TGIF Tips, 1/30/09, Issue 11

TGIF Tips

Attention all Ask a Librarian staff! Are you using KnowledgeBase during your chats with patrons? If not, now is definitely the time to learn (or relearn) about this invaluable resource always available to you right inside the Agent Console.

What in the world is KnowledgeBase?

KnowledgeBase is a database of information on specific libraries. Since Ask a Librarian is a collaborative, statewide service, we want to make it easy for you to find regional information for your patrons no matter where in Florida they are located. Site Coordinators for each participating library system enter information specific to that system directly into the KnowledgeBase, resulting in an e-resource that is an extremely valuable ready reference source during chats. If your patron needs his library’s phone number, or if you want to search his library’s catalog for a particular book, KnowledgeBase can give you this information with just a few clicks of the mouse. Other information you might find here includes:

• Contact information such as phone numbers or email addresses;
• The main URL for that library’s home page;
• Specific Web links, such as direct catalog & database URLs, branch hours or locations pages, & even links to specific topics such as “How to Renew” and “Fines & Fees”;
• Staff/Dummy ID (available from some libraries) which allows you to mimic the patron’s steps in the background in order to better view, and help them with, their specific navigation needs;
• Other information deemed relevant by the Site Coordinator, such as remote access procedures or tips like “The patron’s default password is the last 4 digits of the patron’s telephone number.”

Where in the world is KnowledgeBase?

This is an easy one. KnowledgeBase is located in the upper-right corner of the Agent Console, in the same panel as the Chat Queue. The KnowledgeBase tab – the last tab on the right – contains many helpful sub-tabs, such as Help, Blog, KnowledgeBase, Library Email Addresses, & even Nominate Exemplary Transcript. To access the KnowledgeBase, you have to click on the KnowledgeBase subtab (found under the main KnowledgeBase tab). From there, just choose the specific library you wish to explore and click “go.” It’s that simple!

 

Once you get to that library’s page, just scroll down to view the information provided. You can click directly on the links to open that page in a new (pop-up) window, or you can copy the text and paste it into an existing Internet window (the latter ensures that you have an address bar).

Here is an example of one library system’s information as it appears inside the KnowledgeBase:

 

Note the scroll bar on the right side, which indicates that there is more content below the visible pane. When you are done, click on the “back” arrow or the “home” icon located just below the KnowledgeBase screen to return to the list of libraries on the main KnowledgeBase page. Don’t forget to click on the Chat Queue tab if you wish to make the queue screen – which displays waiting patrons – the prominent screen in that portion of the panel.

With the KnowledgeBase, it’s important to keep in mind that the types of information provided may differ from one library to the next. For example, the collection policies of some libraries do not allow them to provide staff or dummy IDs. Also, if you notice any missing or broken links, please report them to the Site Coordinator (if shown) or to Ask a Librarian staff so that the information can be updated as soon as possible. Finally, don’t forget to use the KnowledgeBase! This means exploring it before you have a patron so that you don’t forget – or panic – when the opportunity arises mid-chat.

 

Monitored Practice & New Workshops

Want a great opportunity to “get to know” the KnowledgeBase? Join the Ask a Librarian statewide monitored practice session, held every Tuesday from 9-10 a.m. at info.askalibrarian.org/toolbox/training.asp. Just follow the instructions on the Training Room page to log in as a librarian or as a patron.

Also, new in-person and online-only classes are being added regularly, so please check out our latest Ask a Librarian workshop schedule at www.tblc.org/ws_classes.php. If the class you want is full, be sure to register anyway so that you are added to the wait list. (This also tells us what the demand is for a particular topic.)

Ask a Librarian Day – Feb. 20

Presentations from – Hot Topics: Best Practices for Local Desks

If you missed yesterday’s webinar on ‘Best Practices for Local Desks’ you missed a great session! The packed webinar had three great presenters, each managing a successful local desk in a unique way.

Presenters:
Gregg Gronlund from Orange County Library System
Meredith Semones from University of Central Florida
Wendy Dover from Gulf Coast Community College

Here are there presentations:
GreggGronlund 
MeredithSemones
WendyDover

We also touched on the subject creating meebo-like widgets for libraries using the AAL Local desk option.  This has been implement at the University of Florida and is being implemented at St Petersburg College.  Contact me (Diana) for more information.

