1. Carla Pfahl Minitex Reference Outreach & Instruction AskMN Coordinator pfahl001@umn.edu 612-626-6845

2.  Overview of the QuestionPoint database  Overview of Chat functionality  Transcript management  Discussion of best practices  Hands-on chat practice

3. Start your chat shift Practice before going live! Questions assigned to you Active Questions for your institution

4. The AskMN queue – see all Minnesota patrons here (required for AskMN shift) Institution-level queues – do NOT choose this option unless your library has set up an institution-level queue and you are monitoring chat just for your own library’s patrons (non-AskMN shift) QP Cooperative queue – see all non- Minnesota patrons here (required for AskMN shift) This is where you can practice chatting with your group to get comfortable with the software before going live

6. Patron’s information No email address! Patron’s library

7. The policy page links you to all pertinent library information Anchor links help you find information quickly

8. Texting box Include full URL string when sending web pages to patrons Librarian screen name format should be name of library followed by librarian name or initials

9. Ending a session ALWAYS include a resolution code

10. Best practices encourage return visits!  Greet the user by name and use your name  Clarify the question by asking for additional information  Ask what the user has already searched  Keep the user informed of your progress and strategies  Ask the user if the question has been answered  Follow up on the question if necessary

12. On the Full Question screen, you can:  Answer a question (follow-up on a transcript via e-mail)  Claim a question  Add a note  Add a descriptive code  Refer a question  Change the patron’s e-mail address  Move or file a question

13. Assign/Unassign/Reassign records

14. Changing/adding patron email address function is creating a duplicate record – Close or Delete record with no email address instead of Leave Unchanged (default is Leave Unchanged).

15. Now you can follow up with the patron if needed

18. Resources  AskMN Staff Wiki:  http://wiki.askmn.org/ http://wiki.askmn.org/  QuestionPoint Blog:  http://questionpoint.blogs.com/ http://questionpoint.blogs.com/  QuestionPoint Wiki:  http://wiki.questionpoint.org/ http://wiki.questionpoint.org/ QuestionPoint Online Help Documents: http://www.oclc.org/support/services/questionpoint/documentati on.en.html http://www.oclc.org/support/services/questionpoint/documentati on.en.html Training: http://www.oclc.org/support/services/questionpoint/training.en.h tml http://www.oclc.org/support/services/questionpoint/training.en.h tml

19. Thank You! Carla Pfahl Minitex Reference Outreach & Instruction AskMN Coordinator pfahl001@umn.edu 612-626-6845