Category: Announcements

JUL and AUG 2024 Exemplary Reference Award Winners

Kelly Doty

The Ask a Librarian Quality Assurance Workgroup is pleased to announce the July and August 2024 Exemplary Reference Award Winners!

July

Connie H. (Gulf Coast State College)

August

Janet S. (Pasco-Hernando State College)

Please join us in congratulating our winners as they set the bar for providing exemplary virtual reference services for Ask a Librarian!

Want to see what a winning chat looks like? Click here to view the winners from the months listed above.

MAR and APR 2024 Exemplary Reference Award Winners

Kelly Doty

The Ask a Librarian Quality Assurance Workgroup is pleased to announce the March and April 2024 Exemplary Reference Award Winners!

March

Jenna M. (Santa Fe College)

April

Carl D. (USF Libraries)

Please join us in congratulating our winners as they set the bar for providing exemplary virtual reference services for Ask a Librarian!

Want to see what a winning chat looks like? Click here to view the winners from the months listed above.

User Exit Survey Responses 2017

Kelly Doty

Here are the reactions from users surveyed in September, 2017:

Was this your first time using Ask a Librarian?

Was your question answered today?

 

Did the librarian show you any Web-based library resources today (library catalog, databases, etc.)?

 

Do you think you would be able to use those same resources on your own, later on?

 

Do you think you will be more comfortable doing online research in the future?

 

Would you use the Ask a Librarian service again?

 

How did you find Ask a Librarian?

“Other” Responses included:

My college – My professor – My school – A librarian showed me

 

We welcome your comments or suggestions. Please let us know how we are doing, and how we can improve!

Here are some direct quotes from the responses:

“Loved it!!!”

“Oh my gosh I’m so glad I was told to use this service, what a lifesaver! Super helpful and nice straight forward answers!”

“Very fast and to the point. Great service.”

“Never answered the first question. Not in any kind of depth. Never went back to the first question. After thanked for answer to second question, she quickly left the chat before I could say anything else. RIDICULOUS waste of time …”

“More ask-a-librarian hours would be super helpful!!”

Memorial Day Closing

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.

One Year With Springshare

In case you haven’t heard the  news, we have reached our one year mark on the Springshare platform!

That’s over 42,000 chats, 24,000 emails, and 3,000 texts!

One Year With Springshare

Thank you to all the Florida Libraries answering those questions and making Ask a Librarian possible.

We hope you’re enjoying Springshare as much as we are!

AskRef Emails

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!