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Receive questions
Please note: This document has not been updated to reflect the QuestionPoint changes installed in October 2004. Although the concepts, features, and functions described still apply, some illustrations and procedure steps are out of date.
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Audience
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Primary: Reference librarians, reference administrators.
Secondary:
Knowledge Base editors, institution administrators, group administrators.
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Subscription type
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Full; Global-only
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Document type
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Overview
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Purpose
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Recognize questions received through the various
methods by which your library may receive them.
Enter questions received at your reference desk or by e-mail or telephone.
Enter questions in order to route them to the Global Reference Network,
if your library is a global-only subscriber.
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Related materials
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Online help for the QuestionPoint Ask a Librarian
module
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Last updated
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February 26, 2004
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Introduction
Purpose
After reviewing the following information, you should be able to do the
following:
- Recognize questions received through the various methods
by which your library may receive them.
- Chat with a patron, if your library is a full subscriber.
- Enter questions received at your reference desk or by
e-mail or telephone.
Global-only subscriber: Use this method to enter questions in order to route them to the
Global Reference Network.
Methods for receiving questions
The following table lists the QuestionPoint options for
receiving questions. Your library may use any of the methods available
through its QuestionPoint subscription.
| Method
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Is the method available in your
library's subscription?
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How is the method implemented?
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Full
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Global-only
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Patrons submit questions through your library's
question form.
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Yes
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No
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Your library puts a QuestionPoint question form
on its Web site.
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Patrons ask questions during chat sessions
with reference staff. Patrons request these chat sessions through your library's chat form.
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Yes
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No
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- Your library puts a QuestionPoint chat form on
its Web site.
- Your library monitors chat requests.
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Patrons ask questions at your reference desk
or by e-mail or telephone.
Or, your library
is a global-only subscriber and has questions to route to the Global
Network.
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Yes
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Yes
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Your reference staff type (or cut and paste) questions
into QuestionPoint using Add Question in the Ask
a Librarian module.
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Libraries in a cooperative group that your library joined when it subscribed to QuestionPoint refer questions to your library.
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Yes
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No
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- Your group administrator lets libraries in your
QuestionPoint group refer questions to your library.
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Your institution administrator submits your library's profile
to your group.
- Your group administrator
activates your library's profile.
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| Libraries in a cooperative group that your library joined online in QuestionPoint refer questions to your library. |
Yes |
Yes |
- Your institution administrator completes and submits your library's profile to the Global Network, and the Global administrator activates your library's profile.
- Your institution administrator joins a cooperative group in which group members refer questions to each other, and the group's administrator activates your library's membership.
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| Patrons submit questions through the question form of a library in a web-form cooperative coverage group that your library joined online. |
Yes |
Yes |
- Your institution administrator completes and submits your library's profile to the Global Network, and the Global administrator activates your library's profile.
- Your institution administrator joins a cooperative group in which group members provide web-form coverage for each other, and the group's administrator activates your library's membership.
- Your institution administrator sets up coverage for web-form questions.
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| Patrons ask questions during chat sessions with reference staff. Patrons request chat sessions through the chat form of a library in a chat cooperative coverage group that your library joined online. |
Yes |
Yes |
- Your institution administrator completes and submits your library's profile to the Global Network, and the Global administrator activates your library's profile.
- Your institution administrator joins a cooperative group in which group members provide chat coverage for each other, and the group's administrator activates your library's membership.
- Your institution administrator sets up cooperative chat coverage.
- Your library monitors chat requests.
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The Global Reference Network routes questions to
your library.
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Yes
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Yes
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- In your library's profile, your institution administrator
indicates the number of questions your library agrees to answer
each week for the Global Reference Network.
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Your institution administrator completes the required fields and
submits your library's profile to the Global Network.
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The Global administrator activates your library's profile.
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Authorization privileges
In order for you to receive questions, you must have
an authorization with the Librarian or Administrator privilege for
the Ask a Librarian module, or you must be an institution administrator.
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Through your library's
question form
If your library has a full subscription, it may put a
QuestionPoint question form on its Web site to receive questions
submitted by its patrons.
Cooperative coverage for Web-form questions: Your library
may also work in a cooperative group
with other libraries to provide cooperative Web-form question coverage and extended
hours of service for each others' patrons. To do this, your institution administrator
joins a group that provides cooperative Web-form question coverage. Each group
member specifies the times when it needs other group members to respond to questions
submitted through its Web form. Each member also specifies the times when it
will respond to questions submitted through other members' Web forms.
QuestionPoint automatically refers questions based on the specified times of need and availability. The referred questions appear in the Active and Referred question lists of the libraries receiving them and in the Referred question list of the patron's library. During times when two or more group members have indicated they are available to receive questions, each question is referred to the member who has waited the longest time to receive one. If a member rejects a question, the question is not automatically referred to another library. The patron's library acts on the question when it can.
Receive an e-mail notification
You learn when a patron submits a question in the following
ways:
- You can receive an e-mail notice if your institution administrator includes your
e-mail address as one that receives the notice.
- You can monitor lists of questions in the QuestionPoint Ask a Librarian module.
