Several librarians have asked how many questions they can expect come June 1 with the consolidated queue. There is no way to state a specific number; however, a good estimate can be arrived at by looking at the Sessions by Hour statistics available at provider.knowitnow.org/node/480. Keep in mind that instead of the current 2-3 librarians (at most) staffing a subject queue, KIN24x7 will have 10-15 librarians staffing the same queue simultaneously starting in June. Therefore, even if patrons would initiate 90 sessions for a particular hour, that would only be 6-9 questions for any one librarian during that timeframe. This "6-9 questions" also does not take into account those sessions that would be handled by the libraries staffing a local queue. As can be seen from the statistics, most hours are well below 90 sessions.
Some anxiety has been expressed about whether subject expertise is required to answer questions in specific subject areas. This was something that was carefully considered, and it was found that most questions are of a very general nature. To illustrate this, 25 randomly selected questions submitted in April to each of the current subject queues can be accessed at provider.knowitnow.org/node/572. (You must be logged into the Provider site to view this page. If you do not have an account, you are encouraged to sign up for one.) For more examples of questions, KIN24x7 librarians can access the Transcripts.
As can be seen, an in-depth subject knowledge is not required to provide an authoritative response to the majority of these. Some would require a reference interview, but this is not uncommon for any reference question. Using these as a starting point, librarians can begin to think about what statewide databases they might use, what kinds of search queries they would construct (both in databases as well as on Internet search engines), what kinds of questions they would ask patrons to clarify information needs, etc.
It should be pointed out that those libraries staffing General Questions during the daytime, those staffing KIN24x7 in the early evening hours, and the AfterDark librarians have all successfully dealt with a wide range of questions since the inception of the service.
There have also been questions raised about having a lack of print reference materials on particular subjects. Most (if not all) of the most frequently-used resources are available online, and, additionally, AfterDark librarians have always answered questions without the benefit of working from within a library.
As to the recurring question of "in-depth" or "detailed" questions, starting June 1, those patrons on KIN24x7 who self-select "University/College/Trade School" as their grade level (typically asking these kinds of questions) will be handled by the OhioLINK librarians staffing the service.
More details on this change will continue to be shared with KIN24x7 librarians between now and June 1. If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment to the Provider site or email support@knowitnow.org.