Feel free to post comments, or contact any speakers or myself with questions.

After the success of the beta-test of the ‘Hot Topic’ webinars, I am excited to announce we will be lining up additional topics and speakers for the rest of the year.    I am currently looking for topics- so please do not hesitate to contact me (Diana).

The Director’s Chair video contest – WE NEED YOUR VOTE!

The Director’s Chair video contest is in its final stages, and the finalists need YOUR vote!

We received many creative videos, and our judges narrowed the entries down to five finalists. Now it’s up to you to help choose the winner by voting for your favorite video. Visit www.askalibrarian.org/thedirectorschair and click on “vote” to see the top five videos and to vote for the one you think deserves to win.

**Polls will be open Jan. 26 through Feb. 7 (11:59 p.m. EST).**

Visit www.askalibrarian.org/thedirectorschair for more information.

If you have any questions, please contact Diana Sachs-Silveira at (813) 622-8252 (ext. 234).

Ask a Librarian’s The Director’s Chair – FINAL FIVE

We just completed voting for the final 5 videos for Ask a Librarian’s The Director’s Chair.

What does this mean? From Monday, Jan 26 – Saturday Feb. 7, we will have our polls open for everyone to vote for their favorite video. We will award our first, second and third-place prizes to the three videos that receive the most number of votes.

Voting will be at: www.askalibrarian.org/thedirectorschair

We would love it if you could promote the voting in your library and on your websites.

Take a sneak peak at the final five, watch the videos today at: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=598AD2D6F8ACD513

TGIF Tips Ask a Librarian TGIF Tips January 16, 2009 Issue 10

We’ve done quite a few in-person training sessions lately on the InstantService software, and one thing that many of you continue to ask about is ScreenSharing. Boy, do you guys love to ScreenShare!The incredible ScreenSharing feature allows for such increased interactivity and demonstration abilities, and that increased control allows for more in-depth goals, such as those involving step-by-step information literacy. In fact, any resource that is best explained with an extensive step-by-step process is a good candidate for ScreenSharing. Of course, with increased power comes a need for increased sensitivity on your part, so remember to go slow — explaining what you are doing to the patron, sending frequent updates, and even asking them questions to keep them involved.To help you achieve a successful ScreenSharing interaction with your patron, here is a list of some tips & suggestions just for ScreenSharing. Before you ScreenShare: 1) Establish a good, solid rapport or comfort level with your patron. This is always important, but even more so when introducing ScreenSharing as an available option. Some things to keep in mind when building this rapport: • Is your patron comfortable with new technologies? (A relative may have placed him/her into chat and walked away.) • Are your patron’s needs and interests suitable to or appropriate for the ScreenSharing process? Information literacy needs are widely varied, even with similar questions. Does your patron want only the answer, or would the patron be interested in a demonstration or guided instruction on some resource? • When sending pre-ScreenShare scripts (as explained in the next step) to your patrons, remember that some patrons may only be skimming your messages, so ensure that your patron does understand what the ScreenSharing process entails. 2) In the ScreenSharing folder, under the Text tab in the top left corner, select and send script #1, which briefly introduces the process to your patron and asks if they would like to try it. 3) When the patron says “yes,” send script #2, which tells them what to do. There are only 2 steps for the patron: click the “Share My Screen” button, and then click the resulting “Run” button. That’s it – that’s all that’s needed to begin the ScreenSharing process. 4) You may wish to send script #4, which suggests that the patron close browser windows and other programs before beginning the process. 5) All you have to do, as the librarian, is to click on the ScreenSharing tab in the lower right corner of the Agent Console. Don’t click inside the space itself; just click on the tab to make that space prominent. That space will automatically transform to show your patron’s desktop. After ScreenSharing begins: 1) In the gold bar located above the ScreenShare area, change the Cobrowse State – which tells you how much control you have – to “Keyboard/Mouse/Pointer.” Because the Cobrowse State defaults to “Screen” (meaning your control is limited to viewing their screen), you must manually change this each time you begin ScreenSharing. 2) You may wish to send script #3, which alerts the patron that you will be moving the mouse for a while and encourages them to sit back and relax while you do so. This prevents cursor tug-of-war, which results from both staff and patron simultaneously moving the mouse. 3) Keep the patron involved by sending frequent messages or updates throughout the ScreenSharing process. This keeps them feeling oriented as you move about, and they still feel like an active part of the interaction. If you are demonstrating, let them know what you will do a few steps at a time. For example, “Now we will go into Biography Resource Center and look for photographs of Person X.” That way, your messages are frequent yet not so frequent that they interrupt the patron’s view of the demonstration after every single screen change. 4) Remember, when you send a message to your patron, their chat window will pop up over everything else. This is a good thing! 5) When you push a page (or work on an existing page) on the patron’s desktop, consider un-maximizing (not minimizing) that screen so that the patron can still see a small portion of the chat window beneath the active page. This comes in especially handy when dealing with those patrons who may be less technologically savvy. 6) In teaching situations, consider having the patron input some text or complete some steps so that the process is even more interactive. For example, you can bring the patron to the advanced search page, and suggest to them a specific search string and set of limiting options. 7) Instead of typing in a new web address on the patron’s existing Web pages, PUSH A PAGE to that patron’s desktop, and VOILA – a page opens right up for you! This way, you are typing a little less on your patron’s desktop (so less delay), you won’t accidentally type in the chat page, and you don’t risk changing a Web page that the patron intended to keep open. 8 ) Is the patron’s screen resolution different from yours, or just plain awkward? Right above the ScreenSharing panel, there is a globe icon –- just click on that globe icon, and then LiveLook, to view the patron’s desktop in a separate browser window. To ScreenShare or not to ScreenShare? Remember, ScreenSharing is an optional resource designed to be helpful in occasional situations – in most cases, pushing Web pages will be so effective that you will not need to consider it. Consider partnering with a coworker for practice, or joining the statewide monitored practice sessions every Tuesday from 9-10 am here.

Two New Libraries joining Ask a Librarian

We are really excited to announce Hernando County Public Library and Marion County Public Library System will be joining Ask a Librarian in February.

November 2008 Exemplary Reference Awards

The Quality Assurance Workgroup has been hard at work and has awarded the following transcripts for November 2008 Exemplary Reference Awards. Transcripts were awarded in three categories: Detailed Chat, Brief Chat, and Teaching Chat.

Laura Cifelli from Lee County Public Library will receive a gift card to Amazon.com for his Exemplary Detailed Chat and all three winners will receive a certificate at a presentation at next year’s Florida Library Association Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Exemplary Brief Chat
Nola Pettit, University of Central Florida. Nola showed the customer how to locate articles in an online database. Nola quickly directed the student to specific databases that would be useful for finding specific information about a character from a Shakespearean play.

Exemplary Detailed Chat
Laura Cifelli, Lee County Public Library. Laura helped a parent find ADD resources from an excellent government website.

Exemplary Teaching Chat
Ana Lopez, Pasco Hernando Community College. Ana was very patient and helped a student learn how to maneuver a database to get scholarly, full-text articles. She kept in close contact with the patron and led the student step by step through the process.

Don’t forget to nominate your best sessions – or your co-workers in the Ask a Librarian Toolbox! The committee is currently looking at December sessions.

The Director’s Chair Deadline Looming

Just a brief reminder. The deadline for The Director’s Chair entries is January 17th. Please remind your teens.

For information about the contest, please visit www.askalibrarian.org/thedirectorschair. For logos to promote the contest on your site go to: http://info.askalibrarian.org/contest_promo_materials.asp and to order flyers for your library go to: http://info.askalibrarian.org/ and click on marketing.

December Statistics

In December, we had 21% increase from the previous December in usage.  Considering we were closed for a week and a half with the holidays (we did not have this shut down in 2007), we really had an incredible month with 2,312 live chat sessions and 901 email sessions.

Here are some additional reports including your statistics:

Ask a Librarian December General Statistic Report
Chat by Entry Point (CORRECTED!) (use: http://www.tblc.org/askalibrarianblog/2009/04/06/march-statistics-2/
Email by Entry Point (Dec08)
Usage by County

Let me know if you need additional statistics.

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