We’ll be shutting off the collaborative desks for MLK Day. If your library monitors through a shared account, remember to keep these desks closed – all other users shouldn’t see an option to staff.
Just as we closed the chat departments for Memorial Day this year, you will not see the option to open the Academic or State-wide desks until we return Tuesday morning unless your library has a shared LibApps account.
If you belong to Alachua County, Daytona State College, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, Gulf Coast State College, Indian River State College, Southeastern University, University of Central Florida, or University of Florida please do not open the collaborative desks these days.
Ask a Librarian will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday, May 30th. We will reopen Tuesday at 10 AM.
You will still have access to your local library’s Email, SMS, and Chat but the Statewide and Academic desks will be closed.
In order to reduce the number of missed chats on this minimally staffed day, we are asking all libraries with shared Ask a Librarian accounts (Alachua County, Daytona State College, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, Gulf Coast State College, Indian River State College, Southeastern University, University of Central Florida, and University of Florida) not to open the Academic or Statewide desks while you staff your local library’s chat. All other libraries will not see these departments listed, but they will reappear Tuesday morning.
Please contact the Help Desk with any questions, and have a great Memorial Day.
You may have noticed more incoming emails from the AskRef email list!
Recently, the requirements for receiving emails from askref@askref.simplelists.com have changed- if you are a part of Ask a Librarian it is important that you are able to stay connected with administrators and other librarians involved in the program and it is imperative we have an easy contact method to reach the group.
Once we stop the influx of unsubscribe emails, you should not see as much incoming mail from this service! We apologize for the email inboxes that got flooded over the weekend, but please keep in mind that this is not a normal interaction with the askref email list. Thank you for your patience as we continue to work in improving Ask a Librarian!
Ask a Librarian has been adding local library FAQs to LibAnswers. These FAQS are embedded on a page that is linked to the local library logo and “Find out more about [your local library]” on the local Ask a Librarian pages of member libraries to replace the direct links to your local library web page. All of the currently available local library FAQs are also listed under “Ask a Librarian Member Libraries” on the TBLC LibAnswers site. The FAQs are embedded on an Ask a Librarian container page, like this FAQ page for Jacksonville Public Library System. Screen Shot JPL FAQ
It’s easy to embed these mobile-friendly FAQs on any web page.
Login to LibGuides
Go to Admin > Widgets & API 1-admin-widgets
Find your library’s FAQ widget, select View Widget Code 2-view-widget-code
Copy the JavaScript and HTML snippets 3-widget-embed-code
Paste the code into the place on your LibGuides page where you want the FAQs to appear
These local library FAQs replace the Drupal-based local library info that we used before the migration to Springshare. The local library FAQs are being created in the order of pageviews that our Ask a Librarian local pages receive. If you would like to experiment with embedding FAQs on your web pages and don’t see a FAQ widget for your library yet, contact the Ask a Librarian Help Desk.
Both the Academic and Statewide Collaborative Desks will be closed Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. The Statewide Collaborative Desk will also be closed on Saturday, November 28th. Thanksgiving Closures
December
Academic Desk
The Academic Desk will close at 4:00pm on Monday, November 30th and will reopen on Monday, January 4th. Academic Desk Closed In December
Statewide Desk
The Statewide Desk will close at 5:00pm on Wednesday, December 23rd and will reopen on Monday, January 4th. Statewide Closed
Ask a Librarian Statewide services will close at 5:00pm EST on Wednesday, November 25th.
Statewide services will resume at 10:00am EST Saturday, November 28th.
