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"Database Playdates" at Georgian
by Cyndi Smith, Georgian College
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| Georgian College askON Staff |
In June 2018, one of Georgian's staff mentioned that there would be potential difficulties with the upcoming revised platform on one of our marketing databases and that an overview of how to use that tool would be needed. Then it was suggested that we research all of what we subscribed to, and present our findings. We divided up our electronic products and isolated key strategies and tips specifically for working with students and assignments. Everyone was keen and we quickly worked our way through most of our 133 subscription databases.
By November of that same year, we moved on to the websites and databases of our askON partners, with the goal to navigate each with an awareness of any "tricky" areas and the ability to provide more accurate reference service across the board. Again, we divvied up all the colleges and over the next few Database Playdates, as they came to be known, we explored these tools, products and designs.
What we learned for our library:
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That group work shared sessions provides accelerated learning opportunities
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Having a friendly, playful environment offers engaging, experiential and meaningful learning
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The knowledge we gained is applicable in other areas of our work, such as interlibrary loan provision and citation strategies
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This kind of approach builds a stronger and better equipped library team
What we learned for askON:
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Knowing our partners' websites and tools makes us more confident askON operators
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Awareness of other library websites means less mini-panics when tough questions come in
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Foreknowledge makes our work more accurate and quicker
As a side point, it turns out that benchmarking our colleagues is a terribly fun thing to do because it is a lot like shopping! "Fanshawe has this, can we get it?", "did you see Seneca did this, let's try it!"
We intend to continue this kind of group work and would highly recommend any library implement it.
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askON Training Session at Humber
In May, the askON team at OCLS led a customized in-person training session at Humber College in response to a request from Humber library staff and site coordinators. The two-hour session covered topics that were suggested by the Humber site coordinators and OCLS staff and were voted on by the Humber askON team. The main focus was on screen sharing, including a partner exercise so staff could see both sides of the screen sharing experience. The session also covered some advanced LibraryH3lp features and technical troubleshooting tips.
The in-person training session was a wonderful way for the askON teams at OCLS and Humber to get to know each other better and to hear feedback about how staff members use the platform, what works for them, and what doesn't. The in-person format allowed for open discussion without the barrier of a screen between us as in virtual training. It was a fun and valuable experience for both Humber askON staff and the OCLS askON team.
If you are interested in advanced or refresher training for your staff, please contact the OCLS askON team! We are happy to support, collaborate on, or lead local training sessions, virtually or in-person where possible!
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2018 askON Evaluation Results - Another Year of Great Service
The 2018 askON evaluation results are in! 2018 was another record-breaking year for traffic, with
12,489
questions received, a
16%
increase from 2017. Of these questions,
76%
were click-to-chat,
20%
were proactive chat, and
4%
were text messages.
Once again, reference questions made up the majority of askON chats with
66%
of questions relating to research.
Fifteen percent
of questions were related to library information,
12%
were requests for technical help including remote access issues, and
7%
were non-library questions.
askON staff continue to provide good information literacy instruction.
Eighty-nine percent
of all chats containing a research question had an information literacy component, and
49%
contained information literacy instruction in more than one area. The most common information literacy areas were identifying and using search tools (
61%
), developing a search strategy (
38%
), evaluating and refining results (
21%
), and retrieving/accessing information (
21%
).
Visitors reported high levels of satisfaction with the service.
Ninety-eight percent
of visitors who completed the survey reported that they were satisfied with the service and
69%
said they received better information than they could have found on their own. These visitors reported using the service because they were researching off campus (
51%
), were searching for online resources (
32%
), and prefer online services (
39%
).
Sixty-three percent
of visitors reported learning about askON by seeing a link on their library website. This confirms that strategic placement of the button on library websites is the most effective way to raise awareness of the service. While the visitors who completed the survey reported that they were satisfied, there was a decrease in the survey response rate, down to
4%
of visitors from
5%
in 2017. The decrease in response rate could indicate that staff are not sending out the survey link to every visitor.
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Transcript analysis also revealed that askON staff continue to provide excellent service in many areas, including approachability, interest, patience, and listening skills. The transcripts analyzed indicated that there was some need for improvement in the guided search process and proper chat follow-up. Guided searching involves walking the visitor through the steps of the search process and providing information literacy instruction rather than sending links with results. Successful follow-up includes verifying that all of the visitor's questions have been answered, inviting the visitor to return, and sending an invitation to complete the askON satisfaction survey. Offering refresher training for staff in these areas is important to ensure staff continue to provide exceptional reference service to all visitors.
The service owes its success to the skilled team of college askON staff, the strategic direction of the askON Steering Committee, and the dedication of participating libraries who have made askON the thriving service that it is today!
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The past few askON newsletters have highlighted some of the amazing things being done by participating college libraries to promote the service, support each other, and improve askON skills locally. If your library has been involved in local askON initiatives like these, we'd like to hear from you!
Contact the askON team at OCLS if you would like to arrange a feature for the next askON newsletter.
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Publication Alert: Looking for Past Newsletters?
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askON, a service of Ontario Colleges and Ontario Colleges Library Service (OCLS)
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