1	Why Couldn’t They Find it? Improving your Website Through VR Transactions VRD 5^th Annual Digital Reference Conference November 17, 2003 Christine Clifford Hennepin County Library
2	Hennepin County Library
3	Background Began chat reference in November 2001 Used only library staff for limited hours Went 24/7 in October 2002 Contracted with LSSI Call Center (now Tutor.com’s Librarians by Request)
4	Transcripts from HCL chat reference New evaluative tool What questions were patrons asking and why they were not finding the info for themselves on our website? What could we do to make the site more intuitive and easier to navigate for our patrons?
5	Transcripts from HCL chat reference Were we burying information in too many links? Were we using library lingo and not plain language? What tools could we provide to assist our patrons in learning our resources and how to use them?
6	Transcripts from the contract librarians Additional Evaluative information How intuitive was our website to these librarians? What resources or materials did they have trouble finding or using?
7	Transcripts from the contract librarians How effectively could they navigate our website and provide assistance to our patrons? How could we use this information to improve our website?
8	Why? MISSION: Hennepin County Library promotes full and equal access to information and ideas, the love of reading, the joy of learning, and engagement with the arts, sciences, and humanities.
9	Selected strategies in support of the Library’s Mission
10	Selected strategies in support of the Library’s Mission “Service and Systems” — Commit to excellence in service redesign to improve effectiveness with available resources, remove barriers to accessibility, and increase the ability of the user to become self-reliant.
11	HCL eLibrary Manager 1.0 Web Administrator 1.0 Adult Services Librarian .5 Reference Services Librarian .5 Youth Services Librarian .5 Projects Librarian .5 HTML Maintenance .5 Authorware production .5
12	Problem 1 Full text newspapers Patrons not finding them Patrons unsure of access and location Staff also not understanding access and location
13	Problem 1 The main issue was access to our ‘Big 5’ newspapers HCL has online access to these through a collaborative purchase
14
15
16	Solution Created an entry in the feature column of our Magazine and Newspapers page Highlighted the newspapers by title and linked to the online access for them via Proquest
17
18
19	Outcomes Decreased the number of questions regarding full text online newspapers New tool to assist staff Top 5 newspapers promoted
20	Problem 2 Patrons had difficulty understanding our periodical holdings Holdings were not in our catalog Contract librarians had difficulty assisting patrons with magazine questions
21	Transcript Example
22
23	Solutions Developed an online tool for the public that lists all magazine and newspaper holdings Includes all formats: paper, microfilm/fiche and online Includes links to online access when available Lists holding and location information for paper and microfilm/fiche
24
25
26
27
28
29	Outcome Tool for patrons and staff to access holding information for magazines and newspapers Fewer questions needed to be referred back to HCL from contract librarians
30	Problem 3 Various parts of our website allow the patron to send in comments or questions Questions entered the wrong service point and had to be rerouted Patrons’ inquiries were bounced around before being handled
31	Problem 3 Questions contract librarians couldn’t answer were bouncing back to us causing a delay in service Purchased bundles of questions were depleted by questions that the contract librarians had to refer on or not fully answer Interlibrary loan requests Title requests
32	Problem 3 Circulation coordinator was receiving large numbers of reference questions through the form for patrons to get assistance with their library accounts
33	Problem 3 Needed to make the options for service clear Needed to streamline processes and provide better customer service More cost effective for us to direct title requests and ILL inquiries away from the chat service
34	Solution Developed a new form to triage questions That could not be answered via chat to the appropriate service channel Reference questions away from the circulation contact form Better explain services
35
36
37
38	Outcomes Fewer questions reaching the chat service that could not be handled there Dramatic decrease in the number of reference inquiries sent to the circulation service Clear options for patrons
39	Problem 4 HCL has a page of Reference Tools for databases and a Website Catalog for selected free websites Contract librarians were not using both the Website Catalog and the Reference Tools to answer questions Time consuming to illustrate both resources via a chat interaction
40	Problem 4 Patrons were unclear about where to look on our website to find information on a subject Patrons do not understand (and don’t care!) the difference between a free website and a purchased database Distinction was made because of funding issues and because the difference is important to librarians
41	Solution Merge proprietary databases with librarian selected websites One place for patrons and staff to look for information on a particular subject Opportunity to add any additional tools that applied: booklists catalog search tips and canned searches online tutorials classes or programs
42	Solution Ongoing project that will create a tool similar to an online pathfinder Useful for remote patrons Streamline reference interactions for staff Useful for in-house patrons
43
44
45
46
47	Thank You! Christine Clifford Reference Services Librarian, eLibrary Hennepin County Library cclifford@hclib.org Presentation is available on the HCL extranet. http://www.hclib.org/extranet
48