Outline – IM @ Gerstein

Background: Gerstein IM & other reference services

Planning, Implementing & AdaptingResults of Pilot stagesConclusions

Gerstein Science Information Centre

Reference Services at Gerstein

ask.gerstein web presence

ask.gerstein web presence

ask.gerstein web presence

Planning (for success)

Form a team Work towards a date Brainstorm logistics Marketing plan Evaluation planned

prior to going live

Logistics (initially)

IM aggregator GAIM connects to: MSN, Yahoo, Google, AIM

IM hours same as info desk Weekly rotation Away messages used when necessary

“I will be away from my desk until 12:00. In the meantime e-mail us at ___ or phone us at ___”

“Back in 5!”

One-on-one training with manual

Marketing

BookmarksSigns in libraryBanners outside libraryBranding

Evaluation of service

Logging through GAIMDate, duration, content

Evaluation questions asked:Are you a U of T student/staff/faculty/other?Where are you IMing us from?What do you think of the service?

Quiz !!

ASL?

Quiz !

TTFN

What happened?

April 11 – went live250 questions receivedRanged from _ to _ per weekPilot over, service continued

Success!

What happened?

Some troubleshooting requiredSoftwareStaffing

Who asked the questions?

alumni1%

non U of T5%

staff1%

U of T 4%

unknown type27%

undergrad33%

grad29%

Student89%

Who asked the questions?

Roughly 90% studentsEqual number of grads & undergrads 5% from outside U of T

What did they ask?

joke3%

technical6%

reference25%

directional44%

catalogue22%

Typical questions:

“What time does the library close?”

“I need 3 articles for my assignment”

IM Services used

Almost 90% MSNNo AIM users

Patron feedback

Some funny:"is this a robot”“is this the minx with the tightly

wound bun?”

Patron feedback

Some very useful:"the service the wonderful - i find it

efficient to ask on msn for info if i cannot find something and then drop by the library to pick it up”

I think that it is great, very convenient and quick. You told me exactly where to go and what to do so that I would be able to find the information that I need.

Patron feedback

Some made us blush:“I BRAG to my friends…that ‘I'm

talking to a librarian’ or ‘I chatted up the librarian today’ … lol, it drives them nuts”

Patron feedback

More blushing: “The service is awesomeness wrapped up

in electronic form. I'm so so so pleased that the university decided to be technologically advanced and realized that sometimes students are too busy to trudge all the way down to the library to get questions answered from reliable sources”

Is IM a worthwhile addition?

Definitely:Patrons use itPatrons love it!FREE

Quiz !

HTH

Quiz !

ROTFL

Acknowledgements

Questions?