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<p class="MsoNormal">Hello Everyone! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hope the transition to fall is going well for you. I wanted to share a few Answerland updates and opportunities with you. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Feedback Sessions</b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I will be holding some virtual feedback sessions this fall to learn more about what is working well with Answerland and what could be improved. If you are interested in attending, please fill out this
<a href="https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/dJlKXB2a" target="_blank">scheduling poll</a> to indicate what times would work for you. I will send out the selected dates and times in early October. I’m also happy to have individual meetings about how Answerland
is working for your institution either virtually or in-person. Feel free to reach out if you would like to set something up! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>We Need Mentors</b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have more new volunteers starting! (Yay!) If you have been staffing Answerland for a year or more and can contribute an hour/week for 2-3 months, consider becoming a mentor for a new volunteer. This is a great chance to build leadership
and mentorship skills. Most of our volunteers are library students or librarians looking to build their reference skills or maintain a connection to the profession. They are wonderful to work with! Please contact me if you are interested in serving as a mentor.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Supporting K-12 Schools in Using Answerland</b> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We love having students ask us questions and we want them to have a good experience! If you are sharing with students or school staff about Answerland, please make sure they understand how to use our service successfully. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">As you know, Answerland is not set up to handle a full class logging on to chat at one time. Instead, staff can demonstrate using Answerland to a class and then students can individually use Answerland as the need
arises. We will work with them to find and vet relevant sources, but we cannot do assignments for them or return immediate answers. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Additionally, we ask that staff remind students that they are chatting with real people. This is NOT an Artificial Intelligence based service. Manners are appreciated, and most often, inappropriate behavior can
be traced. For more details on how schools can use this service see the <a href="https://answerland.org/using/schools/" target="_blank">
Schools section of the Answerland website</a> or feel free to get in touch with me directly. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks for all the work you do to support Answerland! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All the best, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Gesse Stark-Smith, MIS (she/her)</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Virtual Reference Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><span style="mso-ligatures:none">State Library of Oregon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><u><span style="color:#467886;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="mailto:gesse.stark-smith@slo.oregon.gov">gesse.stark-smith@slo.oregon.gov</a></span></u><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> | 971-600-4992<br>
<u><span style="color:#0563C1"><a href="https://www.oregon.gov/library/libraries"><span style="color:#0563C1">www.oregon.gov/library/libraries</span></a></span></u><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="mso-ligatures:none">Work Schedule: Mon 8-2, Weds & Thurs 8:30-4</span></b><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> </span></b><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.oregon.gov/library/libraries"><span style="color:black;mso-ligatures:none;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="323" height="43" style="width:3.3666in;height:.45in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DB0AA1.28FB1E80" alt="Logo for the Library Support & Development Services division at the State Library of Oregon"></span></a><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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