project management ilead u scenario 1 february 23, 2010
TRANSCRIPT
Project ManagementILEAD U Scenario 1February 23, 2010
A collaborative text message reference project – first in the US
Over 60 libraries from the US and Canada Over 800 questions per month Using Altarama and gmail interface Started July 2009 Hours open: Mon-Fri 8-10 am; Saturday
9-5; Sunday 12-6 Project coordinated by Alliance Library
System All business and meetings conducted
online
Cell phone access higher than broadband internet use
Number of text messages sent has increased over 250 percent over the last two years
Typical mobile subscriber sends or receives 357 text messages a month compared to sending or receiving 204 phone calls
Although libraries were offering the service, they were not offering for many hours
We did not see any collaborative services
Patrons text a question to My Info Quest The question is forwarded from
Altarama to gmail The librarian receives the question in
gmail The answer is provided and goes
through gmail to Altarama and the patron’s phone
Every library has a representative to the group advisory board which meets online monthly
Other committees to participate in: Policies and procedures, training, public relations, evaluation
All groups meet online
Put out a call for participants on electronic mailing lists (March-April 2009)
Hosted online meetings for everyone interested (March-July 2009)
Talked to vendors to arrange for a trial (February-April 2009)
Began website development (May 2009) Committees meet to work on pr, procedures
etc) Training (May-June 2009) Soft launch of service (July 2009) Larger program launch (September 2009)
Offer more hours of service Expanded expertise available Shared coverage Shared cost Shared development time Shared promotion Shared risk
Staff the desk two hours per week Attend online advisory meetings Promote the service Attend training sessions Participate in google discussion group
Altarama Peoplewhere Both agree to free 6 month trial and
provide support for the group
Scheduling Best practices in answering reference
questions in this mode – i.e. should we use wikipedia? Should we use text speak?
Sustainability/Funding
Very important so libraries can decide if they want to continue, go out on their own, or discontinue
Lead by Lili Luo, San Jose State University SLIS with a team of volunteers to assist
What types of individuals used the service?
What types of questions did users ask (e.g., consumer health, job search, or school-related)?
When did users ask questions? What are users. perceptions of the
service they received? Does offering this service reach out to
individuals who have not previously used library services?
What outreach methods are most effective in promoting the service?
What was the length of time for responding to users. questions (transaction turnaround time)?
What are the core skill sets required in providing text message reference services?
What are the obstacles, if any, in providing text message reference services?
What aspect(s) of the training was most helpful?
What information was missing from the training that should have been included?
Is there any difference in librarian satisfaction (or product satisfaction) based on the type of library s/he works for?
To what extent does the service performance uphold the professional guidelines established by the Reference and User Services Association?
Administrative Perspective
What are the advantages and disadvantages to offering text message reference services through a collaboration of libraries?
What are the challenges when scheduling librarians to staff the service?
What service learning benefits did SLIS graduate students realize through their involvement?
How can successful service learning opportunities be created for graduate students in a collaborative reference service?
What is the level of cost-effectiveness of offering the service?
282 transactions 189 – ready reference – questions that
request a single, uncomplicated and straightforward answer
49 – about local libraries – questions that inquire about patrons’ local libraries resources, services, policies, etc.
16 – specific search questions – request answers in the form of giving the user a document, list of citations, etc.
14 – questions about Infoquest 9 – unclear questions 5 – inappropriate questions
868 questions – 74% from repeat users Response time – 5 minutes and less –
33.5% 6-10 minutes – 23.9% Remainder is over 11 minutes
What’s In It for My Organization? “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion
sleeps tonight!” When it comes to inter-organizational
collaboration, the sleeping lion is your own org
Each organization has its own mission and “weltanschauung”
Does inter-organizational collaboration work well when times are good, but suffer when times are tough?
Individuals who are volunteering their own time, not necessarily representing an organization
Individuals who are self-employed
Neither fish nor fowl
Are they orgs-of-one?
Harness their passion for the project
What’s In It for My Users? What do we really know about the users
of a collaboratively conceived and delivered service?
What do we want or need to know? Protecting privacy and confidentiality Placing the onus on users ZIP codes or 3-letter code for the org
with which they are most affiliated
Getting to one voice for the collaborative project
Who speaks for the collaborative project? Traditional stance toward vendors:
Buyer/Renter and Seller Suspicion Hostility
Selecting vendors and third party service providers
Migrating to other vendors and service providers
The way a project launches may be the single most important determining factor for the overall success of your project.
What type of launch do you want for your project?
Soft launch
Big, splashy launch
Can the launch be controlled by the project team?
We don’t have the luxury of Goldilocks
Too hot, too cold, just right
Too hard, too soft, just right
Must be both effective and efficient
Strong Opinion Alert: Tom P. thinks most library projects involve too much pre-launch planning and too little post-launch planning.
“Watch” how people are using the service
Read and listen to their comments and suggestions
Allow the service to evolve, if the user community wants it to evolve
Lori Bell
Director of Innovation
Alliance Library System
309.694.9200 (x2128)
Tom Peters
CEO
TAP Information Services
816.616.6746