07-23-2008, 09:01 PM
I'm going to post questions I've been asked about LRCLive and the new QuestionPoint service. If you have questions, you can post them and I'll try to answer or you can email me and I'll both reply and post. Here's the first batch:
1. VCCS will be part of QuestionPointâs 24/7 Reference Cooperative, right?
Yes, when VCCS staff arenât online to take questions, questions from our students will go to other librarians in the Cooperative.
2. Will the Cooperative answer questions from our students if VCCS staff are on line?
Yes, When someone from the VCCS is online the librarians the question goes to the VCCS librarian first. After 40 seconds it will appear in the session list for the librarians covering the coop.
3. Will VCCS staff ever answer questions from outside the VCCS?
The VCCS is contractully required to provide 25 hours of coverage per week for the 24/7 cooperative. Since we were already paying for 25 hours of part time coverage, the part timers will cover the cooperative. The benefit to them is that they have more flexibility in scheduling their time. The 'regular' librarians will continue to monitor just the VCCS traffic, unless they want to monitor the national queue.
4. Will VCCS staff still cover the hours that we covered before?
YES, the volunteer librarians will still be responsible for covering the regular M-F day time hours for the VCCS queue. Our coverage hours were part of the information provide to QuestionPoint during the initial implementation. The librarians covering the Cooperative will be backup for the VCCS staff; they will not replace them.
5. If one of the VCCS staff wants to cover the cooperative, how will they get training?
There are training modules and other resources available on the QuestionPoint site and the VCCS training session was recorded. Jacque will make sure that any VCCS librarian interested in the coop gets the appropriate info and assistance.
6. If I am interested in learning more about coop coverage, does that mean I will be required to answer questions outside the VCCS?
No, only the part time staff will be required to cover the cooperative. If you are interested in learning more about the cooperative, you are welcome to do so without any obligation on your poart
7. With QuestionPoint, will we be able to actually cobrowse licensed databases with our patrons?
Yes, sort of. The patron must be using Internet Explorer with certain settings, and have a good Internet connection. Also, some databases work better with the cobrowse software than others. It will be better than with our current product, but this kind of software can only do so much. For those of you who have been covering LRCLive since we first started, it will be more like the cobrowse experience with the original software.
8. Do patrons have to download anything in order to cobrowse?
No, if the patron meets the requirements for cobrowsing and the database can be cobrowsed, cobrowsing will work with no downloads by the patron.
9.Will the librarians from the Cooperative be able to access our databases?
Yes. There are two ways the librarian may access a VCCS database. First, if the librarian is cobrowsing the database with a student and the student logs in, the librarian will see the database, too. [so far, this method doesn't seem to work too well]. Second, each college has a policy page inside QuestionPoint that gives information on available databases and provides a 'guest' login for that college. Unfortunately, VCCS staff will NOT be able to use the guest login for if they are helping a student who is not from their college unless they are covering QuestionPoint from off campus.
10. Why is the My QuestionPoint home page so busy and crowded?
The My QuestionPoint home page is your access site to all things QuestionPoint, including training and support resources, documentation, and all of the QuestionPoint services. Initially, we are using only the chat portion of QuestionPoint, which opens in a new window. Eventually, we will be implementing other features that are also accessed from the same page.
1. VCCS will be part of QuestionPointâs 24/7 Reference Cooperative, right?
Yes, when VCCS staff arenât online to take questions, questions from our students will go to other librarians in the Cooperative.
2. Will the Cooperative answer questions from our students if VCCS staff are on line?
Yes, When someone from the VCCS is online the librarians the question goes to the VCCS librarian first. After 40 seconds it will appear in the session list for the librarians covering the coop.
3. Will VCCS staff ever answer questions from outside the VCCS?
The VCCS is contractully required to provide 25 hours of coverage per week for the 24/7 cooperative. Since we were already paying for 25 hours of part time coverage, the part timers will cover the cooperative. The benefit to them is that they have more flexibility in scheduling their time. The 'regular' librarians will continue to monitor just the VCCS traffic, unless they want to monitor the national queue.
4. Will VCCS staff still cover the hours that we covered before?
YES, the volunteer librarians will still be responsible for covering the regular M-F day time hours for the VCCS queue. Our coverage hours were part of the information provide to QuestionPoint during the initial implementation. The librarians covering the Cooperative will be backup for the VCCS staff; they will not replace them.
5. If one of the VCCS staff wants to cover the cooperative, how will they get training?
There are training modules and other resources available on the QuestionPoint site and the VCCS training session was recorded. Jacque will make sure that any VCCS librarian interested in the coop gets the appropriate info and assistance.
6. If I am interested in learning more about coop coverage, does that mean I will be required to answer questions outside the VCCS?
No, only the part time staff will be required to cover the cooperative. If you are interested in learning more about the cooperative, you are welcome to do so without any obligation on your poart
7. With QuestionPoint, will we be able to actually cobrowse licensed databases with our patrons?
Yes, sort of. The patron must be using Internet Explorer with certain settings, and have a good Internet connection. Also, some databases work better with the cobrowse software than others. It will be better than with our current product, but this kind of software can only do so much. For those of you who have been covering LRCLive since we first started, it will be more like the cobrowse experience with the original software.
8. Do patrons have to download anything in order to cobrowse?
No, if the patron meets the requirements for cobrowsing and the database can be cobrowsed, cobrowsing will work with no downloads by the patron.
9.Will the librarians from the Cooperative be able to access our databases?
Yes. There are two ways the librarian may access a VCCS database. First, if the librarian is cobrowsing the database with a student and the student logs in, the librarian will see the database, too. [so far, this method doesn't seem to work too well]. Second, each college has a policy page inside QuestionPoint that gives information on available databases and provides a 'guest' login for that college. Unfortunately, VCCS staff will NOT be able to use the guest login for if they are helping a student who is not from their college unless they are covering QuestionPoint from off campus.
10. Why is the My QuestionPoint home page so busy and crowded?
The My QuestionPoint home page is your access site to all things QuestionPoint, including training and support resources, documentation, and all of the QuestionPoint services. Initially, we are using only the chat portion of QuestionPoint, which opens in a new window. Eventually, we will be implementing other features that are also accessed from the same page.
Jacque Dessino
Electronic Services Librarian
Tidewater Community College
757-822-2646
jdessino@tcc.edu
Electronic Services Librarian
Tidewater Community College
757-822-2646
jdessino@tcc.edu