AskAway Blog

Reminder: Please log in for summer shifts

Submitted by admin-boss on

It's summertime! And while the beach may be calling and tempting you to forget about the library, we would like to remind you of the importance of logging in for your AskAway shifts.

AskAway is minimally staffed over the summer, so missing a shift can seriously affect your fellow service providers.

Please take a moment to check the schedule, and make sure you know when you are expected on the service.

If you do find yourself alone on a shift, here are some steps you can take to get some assistance:

AskAway: QuestionPoint Software License To Be Renewed

Submitted by admin-boss on

Hi All,

Please see Todd's announcement below about the recent AskAway software evaluation process:

Greetings,

On behalf of the AskAway Advisory Committee, I am pleased to announce that  on August 1, 2013 we will be renewing the license with OCLC QuestionPoint to provide virtual reference (VR) software for the AskAway service for another 3 years.

The Advisory Committee would like to extend thanks to all those AskAwayers who participated in the software evaluation process.

Software Evaluation Process

QuestionPoint All Tab Display Issues

Submitted by admin-boss on

We are currently investigating some issues with the QuestionPoint All Tab displaying an inaccurate count of the active questions for some service providers.  This tab usually displays all questions the other service providers are working on and also allows you to join a question in conference mode to assist a colleague.

Which pages do your patrons use most to access AskAway?

Submitted by admin-boss on

Where do learners ask for help? What pages are used most to connect with AskAway?

You can use the Form Fields statistics, available on the Statistics page of the Portal, to determine which pages from your institution are most often used to connect with AskAway. These include both Qwidgets and the full screen interface.

Qwidget & Full Interface Update

Submitted by admin-boss on

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"516","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-full wp-image-1676","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"201","height":"300","title":"Screen Shot 2013-04-10 at 1.55.58 PM","alt":""}}]]Qwidget Interface
Did you know that patrons have two ways to access AskAway, and that there are some good reasons to consider which a patron is using?

Framebusters Alert

Submitted by admin-boss on

Normally when a service provider sends a link to an AskAway user, using the full-screen interface, the linked page open up automatically for the user. Framebusting pages are pages that will not open in another site (e.g. QuestionPoint)'s frame. This is relevant to AskAway patrons who use the full-screen interface, but not Qwidget users. More info on the full-screen interface and Qwidget, and how to determine which way a patron is accessing AskAway here.

Administrative Centre Report, Dec. 1, 2012 - Mar. 31, 2013

Submitted by admin-boss on

Below is a link to AskAway's latest Administrative Centre report. This is the first to come out since we adopted a new streamlined approach to reporting; the Administrative Centre will produce these reports twice a year now, instead of for every Advisory Committee meeting.

The latest Administrative Centre report
Administrative Centre reports archive

April, Spring Term and Annual Update

Submitted by admin-boss on

Annual and Spring term (including April) AskAway stats are now available on the AskAway site: http://www.askaway.org/staff/statistics
April form fields statistics are available on the AskAway site: http://www.askaway.org/staff/statistics#form
April's exit survey results are also available on the AskAway site: http://www.askaway.org/staff/surveys

Pages