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Ask Ontario: built to last from the start
Jan Dawson, MLIS askON Project Manager
If askON is closed the “offline” button appears. Visitors can choose to send a ? by email to their library.
• secure, private, chat or instant messaging (IM) reference tool
• deliver better information than visitors can find on their own
• accessed by websites of Ontario partner libraries
• connect visitors, one-on-one, with LIVE library staff
• research skill & literacy building tool…NOT an “answer” line
• build relationships with libraries and between libraries
What is askON anyway?
• personal/professional staff development
• both languages for bilingual Ontarians and French students
• access to resources to which visitors are entitled
• point of access for visitors who prefer the medium for various reasons: convenience, social, emotional, physical
• build capacity, welcoming new generations and communities
What is askON anyway?
askON’s inside face
2 pieces: chat vehicle & staff portal
2 pieces: chat vehicle & staff portal
• June 2006 askON Steering Committee struck• Sept 2006 Project Manager hired• June 2007 Task Forces struck• Jan 2008 askON pilot launched• Sept 2009 Internship Program launched• June 2011 askON is a two-sector collaborative service
with a self-funded partnership model.
development of askON
21 Public 12 Colleges
askON / ONdemande…just the facts
• 44 hrs/wk public; 16 hrs/week French; 62 hrs/wk college
• 800+ trained staff province wide
• 100+ trained interns from the askON internship program of MLIS students and grads
askON today
• 2011 Evaluation has just been completed• Call for partners
– Info sessions in February and March– Training and implementation in May and June– Partners join service for September 2012 launch
• OLA Access article in the Winter issue• OCLC report: “Seeking Synchronicity”
OCLC report “Seeking Synchronicity”
•June 2011
•OCLC Research and Rutgers
•Recommendations:
•R is for Relationships as well as Reference
•Market user privacy
•Convenience is the hook
•Collaboration is the strength
•Promotion in the library
• From project to collaborative service• New funding model: two-sector self-funded service
partnership model• Staff: Project Manager, Accounts & Web Coordinator• New parental organization
askON today
askON todayWe have answered over 78,000 questions!
6.1% 7%
GOAL to Reduce IB by 2-3% from 7% to 4-5% as of 2011 evaluation
2011 results: less than
1%!
• New partners
• Marketing strategies for both sectors
• Mobile service delivery
• SMS/Text service delivery
askON looking forward
