Volume 3, No. 5

Coordinator's Corner: Comments. We Get Comments.

This month's Coordinator's Corner will be a combination of the usual editorial combined with the monthly Sampling of Survey Comments. I'd like to take the opportunity to use some of those October comments left by patrons to point out some issues that seem to appear repeatedly and offer suggestions on how to handle them. The comments themselves (in italics) have been transcribed exactly as they were entered by the patrons.

A common theme in the less-than-positive comments left by patrons is disappointment in the abrupt manner of the librarian. Whether the librarian meant to be perceived this way or not is not as important as how patrons actually perceive it. The only interaction is what is written within the session. Patrons repeatedly comment on the fact that a resource was sent and the librarian logged off with no follow-up. Making sure that a patron's question has been answered is a vital part of any reference interview:

• tell the people to make sure the student is satisfied with the answer. and actually help us instead of giving us websites with the WRONGGGG information!
• The person gave me a bunch of websites and disconnected the conversation right away when i wasnt done
• My helper person sent me the link to two web sites and the was like here these should ehlp you and then got off, and i think she shouldve asked if i had anymore questoins.
• the librarins just log off when i am not done talking with them which i take as a huge insult
• I need more help but they signed out):
• [The librarian] seemed as if she did not understand what I was asking, then disconnected the conversation without saying anything. Bad communication skills. I wasted my time.

As far as being more "open" or "interact[ing] with kids more," this requires a balance:

• the librarians could interact with the kid more. learn a little about them. its fun for the kid to be asked questions about them
• The librarians should be more open

Librarians need not be chatty with patrons, but, on the other hand, they should not be perceived as robotic either. Keeping the conversation on a professional but human level can be difficult but is well worth the effort. Consider how you would interact with a patron if they were at your service desk. You can also check out Section VI of the KIN24x7 Provider Handbook for suggested guidelines on communication.

Another thing to be aware of is what resources you are sending to patrons:

• All I received was a link to wikipedia. I could have done taht.

Wikipedia is a great place to start, but it should never be the last word. One thing Wikipedia does well is provide external links and (often) bibliographies. Sometimes a better course is to send one of the external links, rather than the Wikipedia article itself. Remember that, in many cases, patrons are coming to KIN24x7 after they've already done their Google and Wikipedia searches. We should be able to offer more.

Also be very careful that the links you are sending are live. Dead links sometimes result when a page containing multiple links or a search results page is sent.

• This site was recommended by my instructor. I have been give dead sites to look and this last person says that my request is beyond the scope of their abilities. For someone who has limited free time to travel and need help this site is sad.

Always try to verify both the authority and the presence of links being sent. The comment above was also of concern in that the librarian (according to the customer) said that the question was beyond the scope of their abilities. My suggestion would be to, at the very least, suggest some other sources and referrals (or using a Spark broadcast to ask for help from the other reference librarians on KIN24x7). Try not to be a dead end for the patron.

This is also a not-uncommon theme...

• The site could be a little more clear on how to keep the page up for reference after the librarian ends the chat. Almost always I lose the page after the librarian ends the chat session.

...and will be cleared up in the new version of SparkRef/Openfire in mid-November.

And, remember, all it takes is one disgruntled customer to spread the word:

• the person didn't say hi. then they just left. all i did was say hi and sorry if i pause for a moment, im reading a book. it was very horrible service and i probbaly will never use it again. and i will tell everybody that your service isn't helpful.

But also remember, we get lots of positive comments too. Once again, all it takes is one pleased customer to spread the word (even if they don't always get our name right):

• The librarian was very nice and considerate of me and answered my questions very well without giving the direct answer, so I could still use my brain power. I enjoyed the service very well and am sure I'll use it again.
• I have been on this website many a times an no one has ever been so interactive and has given me so many good sources. thannnk youuu and i will most definately be using this source in the future.
• This is great - I wasn't sure who to call at my local library, but the online librarian was able to answer my question right away
• the person giving me the information not only answered my question but she was nice. said hello and have a good day. It is a very nice service and I would use it again
• THANKS TO THE LIBRAIAN I CAN FINALLY DO MY PAPER FOR COLLEGE.
• I just wanted to say that I feel that this is a very helpful, great program that schools (and students) are very lucky to have available.
• The service was very quick and helpful. I had most of the information myself, I just needed to find it again and the librarian knew exactly where to look for it. :) It made things a whole lot easier.
• I love you guys, this service is AWESOME!! Thank you!
• I am glad you have thi other wise I would have no information for my science class. :) I always get on here to find what I am looking for. The librarian I had was vary nice.
• this is the best place to find true answers rather than any place else
• I use this service all the time and this has been the most preductive. I needed help finding information for a report I am doing for my English class and the librarian that helped me got the information very quick and treated me very nice. The information I was given defiantly will help me. I read a little bit of it to see if it would help me and it most defiantly will. I am so happy that there is a site to help students that need help.
• The person was very helpful and took considerable time trying to help me find the answer to my question. He did awesome work.
• I would just like to say that I love this service you have here because if I have a homework question or anything you people can help me. I would just like to thank the whole staff of people that work for the KNOW-IT ALL service!!!!

