Volume 2, No. 10

Coordinator's Corner: Not Everybody is High-Speed

Recently, I have had the opportunity to present KnowItNow24x7 programs in Cincinnati, Kent, and Athens: three corners of the state. Ohio is full of dedicated professionals, and I feel lucky to be able to have met a number of them and to have them as part of the KIN24x7 network. I'm looking forward to meeting more at upcoming events like the SEO conference and OLC Chapter Conferences. Not only do I get to meet KIN24x7 agents, but I get the chance to learn new things and to get reports from the field. This happened at the OLC Southeast Chapter Conference.

In discussions about use of the service and patrons access to it in southeast Ohio, it was once again brought home to me that not everyone has high-speed Internet connections in their homes. In larger urban and suburban areas, this is sometimes taken for granted. In other parts of the state, this level of access is not even available. Homes with dial-up access (or no access) are an on-going concern for many rural counties in Ohio. Libraries, thankfully, are connected via OPLIN's network. Residents having no Internet access at home will have to visit their local library to access the service. However, it is important to remember that residents with dial-up access are able to connect to our service. It may be slower, but the Spark software provides for much less strain on an indivdual's computer. This is important for agents to remember: if you feel a patron is slow in responding to a question about a resource that you sent, it may simply be that he or she hasn't seen it yet.

Which brings us, once again, to the Co-Browser Freezing Issue. If a person with dial-up access is using our service, sending simple copied-and-pasted links within the chat (with directions on where to look on the page when it is opened) is much more desirable than pushing pages through the Co-Browser. In fact, this is yet another reason that I stress: Don't use the Co-Browser. Agents can't know if someone has dial-up or has some other reason for not wanting a page pushed. Even if you have not experienced the Co-Browser freezing your sessions yet, I urge agents not to take the chance.

Those librarians who will be monitoring AOL, Yahoo, and MSN through Spark do not have the Co-Browser option at all. As IM becomes more prevalent, those who have not used the Co-Browser will prove more adept at serving patrons in a different medium of communication. Visually-impaired patrons being served through the Spark-IM interface don't want pages to open up unannounced, so this is a positive thing that there is no Co-Browser in the IM component of Spark.

Furthermore, to those libraries that have not publicized KIN24x7 to their local populations, I would encourage them to go ahead and promote the service. We have ways to serve dial-up patrons now. In the past, the bandwidth-heavy interfaces may have been problematic. Spark provides for a much more streamlined interaction.

So, this one piece of information ("High-speed Internet is still not common in some parts of the state") has multiple ramifications for serving patrons on KIN24x7 now and in the future. Just something to keep in mind as you serve your virtual patrons.

Don Boozer
KnowItNow24x7 Coordinator

Reminder: Some Memorandums of Understanding Still Outstanding

Thank you to the thirty-two institutions, departments, and branches who have already filled out and submitted their Memorandum of Understanding. As mentioned in previous newsletters, each public library (along with several special libraries and services) are being asked to fill out the new KIN24x7 Memorandum of Understanding to both confirm their existing participation and for KIN24x7 to have verification of each library's current commitment and contact information. Detailed instructions for filling out the MoU are at provider.knowitnow.org/node/348 and the document itself is available at the Documention page or by directly clicking here.

I have sent out a reminder email to libraries from whom I have not received a completed MoU. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Don Boozer at support@knowitnow.org or 216.623.2960. Thank you for your cooperation.

Statistics: March 2009

Once again, last month's statistics were up over the same month last year:

• March 2008 - Total Sessions: 8,394
• March 2009 - Total Sessions: 12,934

That's an increase of sessions handled of over 35%! One factor that contributes to this increase is the inclusion of the leave-a-message feature as another option for patrons to contact us. Since last October when it was initiated, the email answering librarians have responded to a total of 1,362 messages. Last month, they handled 220.

To provide some perspective, if these questions all came from the same library, they would be around the 14th busiest for patron logins to the service.

Every one of the email answering librarians' contribution is absolutely vital (as are every one of the public, academic, special and AfterDark librarians). Thank you to everyone who serves our patrons. You are KIN24x7!

A Sampling of March Kudos

The following are a random sample of positive comments from the Patron Surveys from March:

• ad.valerie was very kind and helpful to me today, thanks so much! :)
• Jeanne was cool.
• Librarian03 was super helpful! Thank You Librarian03.
• Librarian200 was so nice!! She was very patient and gave me lots of good things to consider. Please give her my gratitude, for she is the nicest I have worked with.
• librain11 was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
• Librarian 51 was extreamly helpful. I learned a lot!
• ad.chuck was great!!! =]] very nice A+++++++++++++++
• Great service to have. Very helpful on-line librarian (Dennis). A real asset for on-line searches (info and a personal touch). Keep up the great work!
• Librarian168 was great and was very considerate and into my questions. He, or she, showed much interest in my studies and made me excited for the research I have along the road. Please let them know of my satisfaction.
• librarian31 gave me a ton of website referals to go to. :)

ONLINE RESOURCES OF THE MONTH: "April is the cruelest month"

No, that's not an editorial comment. Those in-the-know will realize that's the first line of T.S. Eliot's famous poem "The Waste Land" (click here for an interactive, hypertext version of the poem). April is National Poetry Month and, in commemoration, you'll find resources below to celebrate poetry in all its forms:

• Poets.org at www.poets.org/ - from the Academy of American Poets.
• The Poetry Archive at www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/home.do - a unique audio collection of poets reading from their own works. Contemporary poets, historical recordings including Langston Hughes, Tennyson, and Yeats. Special sections for teachers, students, and children.
• Literary Contest Caution at windpub.com/literary.scams/ - Provided as a public service by a small, independent publisher in Kentucky, this site provides information to heighten the awareness of prospective authors and poets about unscrupulous literary contests and other literary scams..
• Favorite Poem Project at www.favoritepoem.org/ - The success of this project has resulted in several anthologies, this online poetry database, and videos of people reciting their favorite poems. Site includes lesson plans for K-12, and how to stage poetry readings.
• Thinkfinity Resources for Poetry Month at www.thinkfinity.org/highlights.aspx?feature=EdPoetry - Verizon's Thinkfinity site is a great source. These pages highlight resources for National Poetry Month.

If you have an online resource for any subject that you'd like to share with your KIN24x7 colleagues, post it at provider.knowitnow.org/node/352. You'll just need to login to the Provider page. Feel free to simply post links, a link and short description, or a link and full review of your resource. We'll highlight selected ones from the list here in this column in upcoming editions of the newsletter. Also, KIN24x7 agents are welcome to check out (or contribute to) the KIN24x7 AfterDark Wiki at http://afterdark.knowitnow.org/wiki/.

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 KnowItNow24x7 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, don your KIN24x7-wear with pride and say, "Why, yes, I am a KnowItNow24x7 agent." (They're great for gifts as well!)

KnowItNow24x7 Staff

Don Boozer, KnowItNow24x7 Coordinator
Brian Leszcz, KnowItNow24x7 Web Services Coordinator
Noah Himes, KnowItNow24x7 AfterDark Coordinator
Megan Mitchell, OhioLINK Liaison and Reference Librarian, Oberlin College
...and KnowItNow24x7 agents across Ohio!

The KnowItNow24x7 Newsletter 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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