AskMN: The Librarian Is In! Minitex Reference Outreach & Instruction Carla Steinberg Pfahl

What is AskMN about? An online service for information and research help available to Minnesota residents and students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is staffed by experienced librarians from Minnesota and QuestionPoint’s 24/7 Reference Cooperative.

AskMN’s Purpose Create a cooperative network for libraries to more easily contribute and participate in an online reference service for the benefit of its communities.

Staffing Over 90 librarians from 30 participating libraries staff AskMN (solo librarians > large multi-branch systems) – Academic – Public – County Systems – Regional Systems Each staff member staffs chat for a 1 – 2 hour shift per week Off hours handled by QuestionPoint’s 24/7 Reference Cooperative

What is the 24/7 Reference Cooperative? Made up of libraries across the U.S. and U.K. – Libraries similar to any library in Minnesota that provide a digital reference service to their patrons – Come together to answer questions from their patrons and other library patrons when that patron’s library is unavailable Includes QP’s Back Up Staff – Paid librarians with an MLS/MLIS and at least 5 years experience in a library setting

30 Participating Libraries! Academic Libraries Augsburg University Bethany Lutheran College Bethel University College of St. Scholastica Concordia University – St. Paul Hamline University Lake Superior College Macalester College's Wallace DeWitt Library McNally Smith College of Music Minnesota State University – Mankato Normandale Community College Northwestern College St. Catherine University St. Cloud State University University of Minnesota – Duluth University of Minnesota - Morris University of Minnesota – Twin Cities University of St. Thomas Public Libraries Anoka County Library Carver County Library Cloquet Public Library Dakota County Library Duluth Public Library Fergus Falls Public Library Great River Regional Library Hennepin County Library System Lake Agassiz Regional Library Minitex Rochester Public Library Saint Paul Public Library Washington County Library

QuestionPoint Account Chat – state and cooperative levels Qwidget – state and cooperative levels – institution level Text – institution level (*this is an extra service that can be added on to your QP account)

AND NOW, SOME STATISTICS…

*Partial year data, April – June 2009 **AskMN did not begin accepting questions from non-Minnesota patrons until December 2008

Questions from Minnesota Patrons by County From AskMN FY12 Annual Report,

THANK YOU! Questions?