The Language of AskUsNow!

Submitted by Julie on 20 April 2010 - 9:35am
in

Here's a glossary of some frequently used words/phrases in the AskUsNow! Universe:

 

24/7 Cooperative – AskUsNow! is part of the 24/7 Reference Cooperative- the cooperative of libraries around the world who back each other up. When monitoring globally you have the potential to help customers from everywhere in the Cooperative.

 

askusnow.info – our statewide portal for AskUsNow!. Customers can come in through this page, choosing their library, or through a link on their own library’s website.

 

AskUsNow! Inner Harbor – the AskUsNow! Staff Support website @ www.askusnow.info/staff

 

conversation – each interaction with a customer should be a conversation. It helps you both engage with each other and allow you to get more information from the customer that will help them.

 

Liaison – the local supervisor for AskUsNow!. each partner institution appoints a liaison to represent them.

 

Policy Page – one of the most important resources you have available to you in chat. The policy page will link you to a QuestionPoint-held form that all libraries in the 24/7 Cooperative have to have filled out. This page will provide you with information, URLS, and potentially dummy barcode #’s that will help you help the customer like their local librarian would.

 

Provider – that's you! The AskUsNow! front line staff who answer questions from our customers

 

QuestionPoint – a service of OCLC and the software used by AskUsNow!. www.questionpoint.org

 

queue – you choose your queues when monitoring AskUsNow!. Your queues determine what customers you see during your shift. Options include queues for Maryland Public, Maryland Academic, and Global (the 24/7 Reference Cooperative)

 

qwidget – one of our customer interfaces. This one can be embedded in a website. Check out more info here.

 

referral – you are not the last option for answering questions. You can mark a question for follow-up and it will be referred to the best library for the question. All of our local institutions and subject specialists are open for referral

 

resolution code – a resolution code tells the QuestionPoint system what to do with your chat once you’re finished. Every chat needs a resolution code. Possible codes are: Answered, Follow up by Me, Follow up by Patrons Library, Lost Call, and Practice. See Resolution Codes more details and a flow chart!

 

scripts – preprogrammed messages within QuestionPoint that you can send to a customer. We have statewide level scripts, your institution can add it’s own scripts, and you can have your own personal scripts.