Volume 7, September 15, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOPS 2) RETHINKING REFERENCE COLLECTIONS 3) ONLINE NORTHWEST CALLS FOR PROPOSALS 4) SURVEY – PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES AND SOCIAL NETWORKING 5) FUNDAMENTALS OF PRESERVATION 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK
Did you miss out on the live Ref22 webinar last week? Never fear! All Ref22 sessions are archived and available on the website at Ref22: Archived Sessions. Last week we had Jen Robinson from the Seattle Public Library talking about serving teens (and other “difficult” patrons) via chat. Check it out! The September edition of Ref22 is proud to present, “When Teens Attack!: Tips for dealing with 12-year-olds and other difficult customers on chat reference” (presented in High-Definition PowerPoint). Jen…
Last Friday I had the pleasure of [virtually] being part of a panel at the WLA / PNLA conference in Victoria. The panel was called “Reference Service Innovations: Present and Future”, and my fellow panelists and I were given some excellent questions to consider. Since I wasn’t sure how the technology would play out (I was a virtual presenter on a panel that was otherwise physically present AT the conference), I recorded the questions with my answers and sent them…
When you think of libraries, I bet you think of books. Don’t worry, everyone does. If you’re a library power-user, you might be aware of free internet access, computer use, and some fun programs. What you might not be aware of is that libraries have powerful information experts eagerly waiting for you to ask them your toughest questions. Getting the best answers to your questions just got a lot easier with Ask-WA. More than 60 Washington libraries, backed by an…
They appear simple, but within their murky depths lurks weird issues you may have never considered. Here’s a quick guide: ANSWERED: If you’re not using this most of the time, you might want to review how you are helping people. You don’t have to stay on the line with them until their paper is written or their family tree thoroughly researched. You SHOULD spend the time, though, to identify why they came to us in the first place, and to…
One of the benefits of being part of a large national cooperative is that we can share expertise not only within the state, but globally. And by share, of course, I mean that we can benefit from the hard work all the other states are doing while we sit around and … Okay, so we’re working hard too. Anyway, AskAway Best Practices meetings cover Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois virtual reference cooperatives, and they rotate monthly to cover an issue pertinent…
Some tips of the week for staffing Ask-WA: Washington’s Statewide Virtual Reference Cooperative. Tip #1: No such thing as anonymous follow-up Please make sure that there is a way for the patron’s library (even if that is you) to follow-up before you close a session and before you code for follow-up. Even when patrons submit an email address with their question, it is worth checking to make sure that is the correct address at which they would like to be…