As a result of this thread I would like to make you aware that OCLC will
be conducting a webinar on Thursday 23rd April at 2.30pm (GMT) to
discuss online enquiry services within Higher Education establishments
and specifically use of its QuestionPoint software.

As part of the Web seminar King's College London will be sharing their
experiences of successfully rolling out a new online enquiry service
using OCLC's QuestionPoint software. This web seminar will give an
overview of the context of the original initiative to their future
plans.  In addition, practical issues such as tips on how and when to
launch a new chat service and how best to manage and staff such services
over a multisite campus, will also be covered.

Andrew Evans, OCLC Account Manager, will begin the webinar by providing
a short overview and update on the latest QuestionPoint facilities
including the new look and feel for chat monitor and the QWidget, which
offers the ability to place your chat service at the point of user need
from the library catalogue to the VLE.  

Please register to attend this free webinar by visiting
http://www.oclc.org/info/EMEA-QuestionPoint/  

Should you have any questions regarding this webinar then please do not
hesitate to contact me.

Regards

Steve Taylor
Marketing Communications Executive
OCLC EMEA
7th Floor, Tricorn House, 51-53 Hagley Road, Birmingham B16 8TP, 
United Kingdom
t +44-(0)121-456 7710 f +44-(0)121-456 4680 e [log in to unmask] 
w www.oclc.org

-----Original Message-----
From: A general Library and Information Science list for news and
discussion. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mildred
Saunders
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 2:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: ASK a Librarian

Hi Shirley,

We have implemented an Ask A Librarian service via an online form which
users fill in and email to a selected librarian (see
http://www.honni.qub.ac.uk/AskaLibrarian/). Basically this is just a web
page which could be easily compiled by your in-house web developers or
anyone with a knowledge of HTML.  When the user clicks 'Send Query' the
content of the form is emailed to the relevant subject librarian who
simply responds to the email address provided.

It's possible to provide such a service via 'instant messaging' but
there are more complex service issues involved, e.g. who would staff it,
how would transfers be managed, and what hours would it be made
available.  There is also more setup involved and there can be technical
support issues.  You need to acquire an instant messaging 'widget' such
as plugoo (www.plugoo.com) or meebo (www.meebo.com), customise it for
your library, and then embed it into your website. Since IM widgets rely
on external systems which sometimes crash, the reliability of any
service based on them can be adversely affected.  We decided against
using IM for our Ask a Librarian service, but Queen's University does
use it for general enquiries if you want to check it out
(http://www.qub.ac.uk/lib).

I hope this of some help.  If you require further information contact my
colleague
Helen Jenkins, Library Information Systems Officer, Tel: 028 9063 5039
email: [log in to unmask]

Regards,

Mildred
Mildred Saunders
User Services Librarian 
Medical Library
Mulhouse Building
Mulhouse Road
Belfast BT12 6DP
 
tel: 028 9063 2500
fax: 028 9063 5038




-----Original Message-----
From: A general Library and Information Science list for news and
discussion. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ward, Shirley
Sent: 01 April 2009 13:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: ASK a Librarian

Colleagues

Here at Bolton we are thinking of instigating an 'ask a librarian'
service, either online or via e-mail. We feel this would be of value to
off-campus users, but also those on-campus who are reluctant (for
whatever reason) to speak to someone in person.
 
I would be grateful if those of you who have such a service could give
me some information about how you set it up, how it operates, and
generally any advice about such things.

Many thanks

Shirley

Shirley Ward
Liaison Team Leader/Learning and Teaching Fellow
The University of Bolton
The Library
Deane Road
BOLTON
BL3 5AB
01204 903553