[Answerland] Answerland Coordinator Updates and Request- Spring Break (Closures) & Edit Institutional FAQs (Policy Pages)

[COX Jennifer * SLO]

Good morning Answerland Staff,

This email is a long time coming and has been spurred by continuous feedback from partner libraries/librarians of the Answerland Cooperative, Answerland volunteers and the Answerland Quality Team. It's been almost 3 years since Answerland has switched from Questionpoint to the Springshare LibAnswers platform. Below I will outline the two topics that I'm emailing you about today:


  1.  Answerland FAQs sorely out of date



     *   Updating your institution FAQs (previously known as policy pages)- Many libraries created their FAQS (policy pages) when we made the switch to Springshare LibAnswers. A significant number of those pages have been untouched or updated since 2020. Undoubtably, your staffing, policies, procedures, passwords and modes of operation have change since 2020. Please prioritize making necessary updates to your FAQS to allow for Answerland librarians, volunteer librarians and global queue librarians to best help your patrons. Whether you have one person or a team of staff members. Please take time to look at your current information and make any updates necessary. If you do not have any FAQ pages* , please consider writing at least 1 FAQ to address the general common questions or things virtual librarians may need to best help you patrons. Even if this is to say please open a ticket if a particular question or topic comes up. *If you need help with the creation of or updating of the pages, please email me and I will provide you with instructions in another format other than the written ones that I've attached to this email. The attachment is a series of a screenshots of how to access these pages to update them with a link to Springshare instructions with videos at the very end of the instructions.




     *   Consider updating FAQs or adding new FAQs with specific instructions, links or passwords -Volunteers have signed contracts and agreements to only professional/ethically use passwords and not give them out to patrons. As librarians we have our professional ethics and own employment contracts to utilize information ethically via our training on FERPA and using tools to benefit our job tasks, not for personal use/gain etc.  We possess the key to the gate which protects information, I ask you to consider giving reasonable access(as well as a level of detail about your services and procedures via FAQs) to out of state volunteers to maintain the quality of chat interactions and expediently help of our/your patrons.  Volunteers only have access to the Gale databases via the Statewide database program and whatever they can source on the open web. This is not just a topic of passwords, this is providing accurate information so that assistance can be given at a point of need.  A gentle prompt to consider what and how you empower after hours staff to assist patrons.



  1.  Spring break or upcoming holiday, in-service closures
If you have an upcoming closure for Spring Break, In-Service Training, Holidays, please send an email letting me know that you have a conflict with your LibStaffer shift. Then let me know if you are dropping your shift in LibStaffer and if you have plans to select a make-up shift (by adding a shift in LibStaffer) or just forgo that week's commitment.


I, truly, appreciate you reconsidering what you feel comfortable sharing via LibAnswers FAQs pages. Even if you are not sharing passwords, I will highly encourage you to share things (common questions or topics)  that will allow for a better patron experience.  I'm aiming for these to be reviewed and updated by April 7th. I'll be following up with your institution's liaison's in mid-March to inquire if there are questions or assistance needed for updating your content. Thank you for time and attention to this issue. I appreciate all your efforts and commitment to maintaining the quality of patron experience for all Oregonians in addition to patrons at your home institution.

Sincerely,



Sincerely,

Jennifer Cox, MLIS (she/her)
Virtual Reference Coordinator, Library Support & Development Services
State Library of Oregon
jennifer.cox at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:jennifer.cox at slo.oregon.gov> | 971-600-4992
www.oregon.gov/library/libraries<https://www.oregon.gov/library/libraries>
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