Submitted by Cristen Polley on
By Ishvani Hans, UBC AskAway Student Librarian
I’ve been working as an AskAway student librarian for over a year now. Having engaged with a diverse range of patrons and addressing their queries, I have identified recurring themes of problems. If you’re new to AskAway, you may find these tips helpful.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
The new Open Education tag allows us to track those questions when a service provider explains or provides access to Open Access, Open Education, or Open Textbook resources. This includes questions about no-cost textbook options, for example a student looking for an older version of a textbook from the library. In celebration of this new tag, Elizabeth Padilla (BCIT) shares the B.C. Open Collection and her role in developing the new home for the collection.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
The 7th edition of APA Style was released in fall 2019, and AskAway participating libraries are launching the new edition at varying times.
In general, it's good practice during this transition to ask students which edition they've been instructed to use. When in doubt, you can check the library's AskAway policy page and/or the library's citation guides to see which edition is currently in use.
Below you'll find resources that you can use to provide relevant and up to date citation support to all students during this transition.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
Thanks to your thoughtful questions and feedback, we continue to learn more about the ins and outs of LibraryH3lp software. AskAway's LibraryH3lp FAQs continue to be updated, and we wanted to take this opportunity to share recent updates and new tips:
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
As we continue to adjust to new workflows in LibraryH3lp, and as the service became increasingly busy this fall, there have been several questions about how to work with patrons who come and go from the chat.
There are 3 new FAQs available that address different types of patron behaviour and provide tips and best practices for providing the best possible experience for AskAway visitors.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
We're getting into the busy part of the term and we're seeing shifts with 30-40 questions per hour. Here are a few strategies to help ease the burden on you and on patrons during this time of year.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
If you've ever wondered how to send out a swamped call, then this is the blog post for you! Learn when and how to send out a swamped call, what happens when you send one out, and what to do if you see a swamped message.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
When you're working on AskAway, there should always be at least one other person on shift with you. If you find yourself alone or short-staffed, your colleagues and the Admin Centre are here to help. Below, you'll find the steps you can follow to request help as well as strategies to manage calls while you wait for help to arrive.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
WriteAway is a BC post-secondary collaborative online writing tutoring service. Undergraduate students at participating institutions can submit draft papers to WriteAway online and receive feedback and strategies to improve their writing from qualified tutors. WriteAway can be a nice complement to AskAway, as students who prefer online services or who are working off-campus can take advantage of online writing support.
Submitted by Cristen Polley on
The real value of Campfire comes from the community of service providers who use it to support one another during their shifts and keep AskAway running smoothly.
Log into Campfire and listen for notifications during each shift so that you'll be aware if something important comes up and your colleagues need assistance. You'll also be able to ask for help if you run into an issue.
