QuestionPoint

A NEW APPROACH TO LIBRARY COLLABORATION

One of the appealing features of the World Wide Web has been that it's always there. Whether you are seeking a recipe at 2:00 in the morning or a stock quote at 2:00 in the afternoon, the Web beckons with a tsunami of information. Some of the information is rock solid, some of it is biased for various reasons, and some of it is just plain wrong, but it's always there. Librarians have looked on in envy as search engines roll up hundreds of millions of pages indexed-and millions of users searching them.

For many librarians, the Holy Grail has been virtual reference service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Such a service would help libraries answer tough questions, provide online chat in real time, while also offering e-mail or web-- based question functionality, a knowledge base of previously answered questions, and compatibility with local systems already in place.

These features are now available in QuestionPoint, the new service available from the Library of Congress and OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. and offered through OHIONET

In 2000, LoC, OCLC and 16 partner libraries began testing a system called the Cooperative Digital Reference Service, or CDRS. After 18 months of testing and refinement, the system was launched internationally on June 1, 2002. The test libraries weren't just large academic research libraries; beta testers included Cleveland Public Library, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and Toledo-- Lucas County Public Library. QuestionPoint is a library-to-library system for responding to, tracking and managing questions from patrons via the Web. It also provides libraries with tools to add simple links from the library's portal to support a locally branded and customizable question-and-answer service. The system links you and your customers to a worldwide network of library experts in various fields to tackle your most difficult queries.

QuestionPoint comes in two packages. The "Basic" package allows subscribers to conduct chat sessions, track and manage e-mail queries, route questions to other institutions within a local group or consortium, compile a local knowledge base of frequently-asked-- questions, and customize the whole package so it bears your library's name and logo. The "Full" package offers this functionality plus a set of local reference management tools, and integrated access to hundreds of institutions in the global cooperative network of participating libraries.

Discounts are available for libraries that commit to answering questions for other institutions, edit records in the Knowledge Base, and/or contribute question/answer pairs to the Knowledge Base. The pricing is also intended to encourage groups to join. All subscribers have unlimited access to the system, and load balancing on the system keeps any one library from having to take too many questions.

Why is OCLC involved in this type of service? More than 30 years ago the founding members of OCLC revolutionized library operations by allowing one librarian's cataloging to be shared cooperatively with many other institutions. QuestionPoint takes that principle of cooperative library services into the reference arena, encouraging librarians to share the results of their intellectual effort with other institutions, and, in turn, to benefit from others' intellectual effort. Libraries were online when most people had no idea of what "online" meant. Today, with virtual reference, we are poised to use technology cooperatively to serve our customers even better.

Copyright Ohio Library Association Spring 2002
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved