Ask ? Away

1. BASICS Ask?Away Session 1: Why AskAway and what is AskAway?

2. The AskAway Basics series Overview of AskAway Trends in use of virtual reference and libraries Impact of technology use & education on students Research on internet use among low income teens Review of 2010 AskAway performance in Wisconsin Q&A Agenda

3. AskAway basics series • A “soup to nuts” orientation to the AskAway service • Designed to build an understanding of the service among librarians, library directors, members of library boards or interested community members • Features separate, stand-alone presentations on the key elements of the service • Program recording and slides will be available

4. Upcoming sessions • March 3: Introduction to AskAway Email service • April 7: Introduction to AskAway’s Spanish-language Chat service • May 5: Chat service basics • June 2: Email service basics • July 7: Marketing the AskAway service • Aug 4: AskAway statistics for administrators and librarians

5. A very basic outline What is askaway?

6. What is AskAway? • Around-the-clock online chat and email reference service • Staffed by local, statewide and national consortium of libraries • Most public libraries and a growing number of schools have links to AskAway on their website • Some libraries post the AskAway link on their chamber of commerce or local government website

7. AskAway chat • Chat questions are answered by any librarian on chat when the question arrives • All chat records are reviewed by Wisconsin librarians to ensure that patrons get appropriate help • Chat service is available to all Wisconsin public libraries and school libraries at no charge • AskAway access to public and school libraries is funded through Library Services & Technology Act grants

8. Askaway email • A limited number of Wisconsin libraries use the email service • Email questions are only accessible by the patron’s own library • Email questions can be forwarded to subject matter experts

9. School access • A growing number of Wisconsin schools post a link to AskAway • DPI helps train library media specialists and teachers on the most effective way to introduce the service

10. Patron’s view of a URL sent by a librarian

11. Email interface

12. Why should public or school libraries consider adding a link to AskAway? WHY ASKAWAY?

13. “Perceptions of Libraries, 2010”Findings on virtual reference • Use of online “ask an expert” services are up 186% from 2005 • 43% of Americans online used one in 2010 • 77% of all Americans had internet access in 2010 • (83% of Wisconsin residents had internet access in June, 2010 according to internetworldstats.com) • All age groups use “ask an expert” sites now

14. Teens are a key audience • The information-seeking habits teens form will stay with them in adulthood • They are the heaviest users of “ask an expert” sites (62%) • They’re the most likely age group to have a card and to visit the library (72%)

15. Extended hours are a priority • The number one request survey respondents had was that libraries extend their hours • In this difficult economic climate libraries may not be able to have their physical doors open longer

16. Other interesting findings • Generation X (Aged 25 – 45) have increased their use of libraries more than any other group during the recession. • 25% of Gen X online Americans have increased their use of the library. • Their use of ask-an-expert sites has doubled in the last 5 years

17. Student Learning Through Wisconsin School Library Media Centers: Library Media Specialist Survey Report, 2006 • Higher achievement on WKCE is correlated with a number of factors, most importantly higher levels of staffing for longer hours, but also… • “Where educational technology is more widely available to augment the local collection and extend access to online resources throughout the school and beyond”

18. Hours of operation for Wisconsin school library media centers, according to the EGS Study

19. Where/how do these young people get help when the library is closed? • Google • Ask.com • Wikipedia • Yahoo Answers • Blurtit • Cha-Cha • None of these sources/sites have quality control or accountability overseen by local or state staff

20. Millennial Learners and Net-Savvy Teens? Examining Internet Use Among Low-Income Students, Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, Volume 26, Number 2, Winter 2009-10 • A large majority of students, including low-income students, have broad experience with Internet-based technology, but their sophistication in understanding of internet-use strategy varies • Primarily experienced with simple communication • Importance of instructing students on the critical evaluation of online information and online reading comprehension

21. Teens, Cell Phones and Textingby Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 20, 2010 • Teens from low-income households, particularly African-Americans, are much more likely than other teens to go online using a cell phone. This is a pattern that mirrors Pew Internet Project findings about adults and their cell phones. • 21% of teens who do not otherwise go online say they access the internet on their cell phone.

22. Teens, Cell Phones and Textingby Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 20, 2010 • 41% of teens from households earning less than $30,000 annually say they go online with their cell phone. Only 70% of teens in this income category have a computer in the home, compared with 92% of families from households that earn more. • 44% of black teens and 35% of Hispanic teens use their cell phones to go online, compared with 21% of white teens.

23. Recent statistics on use of AskAway in Wisconsin Wisconsin findings

24. Wisconsin residents ask more questions than Wisconsin librarians answer: AskAway offers good value for us

25. Chat requests spike during school hours (# of sessions requested by WI patrons)

26. Chat librarians are busiest during school hours(We take about half the # of chats requested by WI patrons)

27. Email requires multiple responses,it’s more time consuming (and offered by fewer libraries)

28. Which library’s patrons use chat the most ?Total # chats asked by patrons of libraries using AskAway most often

29. Which library’s staff take the most chats?Total # of chats taken by WI libraries

30. Next Session & Q&A • Session 2, Thursday, March 3 from 10 am – 11 am • Introduction to the AskAway email service • How does it work • Who uses it • Where does it work well • How to publicize it • Questions, comments, feedback?