology behind intregration of texting into SparkRef, and we are looking forward to seeing how the implementation goes in Oregon.

Before any such implementation takes place here in Ohio, we will provide plenty of time for training and questions from KIN24x7 librarians. We will keep everyone apprised of developments (both here and in Oregon) as we explore providing this new option to residents of the Buckeye State as well.

Don Boozer
KnowItNow24x7 Coordinator

Tips & Tactics: When Teens Attack, or How to Deal with Difficult Customers on Chat

Guest Contributor: Cari Dubiel, Twinsburg Public Library

The Washington State Library has a monthly online program known as Ref22. This program provides free webinars that are available to anyone with a Web connection. With fellow librarian Carol Carlson, also from Twinsburg Library, I had the opportunity to attend the live session on Tuesday, September 14th, which was geared towards librarians who serve teens and provide chat reference through any medium.

The webinar was presented by Jen Robinson of the Seattle Public Library, a reference librarian and former teen librarian who regularly provides chat reference. Of course, we can’t always tell on chat whether we are dealing with a teen or not. However, teens sometimes reveal themselves through their behavior. According to Robinson, teens can be difficult because their brains are not fully developed yet, so they have strong reactions to situations, and they enjoy testing boundaries. It’s a novelty for them to talk to a stranger online; also, they’ve grown up using chat and mobile technology, so they have high expectations of quick and easy answers.

Robinson suggested a few general strategies:

  • Be positive and engaged. Use small talk to let them know you’re interested in their question (for example, “Do you like this class?”)
  • Let them know what you’re doing at all times. If it’s taking you a while to find the answer to a question, type that you are looking for the answer. They don’t want or expect silence on your end.
  • Be in charge: repeat yourself, and provide clear and easy instruction. Do not let them take control of the conversation. For rude comments, let them know they’ve crossed the line and that you were offended by what they said.
  • If they go off track, redirect them back to their initial question. Acknowledge that you have heard their question and move forward. Robinson suggested that you call yourself an “awesome information robot” to avoid personal questions.
  • Sometimes there isn’t even a question; the teen is just bored. Don’t shut them down. Leave the door open for future questions, or send them links for websites they can visit. Robinson provided a list of interesting websites for bored teens. (See ONLINE RESOURCES OF THE MONTH below.)

After the presentation, Robinson addressed questions from the webinar attendees, and many more tips and tricks were shared, including ways to mitigate stress brought on by chat reference. If you’d like to view the webinar, or listen to the audio in MP3 format, the archives are available at http://www.sos.wa.gov/library/libraries/projects/askwa/Ref22Archives.aspx. It was an excellent session, and we learned a lot.

(Note: The next Ref22 session will take place on October 12, 12 noon to 1:00 pm Eastern (9:00 am - 10:00 am Pacific). The topic is "Mastering the Reference Interview". Attendance is free and open to librarians across the country. For information, click here)

Kent State University Collaboration

As mentioned previously on the Provider site, KIN24x7 is collaborating with Assistant Professor Dr. Miriam Matteson's reference class at the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Kent State University (KSU) this semester. Her students received training in using SparkRef and also had discussions about virtual reference in general at two sessions held in Kent and Columbus. The students will be signing up to staff KIN24x7 for two one-hour sessions from October 4 to November 12 between 9am and 8pm. We wish them luck and look forward to hearing about their experiences with this taste of the real-world of virtual reference.

Follow @KIN24x7 On Twitter!

KnowItNow24x7 began tweeting on August 27 as @kin24x7. Librarians who staff KIN24x7 (as well as anyone interested in the service) are highly encouraged to follow the Twitter feed. In addition to highlighting content posted to the Provider site and tweets of pertinent reference-related information, @kin24x7 is an excellent way to stay informed in the (unlikely) event of a service interruption that would preclude SparkRef broadcasts or posting to the Provider site. You can follow us from your own Twitter account or simply subscribe to the RSS Feed through Google Reader or any other aggregator.

A Sampling of KIN24x7 Patron Survey Comments from September 2010

The following are samples of constructive criticism and kudos from the Patron Surveys from September. Notice there are three positive comments this time from people who were using the service for the first time. Keep up the great work! Comments are posted below exactly as they were entered by the patrons:

Constructive Criticism (with editorial comments)

  • Librarian should have requested my email or phone number to get back to me..
    • Commentary: Don't be afraid to follow-up with a patron or to contact another librarian for them. Remember, the goal is to "Move the question, not the patron."
  • perhaps a paragraph of simple instrux for first-time users would be helpful on the opening screen
    • Commentary: Instead of a lot of text on the opening screen at knowitnow.org, we've included a screencast for first-time users. We decided to defer to the old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words. There is also the About page. Feel free to direct patrons to these pages, or you can send the direct links to the screencast (knowitnow.org/files/intro/) or About page (www.knowitnow.org/about.php).

