Carla PfahlMinitex Reference Outreach & Instruction

AskMN Coordinatorpfahl001@umn.edu

612-626-6845

AskMN Librarian Training

Overview of the QuestionPoint databaseOverview of Chat functionalityTranscript managementDiscussion of best practicesHands-on chat practice

Agenda

Start your chat shift

Practice before going live!

Questions assigned to you

Active Questions for your institution

The AskMN queue – see all Minnesota patrons here (required for AskMN shift)

Institution-level queues – do NOT choose this option unless your library has set up an institution-level queue and you are monitoring chat just for your own library’s patrons (non-AskMN shift)

QP Cooperative queue – see all non-Minnesota patrons here (required for AskMN shift)

This is where you can practice chatting with your group to get comfortable with the software before going live

Patron’s information

No email address!

Patron’s library

The policy page links you to all pertinent library information

Anchor links help you find information quickly

Texting box

Include full URL string when sending web pages to patrons

Librarian screen name format should be name of library followed by librarian name or initials

Ending a session ALWAYS include a resolution code

Best practices encourage return visits!

Greet the user by name and use your nameClarify the question by asking for additional

informationAsk what the user has already searchedKeep the user informed of your progress and

strategiesAsk the user if the question has been answeredFollow up on the question if necessary

Managing Transcripts

On the Full Question screen, you can:

Answer a question (follow-up on a transcript via e-mail)

Claim a questionAdd a noteAdd a descriptive codeRefer a questionChange the patron’s e-mail addressMove or file a question

Assign/Unassign/Reassign records

Changing/adding patron email address function is creating a duplicate record – Close or Delete record with no email address instead of Leave Unchanged (default is Leave Unchanged).

Now you can follow up with the patron if needed

Let’s go live!

ResourcesAskMN Staff Wiki:

http://wiki.askmn.org/QuestionPoint Blog:

http://questionpoint.blogs.com/ QuestionPoint Wiki:

http://wiki.questionpoint.org/ • QuestionPoint Online Help

• Documents: http://www.oclc.org/support/services/questionpoint/documentation.en.html

• Training: http://www.oclc.org/support/services/questionpoint/training.en.html

Thank You!

Carla PfahlMinitex Reference Outreach

& InstructionAskMN Coordinatorpfahl001@umn.edu

612-626-6845