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AskMN: The Librarian Is In!. Minitex Reference Outreach & Instruction Carla Steinberg Pfahl pfahl001@umn.edu. What is AskMN about?. An online service for information and research help available to Minnesota residents and students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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AskMN: The Librarian Is In! Minitex Reference Outreach & Instruction Carla Steinberg Pfahl pfahl001@umn.edu
What is AskMN about? • An online service for information and research help available to Minnesota residents and students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. • The service is staffed by experienced librarians from Minnesota and QuestionPoint’s 24/7 Reference Cooperative.
AskMN’s Purpose Create a cooperative network for libraries to more easily contribute and participate in an online reference service for the benefit of its communities.
Staffing • Over 90 librarians from 30 participating libraries staff AskMN (solo librarians > large multi-branch systems) • Academic – Public • County Systems – Regional Systems • Each staff member staffs chat for a 1 – 2 hour shift per week • Off hours handled by QuestionPoint’s 24/7 Reference Cooperative
What is the 24/7 Reference Cooperative? • Made up of libraries across the U.S. and U.K. • Libraries similar to any library in Minnesota that provide a digital reference service to their patrons • Come together to answer questions from their patrons and other library patrons when that patron’s library is unavailable • Includes QP’s Back Up Staff • Paid librarians with an MLS/MLIS and at least 5 years experience in a library setting
30 Participating Libraries! Academic Libraries Public Libraries Anoka County Library Carver County Library Cloquet Public Library Dakota County Library Duluth Public Library Fergus Falls Public LibraryGreat River Regional Library Hennepin County Library System Lake Agassiz Regional Library Minitex Rochester Public Library Saint Paul Public Library Washington County Library • Augsburg University • Bethany Lutheran College • Bethel University • College of St. Scholastica • Concordia University – St. Paul • Hamline University • Lake Superior College • Macalester College's Wallace DeWitt Library • McNally Smith College of Music • Minnesota State University – Mankato • Normandale Community College • Northwestern College • St. Catherine University • St. Cloud State University • University of Minnesota – Duluth • University of Minnesota - Morris • University of Minnesota – Twin Cities • University of St. Thomas
QuestionPoint Account • Chat – state and cooperative levels • Qwidget – state and cooperative levels • Email – institution level • Text – institution level (*this is an extra service that can be added on to your QP account)
*Partial year data, April – June 2009 **AskMN did not begin accepting questions from non-Minnesota patrons until December 2008
Questions from Minnesota Patrons by County From AskMN FY12 Annual Report, http://minitex.umn.edu/Reference/AskMn.aspx
Questions? Thank you!