Kudos (Agent who helped the patron is in italics)

  • Fast, efficient, courteous and effectual. Couldn't ask for more. Great site! (Debbie - University of Cincinnati)
  • Librarian03 was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. They answered all of questions in great detail! (Librarian03 - Cleveland Public Library)
  • IT IS AWSOME, IT IS SO FAST I LOVE THIS SO MUCH I HAVE USE THIS ALOT (ad.simon - AfterDark)
  • I like how librarian 128 copied and pasted the information into the chat when my computer was unable to pull up the page and i would like to thatnk them again for helping me with my homework. I got the answer in under 5 minutes with the help of librarian 128 (Librarian128 - Cuyahoga County Public Library, Garfield Heights)
  • This is a great service! This was my first time and I will be sure to make better use of it in the future. (Roesch Library Reference, University of Dayton)
  • I had no idea this service existed! Thank you, this was a big help.... (ad.alicia - AfterDark)
  • The librarians are very helpful and polite. I would recomend this to anybody and everybody!This is a great system if your stuck on homework or just need help finding information. (ad.bertram - AfterDark)
  • I HAD THE BEST LIBRARIAN (Librarian54 - Clark County Public Library)
  • First time live chatting with a librarian. I'm coming back to use this feature. Awesome!! (Terese@KnowItNow - Wright State University)
    • (One more for Terese: The young lady with whom I spoke who's e-mail reads Terese@KnowItNow Really Went The Extra Mile so much so that i requested that she extend her supervisor's telephone number so that I may let her superior know she was very pleasant and in this "I'll Be Right With You" or "please hold" world she was like a breath of fresh air...)
  • Librarian115 is the best person to go to answer ALL of your questions. Librarian115 should get a raise. (Kirtland Public Library)
  • This was the best librarian I have ever had on the website, he/she didnt act like a now it all, they helped alot! I am coming back for homework help! (Librarian52 - Birchard Public Library)
  • Great job I will always use this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Librarian164 - Cleveland Public Library)
  • I love online library chat. So useful! (Amanda - Defiance College)
  • This is such a wonderful service. Being homebound, a lot, this is invaluable to me. (Librarian101 - Akron-Summit County Public Library)
  • I liked the librarian a lot and she helped with a project that is due tomorrow. I could not have done this without her. (Librarian84 - Cleveland Public Library)
  • Librarian61 is great!!! They gave me great websites and information and was very kind and fast to find the info!1 Thanks KNOWITNOW!! AND LIBRARIAN61!! (Mansfield/Richland County Public Library)
  • Thank you for using a "reliable" website source for me to reference. It's difficult to choose from Google. (Bentley - AfterDark)
  • Lady at Muskigum college was wonderful! and this service is better than it was 3 years ago. Thanks OHIO! (Nicole - Muskingum University)
  • WOW! What a great experience - and a tribute to the value of a good old fashioned research librarian in a real bricks-and-mortar libabry! Thank you!! (Librarian02 - Cleveland Public Library)
  • I am so very happy I found this site and i will use it again in the future. (ad.bob - AfterDark)
  • I think Librarian 80 Is the Best u got!!!!!!!!!!!! (Cleveland Public Library)
  • Actually, this is the first time I have used it in a few years. The librarian was excellent! (Librarian16 - Worthington Libraries)
  • yes my person was VERY nice and hlpful i reccomend this website to anyone who needs homework help. (ad.ian - AfterDark)
  • the librarians really pull out the information you need, and help you find what you're looking for faster than it would normally take you. (Librarian02 - Cleveland Public Library)
  • HE OR SHE HELPED ME WITH MEDIAN HE OR SHE SHOWED ME AT VERY COOL WEBSITE IT HELPED VERY VERY MUCH NOW I CAN PRATICE FOR MY BIG TEST ON THURSDAY THANKS LABARIAN331 BYE (Librarian331 - Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County)
  • The librarian was truly helpful! I found my reliable resources in a split amount of time I could've on my own! Thank you soooooo much!! (Librarian128 - Cuyahoga County Public Library, Garfield Heights Branch)
  • THIS IS SO AMAZING. I LOVE THIS!!! I WILL USE THIS EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! I CAN GET ALL THE INFORMATION I NEED FROM THIS! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! THANK YOU SO MUCH! (ad.misha - AfterDark)
  • This is my first time using the service, I will be back. Thank you for providing such a useful service. (Librarian61 - Mansfield/Richland County Public Library)

(Remember, if you are a KnowItNow24x7 librarian, you can sign up for an account on the Provider site to access all transcripts and survey comments.)

 

Statistics: Participating Libraries

This month, the statistics look at KIN24x7-participating public libraries in relation to the 251 public libraries in Ohio. Currently, there are forty-six (46) public libraries actively serving patrons in some way on KnowItNow24x7. That's just slightly more than 18% of the total public libraries in the state.

