Ask-WA Statistics – July, 2009

Despite a fairly quiet academic cooperative, Ask-WA maintained a busy service during the month of July. In numbers:

• Email questions received: 3512
• Chat sessions requested: 3238
• Chat sessions accepted: 2927
• Qwidget requests (% of total): 883 (27%)

As a cooperative we maintained an answering percentage of 90.4% for the month, which is well over the goal rate of 75%. Keep up the good work! The email aspect of the service remains robust, and outpaced chat for the month. Qwidget traffic is edging up towards 1/3rd of the total chat traffic, and getting particularly heavy use out of Seattle Public Library and the University of Washington.

Kudos – Academic Cooperative

I have two favorite comments left in surveys for the academic cooperative this month. Consider it a two-way tie for first, and a big kudos to both librarians.

Jon McConnel at Whatcom Community College provided excellent service to a student at the UCLA who needed help with remote database access. The student filled out the survey saying they would be very likely to use the service again and would recommend it to others, and they left Jon the following comment: “This service was of so much help, thank you VERY much. The librarian who helped me was very nice and helpful.” Way to go, Jon!

Another Jon, Jonathan Betz-Zall at Highline Community College also provided excellent service, this time for a student in Hawaii who was looking for a specific election monitoring report. Jonathan developed an excellent rapport with the student, and scoured the net to help him track down this elusive resource. In his survey, the student said that it was his first time using the service (always nice to provide a positive experience to first-time users!), and provided very positive feedback, including the comment: “Thanks! Jonathan was extremely helpful, and moved me several steps ahead in my research. I really appreciate this service.” Great job, Jonathan!

Here are some of my other favorite comments this month (parentheses include name and location of librarian).

• Andrea was very helpful and told me exactly where to go to get to my document that had been assigned for class. Thank you for the help! (Andrea @ LCC)
• I think this service is great!!!! I’d certainly use this in the future! (Dottie @ UW)
• Very helpful in taking the time to help me find everything I needed. (Alita @ SMU)
• Very helpful, it really helped especially when I really did not think it would. Thank you. (Joshua at SFCC)

Kudos – Public Cooperative

Despite an incredible number of amazing, positive comments left for public librarians this month, my favorite and biggest kudos goes to Michael Potts at the Timberland Regional Library. Michael did an great job helping a local patron (who was transferred to him after initially being picked up by a QP back-up librarian) get assistance in researching what to do after inventing something. Michael was able to suggest a number of resources in different formats, and spent a full hour helping the patron find the information they needed. In their survey, the patron said they were a first-time user, and left all positive feedback, including this comment: “Mike was absolutely amazing!! He came up with books which will help greatly, a website that is already extremely useful in what I am doing, and even gave local resources to assist me. I could not have asked for more. He was kind, courteous, enthusiastic about my intention, and left me feeling like I have the inside track on all that I needed. He deserves a raise! I like very much this form of contacting the research department – it is comfortable and effective, as well as efficient.” Awesome job, Michael!

Some of my other favorite comments in the public cooperative include (parentheses include name and location of librarian):

• Excellent! Best service! Far better than the university or any other library I’ve used! (Stephen at SPL)
• I really enjoy the ease and convenience of online chat reference! I use it frequently and recommend it to friends and colleagues as well. Thanks for providing such a great service. (Valerie @ SPL)
• Surprise to me that there is such service. It was a wonderful experience. Good work!! (Rhonda @ TPL)
• The speed at which I was assisted was unexpected and great! Both of the individuals were very helpful with my issues. What a great resource to have available for assistance!! (Linda @ SPL)
• Thank you so much! This was a great help in finding the books I needed. I will definitely use this again in the future! (Tomi @ Sno-Isle)
• Erin was wonderful! Quick and accurate! Thanks! (Erin @ FVRL)
• WOW! This is the best thing since sliced bread! Amazing technology I wish I had discovered before! Glad it’s available 24/7. Our tax dollars at work! Thanks! (Matt @ WWCRLD)
• I am so impressed and very grateful for the assistance that I was given! Thank you!!!!!!! (Carlie @ Spokane CLD)
• This service was wonderful, quick and easy! I had difficulty finding a recording/DVD and the on line librarian found it quickly. Thank you for the service. (Cynthia @ YVL)
• Thank you for your patience and skillful work—most impressive and very exciting for me to have a faint memory brought into reality—kinda magic if you will! I’m sure you’ve given your talents to many a puzzled caller and we all thank most heartily. (Carel @ SPL)
• Very helpful service – This is my favorite website – I tell EVERYONE I know to use this service for any questions/problems they may have. (John @ SPL)
• I got to talk to JON from the Seattle library!!!! He was soooo kind and helpful and answered my question in a nice, fast way!!! This was my first time using this chat service and I will for sure use it AGAIN!!!! (Jon @ SPL)
• Jennifer was SUPER! Thanks again! (Jennifer @ Sno-Isle)
• This is an amazing service; to have a knowledgeable someone available to help with library, informational related questions 24/7. I am awed by the service. Hope you are able to continue. this service, forever. I will be telling everyone I know about it. (Zack @ KCLS)
• THIS SERVICE WAS AMAZING! OUR CHAT ENDED BEFORE I COULD THANK HER. MY FIRST CHAT EVER. SHE CAME UP WITH INFORMATION I COULDN’T FIND. She even works on Sunday! (Jill @ KCLS)
• On a scale from one(poor) to 10(excellent) you rate a 12. Thanks so much! (Teamwork @ KCLS)

Kudos – Back-up Librarians

We like to help our own patrons, but we can’t always be there for them. For the most part, the QP back-up staff do a fantastic job. Particular thanks to these back-up librarians for helping Ask-WA patrons during the month of July.

• Thank you for your help. Very responsive and helpful. (Nicolette S.)
• I did not expect the library to have this option for after hours service. I am very impressed. Thank you so much for being available when I needed you. (Amy H.)
• Thanks for this service. I am a repeat customer because it’s very handy and quick. Google still can’t compete with the brains of a professional info specialist. (John D.)
• Fabulous! (Sarah H.)
• This was very helpful. She found resources in our local library even though she was part of a pool that responds to these inquiries – I’m impressed! Thank you. (Deborah K.)
• Big shout-out to librarians! You guys’ salaries are my tax dollars WELL SPENT! Thank you always! (Sybil F.)
• Thank you for this service. I dont always have time to go in to the library to ask questions, and I usually order books on hold via the internet. This was very helpful, easy, and handy. (Sarah H.)

Great job, everyone, and thanks for making Ask-WA such a valuable service to library users in Washington State. Keep up the good work!