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The QuestionPoint Transcript Assessment webinar has passed, but for those who missed it, the video is now available.

That and other webinars can be viewed on the QuestionPoint Events site.

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:

7:50 pm March 5- The QuestionPoint server is currently unavailable.
An update will be posted when service is restored.

The following call for participants was posted to the Question Point listserv.

Dear QP librarians:

Here's your chance to participate in the latest virtual reference research!  Please see this message from Lynn Connaway and Marie Radford
(of Seeking Synchronicity fame):

Dear Virtual Reference Librarian:

Greetings! We are looking for people interested in taking part in an important study of virtual reference services (VRS). We are willing to
pay you for your time.

Hi folks,

If you are attending the following session at the ALA Conference and would be willing to report back to the AskAway Administrative Centre, we'd be happy to pass on information to the AskAway community. Please contact Sunni Nishimura (sunnin@eln.bc.ca) or Leah Hopton (leahh@eln.bc.ca).

The Oregon statewide reference service is hosting the Oregon Virtual Reference Summit in late May, open to all interested.

Here is the announcement:

I'm the coordinator for Oregon's statewide reference service and I am inviting you to register for our annual conference, the Oregon Virtual Reference Summit, www.oregonlibraries.net/summit. Though we admit to a regional focus, the conference is open to everyone.

This is a refresher about an ongoing topic when working with so many different libraries around the region: differing network speeds.

We have some feedback from an online instructor about the Askaway advice given to one of her students.

In her class, students are providing persistent links to articles, generally from PsycArticles or Academic Search Premier.  (Ebsco).  The simplest method is to copy and paste the “PERMALINK” provided on the right-side of the results screen in a detailed record.

For more information, UFV has a webpage with steps on creating Persistent Links. http://www.ufv.ca/library/faculty/persistentreserves.htm

Hi all,

This is just a quick post responding to some feedback we have had, related to keeping Campfire as useful to everyone as possible. There is no issue with using Campfire for casual chatting with other AskAwayers, as long as everyone staffing AskAway at the time doesn’t mind. At times on weekdays it can be distracting for AskAway staff who are multitasking, as there is no way to tell if the sound of a new message is casual chat or a service issue.

There have been a number of reports of QuestionPoint bugs since the last software install on September 19th.  These include:

1)  The inability to see how many calls other librarians are handling via the "All" tab in the chat monitor.

2)  The address bar doesn't appear when the Policies link is clicked in the chat monitor.

3) Patrons have been reporting difficulty typing in the Qwidget box.

The first two items will be resolved in the next QP install, happening tomorrow AM (September 28).