The e-mail notice that you may receive when a patron
submits a question through your library's question form
includes:
- The question
- The question's ID number in QuestionPoint. You can use the ID to retrieve
the question in the Ask a Librarian module.
To send an answer to the patron, find the question
in the Ask a Librarian module, type your response, and send it to
the patron.
View a list of new questions
You can monitor lists of questions in the QuestionPoint Ask
a Librarian module to check for new questions.
When you access the module, you first see the Active Questions list.
New questions have the
symbol for a new question in the Status column.
To view more information about a question, click on the
question in the Question column. Or, type the Question ID in the
box provided and click the Go button.
For more information about viewing question lists, see View
the Active Questions list.
A new question in the Active Questions list
View a new question
The Full Question record contains all the available information
about a question. It also contains buttons and boxes for the actions you
can take on the question. The buttons and boxes available to you depend on
your library's QuestionPoint subscription, your library's
implementation of QuestionPoint, and the privileges of your QuestionPoint
account.
For more information about Full Question records and the actions you can take,
see View a Question
and Answer and refer questions.
The Full Question record for a new question
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At your reference desk or by e-mail
or telephone
You can type (or cut and paste) reference desk, e-mail, or telephone questions into the Ask a Librarian module. This
lets you manage and track all of your library's reference questions through
QuestionPoint.
If your library has a global-only subscription, you can use this method to
add questions that you want to route
through the Global Reference Network.
This method also helps with Full Question records that contain missing or incorrect information in fields that you cannot change, such as a patron's e-mail address. If you know the correct information, you can use this method to create a duplicate record with the correct information and then close or delete the original record.
To use this method, click Add Question in
the Ask a Librarian module.
Add Question link on the Ask a Librarian module menu
The Add Question form appears when you click Add
Question. Provide the information requested and click Add. QuestionPoint displays a Full Question record containing the information.
Add Question form
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Label |
Item |
Description |
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Status |
You must choose the status that you want the question
to have:
- New: New question, no answer provided yet. This adds the question to the Active Questions and New Questions lists. The question is unassigned.
- Pending: Waiting for patron clarification. This adds the question to the Active Questions list. The question is assigned to you.
- Answered: Answer sent. This adds the question to the Active Questions list. The question is assigned to you.
- Closed: No further action on the question needs to be taken for the patron; consider adding the question and answer to a knowledge base. This adds the question to the Closed Questions list. The question is assigned to you.
Note: If you supply both the patron's e-mail address
and an answer, QuestionPoint sends the question and answer to the patron's address
regardless of the status you choose.
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Question |
You must type (or paste) a question into the Question
box. |
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Patron |
You may type the patron's e-mail address,
name, or both. If you type the patron's e-mail address
and an answer, QuestionPoint sends the question and answer to the patron's address
when you add the question.
If you type the patron's e-mail address and the patron does not already
have a Patron interface account, QuestionPoint creates an account for
the patron and sends an acknowledgment
message with account information to the patron's address when you
add the question.
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Answer |
You may type an answer. |
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Custom fields |
You may include up to 10 other fields with information about the question or
patron. Type the label and information for each field. If you route the question
through the Global Reference Network, these fields are not included in the information
sent to the Global Network. |
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Add |
Click Add to add the question
into the Ask a Librarian module with the status that you choose. |
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From libraries in your QuestionPoint
group
If your library participates
in a QuestionPoint group, it may receive questions from
other libraries in the group.
If you receive e-mail notices when patrons submit questions
using your library's question form, you also receive them
when libraries in your group refer questions to your library. These
questions appear in the Active Questions list.
A question from a library in your group
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Label |
Item |
Description |
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Symbol |
Symbol in the Status column indicating a question
from a library in your group. |
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Question |
Click the question in the Question column to view
the Full Question record containing all the available information
about the question. |
The Full Question record appears when you click the question
in the Question column of the question list.
![Full Question record from a library in your group [44]](images/44.gif)
Full Question record from a library in your group
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Label |
Item |
Description |
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Routed/Referred by |
Routed/Referred by indicates the librarian
account and library that referred the question to your library. |
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Routing information |
An entry in the question history shows routing
information and the reason given for the referral. |
For more information, see Refer a question
to a partner in your group.
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From the Global Reference Network
If
your library has a full subscription or a global-only subscription, it may receive questions routed from the Global Reference
Network. In your library's profile, your institution administrator indicates the number of questions your library agrees to answer (process) each week for the Global Reference Network.
If your institution administrator has included your e-mail
address in the Alert E-mail field of your library's profile,
you will receive an e-mail notice when the Global Reference Network routes
a question to your library. (You also receive a notice when the
Global Network sends answers that your library requested or sends
clarification requests for your library's questions or
answers.)
A question from the Global Network
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Label |
Item |
Description |
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Symbol |
Symbol in the Status column indicating a question
from the Global Network. |
| |
Question |
Click the question in the Question column to view
the Full Question record containing all the available information
about the question. |
The Full Question record appears when you click the question
in the Question column of the question list.
Full Question record from the Global Network
For more information, see Route
a question through the Global Reference Network.
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