AARL

AskNow! - Evaluating an Australian collaborative chat reference service: a project manager's perspective

Fran Wilson and Jacki Keys
fwilson@nla.gov.au.nospam, jkeys@nla.gov.au.nospam (please remove '.nospam' from addresses).

Abstract

AskNow! online answers Australia-wide, the first nation-wide chat reference service, has been a successful exercise in collaboration and cooperation.

This article examines some of the lessons learnt, the challenges of collaboration and possible future directions. AskNow!, an initiative of the Council of Australian State Libraries (CASL), commenced as a twelve-month pilot using 24/7 Ref software in August 2002, staffed by national, state and territory libraries.

Over 40 000 enquiries, exit surveys and system reports provided client demographics and user satisfaction ratings indicating AskNow! was well received by regional and urban Australians. In March 2004, CASL endorsed AskNow! as an ongoing service.

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