DPL VR Tools

After a couple of days of using the new Ask-A-Librarian software, I've noticed an inconsistency with the way the software pops up when a question is received.

The librarians screen is supposed to "pop to the front" when a question is received, but sometimes that is not happening. I don't know for sure why this happens, but one theory is that some of the applications that we use on our computers for other things might prevent the screen from popping up. One of those applications is Imds-Carlcirc.

So hear are some solutions:

• Look for the AskALibrarian tab on the taskbar to flash orange when you are pushed a question.
• If you have speakers, there is an audible alert when a question comes in for you. If you don't have speakers we found some really cheap ones ($7.00). You could also plug headphones into the headphone jack.

Here are instructions for practicing on the software after January 9th.

To practice with the software on January 9 and after, we have set up training logins:
Librarian-
The usernames and passwords will be the same as we used during our training sessions. We have access to numbers 1-20. If you don't remember the usernames and passwords we used, please email me.

Patron Login-
www.aclin.org/reference/training.html

Here is a screenshot of the Librarian's Screen in version 1.5 of the software. The customer's name is now displayed in the Information area of the screen. It isn't diplayed in the chat area.

I also wanted to show you how the scripted messages were arranged by categories.

Procedures for forwarding questions to email reference:

Even though some customers will create their own accounts with the new software download, we still do not have access to any information about their email addresses. So, if you want to forward a question to the General Reference email service, or the Western History email service, you will still need to get an email address for the customer.

You will then need to copy and paste the chat transcript into a Word document or just your Groupwise email, and forward the question. You can copy and paste your chat messages before you exit out of your session, or you can access the Previous Sessions area, click on the appropriate session, then copy the text, and paste it into a Word document, or email area of Groupwise.

To simplify the forwarding procedure, we will be forwarding any questions to just the General Reference email address. Those librarians will triage the question and get it to the Western History department.

The email address for General Reference is: dplref@denver.lib.co.us

AskColorado has put together a really helpful resource page for librarians to use, the AskColorado Committee Staff Resources Page. Among other things it has a Best Practices document that everyone should be familiar with, help and hints for dealing with teens, and information about the new software - including the training manual, if you didn't get one.

The Staff Resources page is password protected. Just let me know if you need that information.