Submitted by dboozer on
Printer-friendly version

Volume 1, No. 3

Coordinator's Corner: KnowItNow24x7 Year 5...Full Speed Ahead!

On May 29, the State Library of Ohio Board unanimously approved an LSTA grant to fund KnowItNow24x7 for the next fiscal year (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009). We would like to extend our thanks to the members of the Board and to Jo Budler (State Librarian), Roger Verny (Deputy State Librarian), Missy Lodge (Head of Library Programs and Development), and others at the State Library for their continued support of KnowItNow. This coming year is shaping up to be an exciting one for the world's first 24x7 virtual reference service.

A major development in the next few months will be the implementation of new software. As of September 1, 2008, KnowItNow will no longer be using the Tutor.com Ask A Librarian software as its vehicle for providing service. In collaboration with L-Net, (Oregon's statewide online reference service), a new software package is being developed specifically for the use of virtual reference service. The new package is based on the open source Spark client. We will keep everyone updated on this development and will be unveiling the software in the near future. Training will take place both online and in-person and a training manual will be made available at provider.knowitnow.org. Providers will be notified of training sessions as soon as these are scheduled. At least one staff member from each provider library should plan on attending one of these sessions to get acquainted with the new software.

This is just one of the initiatives in store for Year 5. Stay tuned for further developments...

Don Boozer

KnowItNow Coordinator

May 2008 Statistics

This month, we take a look at both combined totals per institution/organization and number of questions answered "per capita." First, here is May 2008's Total Number of Questions Answered by Top 20 Institutions or Organizations where all of the questions answered by a library or organization are added together (Click on image for larger view):

Top 20 KnowItNow providers by library or organization

As last month, to get a better view of the contributions of #3 through #20, here is a chart without the top two "answerers" (Cleveland Public Library and the AfterDark providers) (Click on image for larger view):

No. 3 through 20 KnowItNow providers by library or organization

Many libraries have multiple KIN provider accounts used by individual departments or branches. The following chart shows the Top 20 KnowItNow Answerers "Per Capita," or, in other words, the total number of questions answered by that institution or organization divided by the number of individual accounts assigned to them that were active in May. (For example, Cleveland Public Library had 14 accounts with activity in May with a total of 4,240 answered questions altogether. This gives CPL a "per capita" answer rate of 302.86 per provider account. Likewise, the 54 AfterDark providers in May answered 44.26 questions "per capita," and so on.) (Click on image for larger view):

Top 20 KnowItNow Per Capita Answerers

Congratulations to all the providers and keep up the great work. KnowItNow would not exist without you!

RESOURCE OF THE MONTH: Algebra

To paraphrase Dr. Leonard McCoy, "We're librarians, not math teachers!" One of the perennial challenges of KnowItNow providers is handling questions from students about math homework. The following list of online resources are high-quality, authoritative web sites that will help students work through problems. They won't (necessarily) answer students' specific problems, but they will give them the tools to learn how's and why's of their assignments:

  • Algebra.help.com
    • http://www.algebrahelp.com/
    • "Algebra.help is an online resource designed to help people learn algebra. It offers lessons to teach or refresh old skills, calculators that show how to solve problems step-by-step, and interactive worksheets for testing skills...Resources include study tips and suggestions for buying a calculator for school use; and tables of perfect squares and prime factors (The Sieve of Eratosthenes)." - from The Math Forum @ Drexel
  • Quadratic Equation Solver
  • MathWorld: The Web's Most Extensive Mathematics Resource
    • http://mathworld.wolfram.com/
    • "MathWorldTM is the web's most extensive mathematical resource, provided as a free service to the world's mathematics and internet communities as part of a commitment to education and educational outreach by Wolfram Research, makers of Mathematica."

    To suggest a Resource of the Month, please email comments@knowitnow.org.

    Don't Forget Your KINwear!

    Our store at CafePress is always open. You can buy golf shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, "thinking caps," and even teddy bears with the KnowItNow logo on them. KnowItNow was the first virtual reference service available 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week anywhere and YOU are a part of that! At your next conference, workshop, or meeting, wear your KIN logo with pride and say, "Why, yes, I am a KnowItNow provider." (They're great for gifts as well!)

    KnowItNow Staff

    Don Boozer, KnowItNow Coordinator

    Brian Leszcz, KnowItNow Website Coordinator

    Noah Himes, KnowItNow AfterDark Coordinator

    ...and KnowItNow providers across Ohio!

    The KnowItNow Newsletter (KIN) highlights resources and statistics for providers and fans of Ohio's 24x7 virtual reference service staffed by Ohioans for Ohioans. Email your comments, questions, advice, helpful resources, and other contributions to comments@knowitnow.org.

    If you or your friends would like to sign-up for KnowItNow updates, just go to updates.knowitnow.org and click on Sign up for the latest KnowItNow news.

File attachments: