Libraryh3lp 2010

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If you are interested in Libraryh3lp, it's not too late to get it up and running before the new academic season. Contact me at phil at philblank dot net for more information.

Jessica's Choice

I applaud the QP Backup librarian in this transcript who proceeded to “truck on” even though the patron was willing to end the chat and search on her own. After a long day at the library, some librarians may have taken the out and called it a day. Instead, the librarian continued to offer the high school student alternatives for locating information on her topic. Even when she discovered the student had already used Google scholar, the librarian went on to ask for the search term she used and offered alternatives. She also volunteered to research database availability at local colleges for the student.

Some of you may read this transcript and conclude that this interaction was nothing special and the librarian was just doing her job, however, I think her responses showed initiative and expressed a genuine willingness to help the student. Sometimes, especially in chat and email, it’s difficult to convey support and eagerness to help, but the interaction in this transcript is a prime example of the value and quality of virtual reference service.




Patron:
19:54:14 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


Chat Transcript: I am looking for info on women's roles ca 900 AD (time of historical Macbeth can Gruoch)

Librarian:
19:54:14 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


Note: Patron's screen name:

Librarian At QP Backup:
19:56:10 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


Librarian (24/7 Librarian)' has joined the session.

Librarian At QP Backup:
19:56:17 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


hello

Librarian At QP Backup:
19:56:20 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


My name is, and I'm a reference librarian with the QuestionPoint chat service. Your librarians have asked our librarians to staff this 24-hour service when they are unavailable. I'm reading your question right now to see how I can help you...

Patron:
19:56:39 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


hi. thanks for your service

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:00:55 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


is this for high school or college

Patron:
20:01:30 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


high school

Patron:
20:01:44 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


but it is an AP course

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:05:21 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


do you have a library card

Patron:
20:06:05 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


not with me. Why? is it necessary?

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:07:44 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


because that will help you log into the databases

Patron:
20:08:45 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


ohhh.... well in that case I don't. Not for the time being, at least

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:08:49 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


ok

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:09:36 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


databases are what teachers prefer to web pages

Patron:
20:10:14 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


sorry

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:11:42 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


http://www.bpcweb.net/dept/history/7models01/meagan/

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:11:48 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


is something like this helpful

Patron:
20:12:10 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


I was actually searching for a little earlier

Patron:
20:12:18 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


900's or so

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:13:51 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


I am not finding much on the dark ages

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:14:05 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


which would be the earliest part of the dark ages

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:14:58 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


earliest part of the middle ages

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:16:51 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


does anybody in your house have a library card

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:17:32 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


and when is this due

Patron:
20:18:46 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


i've got a card

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:18:48 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


http://www.medieval-spell.com/Roles-Of-Women-In-The-Middle-Ages.html

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:18:51 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


ok

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:19:23 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


http://www.plcmc.org/online/default.asp

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:19:29 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


is that opening up

Patron:
20:19:42 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


yes

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:20:03 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


can you click on academic search premier

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:20:09 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


and when you get to a search screen

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:20:12 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


type

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:20:16 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


women's roles

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:20:20 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


tenth century

Patron:
20:22:58 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


i'm not finding much of anything....

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:24:10 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


can you try the same thing in general reference center gold

Patron:
20:25:50 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


it says no results

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:27:33 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


tenth century is pretty specific

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:27:42 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


especially for the kind of detail that you want

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:27:50 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


for an AP class

Patron:
20:28:43 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


what do you suggest?

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:29:11 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


when is this due

Patron:
20:29:51 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


soon, right now I'm just searching for sources. I am in dire need of information

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:31:14 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


the thing is

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:31:16 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


for AP

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:31:30 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


sometimes you end up needing to go to an academic library

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:31:33 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


not always

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:31:47 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


but if you need specific tenth century

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:32:00 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


and it is not in your allround subject databases

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:32:07 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


then it either means a trip to the library for books

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:32:23 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


which may or may not be in a public library

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:32:32 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


or it may mean an academic library

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:32:37 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


I am finding middle ages

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:32:42 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


but that is too general for you

Patron:
20:33:28 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


okay, I guess I'll have to look more specifically later. Thank you for all of your help

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:33:33 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


sorry about that

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:33:42 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


we can look in google scholar for citations

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:33:55 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


but they may mean going to an academic library to get the actual articles

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:33:58 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


is the problem

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:34:02 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


do you want to try that

Patron:
20:34:11 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


i've already done the google scholar thing

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:34:29 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


using what search terms

Patron:
20:35:14 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


Women's roles in tenth century Europe

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:36:13 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


did you try gender roles tenth century

Patron:
20:37:10 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


as a search term?

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:37:14 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22gender+roles%22+%22tenth+century%22+europe&lr=lang_en&as_sdt=2000&as_ylo=&as_vis=0

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:39:27 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


are those any better

Patron:
20:39:52 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


a little. Well, I have to log off, but thank you so much for all of your help

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:40:07 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


this is another search

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:40:09 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22women%27s+roles%22+%22tenth+century%22+europe&lr=lang_en&as_sdt=2000&as_ylo=&as_vis=0

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:41:25 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


do you see how some of the search terms I put quotations around

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:41:34 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


to further restrict the search?

Patron:
20:41:48 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


yes, that is helpful

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:43:24 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


good luck

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:43:27 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


since you have to go

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:43:45 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


I might try the history databases at an academic library if you have the opportunity

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:43:51 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


what is the nearest college to you

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:43:58 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


I can see what databases they have

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:52:50 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


Since I have not heard from you, I am afraid we have been disconnected. I am going to close this chat. If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to log in again. Thank you for using our service!

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:52:52 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


Librarian ended chat session.

Librarian At QP Backup:
20:52:54 2009/12/06 (GMT-5)


Note: Set Resolution: Answered

This post submitted by Jessica O' Brien

Can you tell I like this?

Here's a chat with me and the NC LIVE staff. During a call, I decided to ask the NC LIVE folks for help. I went to the NC LIVE homepage, popped the libraryh3lp widget out and chatted with NC LIVE staffperson Leslie while helping the patron.


3:33 me hey folks, this is Phil with a real question
3:33 me do you have time?
3:33 NC LIVE Librarians Hello
3:34 NC LIVE Librarians Sure - what is up?
3:34 me A patron is getting stuck in the redirect to refusa, "hmm for me it just gets stuck on http://nclive.org/infousa_redir.phtml?accountID=0107130750"
3:34 me the quote is from him, the links work for me
3:34 me any ideas?
3:34 NC LIVE Librarians That is a special page - for 2 libraries in the state that purchased additional products from RefUSA
3:35 NC LIVE Librarians They actually have to click "here" to get to the resource
3:35 NC LIVE Librarians Have they done that?
3:35 me ahhh, by here you mean? the word here
3:35 me or the link?
3:35 NC LIVE Librarians The word here is hyperlinked
3:36 me checking with the patron (Looooove this!)
3:36 NC LIVE Librarians And they have to click it - it won't forward them on automatically
3:36 NC LIVE Librarians I can talk to Scott about improving the messaging
3:36 me (waiting on patron to respond)
3:36 me is this Jill?
3:36 NC LIVE Librarians No, Leslie.
3:37 me Hi Leslie and thanks (still waiting on patron. not unusual)
3:37 NC LIVE Librarians What is my display name - perhaps I should check....
3:37 me "NC LIVE Librarians"
3:37 NC LIVE Librarians Ah, I'll change it - I think I assumed everyone saw nclive.leslie...
3:39 me anonymous: Yes but then that page does not work
NC Librarian: can you tell me what URL is at the top of the screen when it doesn't work?
anonymous: nothing is clickable. what do you see on the page when it automatically redirects you?
anonymous: http://www.referenceusa.com/
/>NC Librarian: the URL is http://proxy.nclive.org:2059/
/>NC Librarian: did you enter through a university library ?
anonymous: No
NC Librarian: did you start at nclive.org?
anonymous: yes
3:40 NC LIVE Librarians Okay, I think the issue is that the connection is broken.
3:40 NC LIVE Librarians This was something I thought was fixed. What library are you trying to access through?
3:40 me went in through hickory public
3:41 NC LIVE Librarians Okay. I'll have to contact RefUSA. Do you have an email address I can contact you with later?
3:41 me I'm going to have him try it with the password of the day
3:41 me the link works for me
3:42 me I'll ask for the email
3:43 NC LIVE Librarians Okay - also I had the same problem as a remote user to Hickory's account
3:43 NC LIVE Librarians Password of the day will work for them - if they select a different location...
3:43 NC LIVE Librarians Hickory's account is broken
3:44 me ahh good to know
3:44 me I'm waiting on him to respond but I think it will work
3:44 me I told them to use state library with POTD
3:45 me That works
NC Librarian: great!
NC Librarian: The nclive staff will fix the hickory link
NC Librarian: they have confirmed that it is broken
NC Librarian: anything else?
3:45 me (this is so awesome!)
3:45 me anonymous: That is all. Thank you very much.
NC Librarian: thanks for using NCknows
NC Librarian: bye for now!
3:45 me Thanks Leslie!
3:46 me Say hi to everyone over there
3:46 NC LIVE Librarians Your welcome

NC LIVE goes live with Libraryh3lp!

That was quick! NC LIVE has decided to test out libraryh3lp on their welcome page (past the password page). They've added a small chat widget (see above). They are currently staffing this themselves since it is just a pilot. Exciting!

NC LIVE and NCknows

On Wednesday, Pam Sessoms and I (Phil Blank) wandered into a secluded top secret cloister somewhere beneath NCSU's Hill Library to meet with the staff of NC LIVE. We brainstormed the various ways NCknows and NC LIVE could better help each other. With the addition of Libraryh3lp, the options have really increased exponentially. In general, I think it was very helpful to have an opportunity to bring a "front line" perspective to the NC LIVE team and to see how they think about NC LIVE resources. Before our next meeting, I'd like to ask you, the NCknows librarian- do you have any ideas about how NCknows and NC LIVE work together or leverage each others' resources that you'd like to see in the future?

What NOT to do

This chat between an NC Knows customer and a librarian from Question Point Backup is noteworthy for the lack of assistance offered by the librarian. Without a short reference interview, the librarian had no idea where the customer had searched already or their familiarity with NC Live. The temporary password was automatically given to the customer along with instructions to login and perform a search with one keyword. After the customer informed the librarian that they had already tried this avenue, they were informed that NC Live has journal sources and told that someone from their library would contact them in a few days (which will probably be too late for this student!).

This correspondence is a great example of customer service at its worst. A few more minutes spent with this customer, perhaps a short guided search, would have left them with the tools and confidence to continue their research.


Question History

Patron:
22:19:12 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Chat Transcript: I am having trouble finding 3 scholorly sources for a cause an effect paper on the sinkinf of the Titanic. Could you PLEASE help?

Librarian:
22:19:12 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Note: Patron's screen name:

Patron:
22:20:30 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


sorry for the typos, but it's a cause and effect paper on the sinking of the Titanic, and I am javing tons of trouble finding scholarly sources

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:21:38 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Librarian 'Sylvia (24/7 Librarian)' has joined the session.

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:21:41 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Hello, my name is ____, and I'm a reference librarian with the QuestionPoint chat service. Your librarians have asked our librarians to staff this service when they are unavailable. I'm reading your question right now to see how I can help you...

Patron:
22:22:13 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


thanks

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:23:56 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Here is a list of your library's databases. Click on NC Live and login. Search for Titanic [URL of database page]

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:24:37 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


NC LIVE requires a password for use outside member libraries. The password displayed below is made available only as a temporary convenience, and automatically changes Monday through Friday at 9:00 AM (EST). This password works for all institutions found on the NC LIVE login page. Please contact the staff at your local Public or College library to get the current password for your location, and they can help you get started with using the full resources of NC LIVE and your library. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The password of the day is: [password deleted]

Patron:
22:25:47 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


i have already done this but can not find any sources. My professor said we can only use scholarly journals, and not any enclopedias

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:26:16 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


NC Live has journal sources.

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:26:43 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


I'll have to refer your question to the local library. They will contact you within a few days via email.

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:29:31 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Librarian ended chat session.

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:29:34 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Note: Set Resolution: Followup By Patron's Library

Librarian At QP Backup:
22:29:34 2009/11/07 (GMT-6)


Referred from: Chat Transcript to Shared Followup

P.S. Questionpoint does have a process where we can send transcripts like this to Quality Control who can then follow up with the librarians and determine why it happenend (sometimes they were swamped with patrons) and how to avoid it next time.

Post submitted by Jessica O'Brien (Lenoir Rhyne College)

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