However, this tells only part of the story. Taking the most recent rankings (2008) posted by the State Library of Ohio, we can also see if size of library impacts participation in Ohio's collaborative virtual reference service. Granted, the number of FTE's may have changed at each library since 2008, but the relative sizes would most likely have not changed that much in comparison to each other. Ranking the libraries by number of FTE's and dividing them into eight roughly equal categories, we find:

Size of Library (by FTE's) Total Number of Libraries Number of Libraries
Contributing Staff Time to KIN24x7		 Percentage
Group 1
(Rank #1-35)

32

27

84.38%
Group 2
(Rank #36-70)

32

7

21.88%
Group 3
(Rank #71-105)

32

8

25%
Group 4
(Rank #106-140)

32

3

9.38%
Group 5
(Rank #141-175)

32

0

--
Group 6
(Rank #176-210)

32

1

3.13%
Group 7
(Rank #211-251)

32

0

--
Group 8
(Rank #211-251)

27

0

--
TOTAL

251

46

18.33%

Group 1 includes the large metropolitan libraries: The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County (Size Rank #1), Cuyahoga County Public Library (#2), Columbus Metropolitan Library (#3), Cleveland Public Library (#4), Dayton Metro Library (#5), Akron-Summit County Public Library (#6), and Toledo-Lucas County Public Library (#7), all of whom are KIN24x7-participating institutions. These larger libraries are vital to the ability of KIN24x7 to serve all Ohioans, and their contribution is greatly appreciated.

After Group 1, participation in KIN24x7 drops off significantly. Of the 219 public libraries in Groups 2-8, only 19 are participating libraries which is less than 10%. In Groups 5-8, only one public library is an active contributor to the service: Kirtland Public Library (#189). Kirtland also provides a member of the Quality Assurance Committee for KIN24x7 (QuACK).

Membership in KIN24x7's two committees (QuACK and PECK) is shared by several different sizes of library including Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland Public Library, Greene County Public Library (#13), Washington County Public Library (#47), Orrville Public Library (#105), as well as several academic libraries.

The participation of those libraries providing staff to handle patrons' sessions on KIN24x7 is greatly appreciated! Your contribution is what makes Ohio's virtual reference service possible. Additionally:

  • Your staff provides a valuable contribution to the collaborative nature of Ohio's virtual reference service.
  • Your staff is acquiring valuable skills which can enhance their ability to serve patrons both online and in-person.
  • Your staff is connected to the KIN24x7 network, allowing them to instantly contact other librarians around the state for assistance.
  • Your staff can share their expertise with colleagues around the state via the KIN24x7 Pathfinder project.
  • Your staff can serve as local advocates for the service both with patrons as well as colleagues from non-participating libraries.

For those libraries not currently contributing staff-time to the collaborative statewide service, the forty-six participating public libraries (along with the OhioLINK and special libraries and AfterDark librarians) make it possible for your patrons to have 24x7 access to an information professional.

With different options available now, there are benefits for any size of library to be a part of the KIN24x7 network. If you are a smaller library, you can easily bring your local patrons the ability to connect live online with your staff with the KIN24x7 local queue option. If you monitor AIM, Yahoo!, or MSN instant messaging, you can do that seamlessly with the KIN24x7 software and then also be connected to all the other librarians in the statewide network. We're also looking at some exciting text-messaging options for the future as well.

Patrons in every county of the state initiate sessions on KnowItNow24x7, and every library's patrons have the opportunity to utilize the service. For more information on how you can do your fair share for Ohio's collaborative virtual reference service, email KIN24x7 at support@knowitnow.org.

(For September statistics, visit the Statistics page)

ONLINE RESOURCES OF THE MONTH: Bored, bored, bored...

Do you ever serve patrons on KIN24x7 who are just bored and want to chat? If so, how do you handle them? If they don't have a "real" question, librarians should provide a positive experience as well as encourage them to return when they need help with a question. Serving a "bored" patron can be difficult, but Cari Dubiel (See Tips & Tactics above) has supplied a list of resources from the recent online workshop hosted by the Washington State Library that might help. These links are for those patrons who just need something to pass the time. So, next time you have someone who says they're bored, try sharing some of these:

(If you are a KIN24x7 librarian, feel free to post suggested online resources here.)

KnowItNow24x7 Staff

Don Boozer, KnowItNow24x7 Statewide Coordinator
Brian Leszcz, KnowItNow24x7 Web Services Coordinator
Noah Himes, AfterDark Virtual Reference Service Coordinator
Morgan Paul, AfterDark Virtual Reference Service Specialist
Megan Mitchell, OhioLINK Liaison and Reference Librarian, Oberlin College
...and supervisors and agents across Ohio at KnowItNow24x7-participating libraries like Cari Dubiel at Twinsburg Public Library. Thanks for being this week's guest author!

The KnowItNow24x7 Newsletter is published monthly and highlights news, resources, and statistics for providers and fans of Ohio's 24x7 virtual reference service. Email your comments, questions, advice, helpful resources, and other contributions to support@knowitnow.org.

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