February Statistics Available

For a short month, Ask a Librarian had a busy month. Live chat sessions were 6% higher than January and 10.2% higher than last February.  The Academic Desk continued to grow stronger answering 535 questions (8%) increase over January. Libraries answered 993 email questions through the software as well, which is roughly the same as last month.   The monthly report is available on line here

The Top Ten Counties by User Reported Zip Code are:
1. Dade
2. Orange
3. Broward
4. Hillsborough
5. Pinellas
6. Palm Beach
7. Duval
8. Lee
9. Volusia
10. Brevard

View the full report of use by zip code here

The top ten library’s by Patron Entry Point (Chat and Email Reference) are:
1. Orange County Library System
2. Broward County Library
3. Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library
4. State Library Of Florida, Div. Of Lib & Info.
5. Miami-Dade Public Library
6. Jacksonville Public Library
7. St Petersburg College
8. University Of Florida
9. Florida International University
10. Valencia Community College

View the full report of Use by Patron Entry Point here

Wondering why your library has yet to make a list? It might be a good to re-evaluate your Ask a Librarian Link Placement. Links in library catalogs, front pages and databases WORK! Statistically, we can see a library’s numbers rise or drop dramatically when the Ask a Librarian Link is moved. Obvious links throughout your website on your front page (especially using the Ask a Librarian logo) directly correlate with higher use by your users in both live sessions and email use. Conversely, buried logos or placement on only one page, even if under ‘reference’, will decrease use significantly. Logos & free promo materials are at http://info.askalibrarian.org under promotion.

Great Job to everyone who staffed Ask a Librarian this month! Your time and expertise makes Ask a Librarian the success it is.