[PL-Directors] Answerland Transition

[MaryKay Dahlgreen]

I apologize for the cross-posting but I think this needs to be widely distributed:

Answerland<http://answerland.org/>, Oregon's statewide virtual reference service which lets anyone connect to a librarian by live chat, email or text messaging, will be transitioning from Multnomah County Library<http://multcolib.org/> to Oregon State Library<http://www.oregon.gov/osl> in July of 2015.

The transition team is made up of Darci Hanning (Technology Development Consultant for Library Support and Development Services at Oregon State Library), Rachael Short (Answerland Coordinator), and Emily Papagni (Answerland Support Librarian). The team enjoys the guidance of the Answerland Advisory Board<https://www.answerland.org/advisory-board>.

The transition team will be undertaking a software selection process for vendor-hosted virtual reference software. A vendor-hosted platform will be more affordable and require less maintenance by staff than the current software. It should also allow the service to keep up-to-date with transitions in technology without additional outlays of investment. Training on the new software will be organized by Answerland staff, and is planned to begin in May.

We plan to continue all existing services of Answerland: chat, email, text, and 24/7 backup service. We will communicate regularly to keep you up to date. A transition page is in place at https://www.answerland.org/transition

Since 2003 Answerland has been Oregon's collaborative virtual reference service. The service is staffed by 48 number of partner libraries and by volunteers, and answers an average of 35,000 questions by live chat, email and text messaging annually.

Answerland is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library. The fiscal agent for the program since its inception in 2003 has been Multnomah County Library. The Oregon State Library Board of Trustees met on December 5 and voted unanimously in support of moving Answerland from Multnomah County Library to the Oregon State Library.

If you have questions about the transition, please contact Rachael Short (rachaels at multco.us), the Answerland Service Coordinator.

Please also feel free to call or e-mail me if you have questions, marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us<mailto:marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us> 503-378-4367

MaryKay Dahlgreen
Oregon State Librarian
503-378-4367
marykay.dahlgreen at state.or.us
http://oregon.gov/osl
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