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KnowItNow24x7 - 2 years of digital reference for CLEVNET

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NORASIST program April 3, 2003, at Kent State University School of Library and

Information SciencePenny O'Connor

Assistant Head, Science and TechnologyCleveland Public Library

216-623-2932 poconnor@cpl.org

NORASIST program April 3, 2003, at Kent State University School of Library and

Information SciencePenny O'Connor

Assistant Head, Science and TechnologyCleveland Public Library

216-623-2932 poconnor@cpl.org

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Overview

A joint venture of 31-member CLEVNET consortium and several KnowItNow partners

Live online reference service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Staffed during daytime hours by Cleveland Public Library subject specialists

Staffed evenings by 11 other public libraries Staffed overnight by LSSI (Library Systems and

Services, L. L. C.)

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KnowItNow24x7 partners allow targeted in-depth service Human, print and electronic resources of the

Cleveland Public Library. Staff can push web resources or scan from print Transfer calls to next-layer providers

– MetroHealth Medical Center has registered nurses online 24x7

– Cleveland Law Library is online 9-5 Monday through Friday

– Tutoring service 7 days per week 2-10 p.m.

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Extending the boundaries

Cleveland Public Library is a resource Library for QuestionPoint and for ExpertRef

QuestionPoint is a collaborative reference service of the Library of Congress and OCLC

ExpertRef is a fee-based service via LSSI Coordination of these services by Cleveland

Research Center at Cleveland Public Library– We are a resource library, but we can also refer

questions

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CLEVNET libraries

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Extending the boundaries

KnowItNow includes all of CLEVNET including Worthington Public Library plus users of Dayton Metro Library, Grandview Heights Public Library, Upper Arlington public Library, and Greene County Public Library

HomeworkNow.net available for younger audience seeking homework help

Yread.org online book discussion for young adults

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History of networking

CLEVNET Consortium was established in 1982 Cooperative partnership between the

Cleveland Public Library and 30 other library systems throughout 9 Ohio counties

Reciprocal borrowing privileges, sharing a single computer network

Combined holdings of over 2.6 million unique titles, over 10 million items

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History of networking

Combined buying power to receive favorable pricing on online subscription databases, accessible to all card holders

1.3 million library card holders Live online reference available 24 hours a

day, 7 days a week since June of 2001

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KnowItNow24x7 by the numbers More then 37,000 questions answered June

2001-February 2003 3000-3500 per month during current school

year 1000-2000 per month in summer Question loads vary by subject area and by

time of day

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Questions by time and provider

Time/Provider, 6/01-11/02 (27,842 questions)

LSSI overnight 8:30p.m. -

9a.m.24%

MH 24x71%

CPL Main 9a.m.-5:30 p.m.

58%

CLEVNET et al 5:30-8:30p.m.

15%

Law 9-52%

LSSI overnight8:30p.m. - 9a.m.

MH 24x7

CPL Main 9a.m.-5:30p.m.

CLEVNET et al 5:30-8:30p.m.

Law 9-5

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Questions by Subject and Seat

KIN Question Loads 6/01-2/03 (37,250 questions)

LSSI23%

MH1%

CLEVNET et al.15%

LAW2%

GENREF24%

BUS5%

SCI17%

SOC13%

LSSI

MH

CLEVNET et al.

LAW

GENREF

BUS

SCI

SOC

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KnowItNow24x7 by the numbers KnowItNow is growing Traffic has more than doubled in the past

year Fast-growing but so far a small part of

question totals In 2002 Cleveland Public Main Library

answered a total of 1,071,448 questions

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KnowItNow24x7 is growing

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Nov2001-Feb2002 Nov2002-Feb2003

Usage has more than doubled!

November

December

January

February

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Staffing

Questions are fielded by staff in four Main Library Subject Departments– Monday-Saturday 9-5:30 – Sundays during the school year 1-4:30

Eleven other KnowItNow partner libraries field questions Monday-Friday 5:30-8:30

Because of heavy question loads in the afternoons, an additional library helps out with busiest queues.

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Staffing

Overnight service is provided by staff at LSSI, Library Services and Systems, Inc.

Librarians and library assistants handle KnowItNow24x7– Librarians have MLS– Library assistants have bachelor’s degree, and work under

supervision of a librarian For a complete answer, some questions require

follow-up work by staff, with more information e-mailed later to the patron

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Hardware and Software

Workstations alike– HP Scanjet Scanner

Software alike– LSSI Virtual Reference toolkit– Windows 2000– Adobe Capture– Internet Explorer– Netscape Navigator

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Training

60 providers were trained in the first round These providers trained coworkers Training was by staff of LSSI, backed by

Tracy Strobel and Pam Benjamin from CPL Training was over a week Providers had one week of practice time

before launch of public service

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Training

Refresher training a year later, for one day– refresher for experienced providers– focused day of training for new providers

Special scanner training Tutor.com orientation

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Service issues

Lots going on visually on the screen Web problems, such as “framebuster” sites Troubleshooting hardware and software on

the fly Licensing and copyright issues in providing

service from databases and full-text services Filters

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Service issues

Handling several patrons at once Expectations of patron

– instantaneous service– “magic box”– guidance versus doing the homework

Bringing new staff into the loop

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KnowItNow24x7 is part of an integrated web presence KnowItNow reinforces the reference and

research role of the Library We are reaching out to a new group of users HomeworkNow - www.HomeworkNow.net Yread - www.yread.org Tutoring service is available to 2 p.m. to 10

p.m. via subscription with Tutor.com

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Future of KnowItNow24x7

ReadThisNow - Reader advisory Service June 2003

United Way’s First Call for Help REFER database as a second tier, the way we now use MetroHealth, Cleveland Law Library, and Tutor.com

United Way’s First Call For Help, Refer database can connect customers to more than 1,000 agencies, 4,000 programs, and 10,000 services.

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Future of KnowItNow24x7

Spanish version of KnowItNow24x7 Guidelines for handling inappropriate patron

behavior Marketing the service Preparation for statewide service