And, finally, here is just a sample of some kudos left by patrons for specific librarians. Keep up the great work:

• librarian 80 was very helpful. she gave me more info than i needed. thank you guys :)
• Bently is awesome and very nice thank you so much
• I thought Librarian03 was helpful because she/he explained the topic I was looking for and gave me a link.
• ed.holly is a great librain...
• Libaraian28 was a very big help , thank you(:
• Suzanne at KnowItKnow provided great service. Thanks
• librarian 166 helped me alot they should be promoted
• a.d.valerie was amazing. Instead of giving me the answer she found a site that explained everything so easily. She was amazing!!!!
• librarian116 helped me out a lot because I couldn't find any links!
• good job ad.Douglas!
• The Librarian103 helped me with my math and finding wonderful book
• ad.Alicia was very helpful in math!
• Librarian 79 and librarian48 are great you should make them librarians of the month! thanks so much 79 and 48
• ad.Alex was very helpful and nice:D
• Librarian 101 was great.
• ad.andie was great and reliable he is so great he has helped me so much!!!!!
• I was contacted with "librarian06", she was very precise and clear. She gave me two links with information on my topic. I'm sure I'll use this site again!
• that librian61 was the best i have had soo far.. since i have been using this site...
• librarian 02 is amazing. she/he gave me a website that had exzactly what i needed and she/he even wrote it on our conversation!! that just made my homework soo much easier!!:)

Don Boozer
KnowItNow24x7 Coordinator

Switch to New Spark Version Coming

Monday, November 16, has been set as the date for the switchover to the new Spark/Openfire software. Minimal downtime is planned. Provider libraries and AfterDark librarians should plan to replace their Spark clients after their last shift before Nov. 16. If your library's IT department would be interested in utilizing an MSI for installation, contact support@knowitnow.org.

The new version of Spark is named SparkRef Version 1.1.0. to easily distinguish it from the other open-source version freely available elsewhere on the web. This will make it much easier to diagnose problems and notify libraries of updates. For a list of features incorporated into SparkRef, click here.

Statistics: October 2009

This month we look at the number of sessions handled by the 30 most active KIN24x7 provider institutions this past month. There is a mix of public, academic, and AfterDark librarians (who once again take the busiest spot at the top, handling 41% of the total sessions in October). For a complete list of providers and sessions handled last month, check out the October statistics.

As always, thanks to everyone who assists patrons on KnowItNow24x7. Your contributions are crucial to the service and are greatly appreciated.

ONLINE RESOURCES OF THE MONTH: Staying Informed

There are officially umpteen-bazillion blogs out there from librarians in public, academic, and special libraries. There are tech library blogs, and readers advisory blogs, and even blogs from library cats. Yes, cats. Even so, the sheer number of this legion of blogs notwithstanding, it pays to stay informed or, at least, be aware of trends, technology, books, and the various accoutrements of librarianship. A good way to do this is to have an RSS subscription (there are a number of good aggregators out there) to several of the sites that most interest you and allow the updates to come to you. An example of some of the more popular and well-known library blogs out there include:

• David Lee King at www.davidleeking.com - News and views from Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library's Digital Branch & Services Manager
• Free Range Librarian at freerangelibrarian.com - The blog of the director of the Cushing Library at Holy Names University in Oakland, California
• Information Wants To Be Free at meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress - Insights from a 2006 Library Journal Mover & Shaker
• Stephen's Lighthouse at stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com - Agree or disagree with Stephen Abram, the SirsiDynix VP of Innovation always has something interesting to say.
• ...and last, but certainly not least, Ohio's own Helene Blowers: LibraryBytes at librarybytes.com - Helene is currently Director of Digital Strategy for the Columbus Metropolitan Library and is well-known throughout Libraryland for her valuable perspective.

...And this is not even the snowflake on the tip of the iceberg. You can find some nice lists of blogs for librarians here. Take a look and find your favorites.

Enjoy!

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.