This Thursday AskColorado is celebrating its seventh anniversary. Since Sept. 2, 2003, AskColorado, your statewide cooperative virtual reference service, has quietly and efficiently answered nearly 300,000 questions from students, parents, business owners, military personnel, and other residents of Colorado. Thank you to all Colorado librarians, who, over the years, have helped us to make AskColorado the high quality, personalized service that it is today.
Early on it was recognized by Colorado libraries that despite the plethora of easily-obtainable information via the Internet, people were having trouble finding the “right information” and credible information. To address this problem, you joined forces to create AskColorado. Many librarians in the state, however, are not aware that not only was AskColorado one of the first statewide, multi-library-type, virtual reference services to open in the U.S., it remains one of only fifteen or so states that continue with such a service today.
“While states such as Massachusetts and California have discontinued their services, ours continues today to offer high-level service, along with other states such as Ohio, Maryland, and New Jersey,” said Kris Johnson, AskColorado Coordinator. “Our per-capita usage rivals that of those larger states.”
“We offer the human touch to an oftentimes impersonal Internet, and help put people in touch with information that they would otherwise be unable to locate themselves,” added Johnson. “And judging by our numbers, people need us!”
Recent comments from customers highlight the need and usefulness of AskColorado:
- Love that I can access a librarian 24/7 as I often am in urgent need for help when the regular library is closed and I can’t find what I need on the library website. Great friendly and quick service. Very impressed.
- I was so happy to find this service! I was lost navigating a variety of sites and the librarian helped me find the one I needed for my paper.
- The human touch was there. Doesn’t get any better than that!
Over the years, residents from every county in Colorado have logged in, with nearly 25% of those questions coming from rural areas. Questions range the gamut, from homework help for kids, to how to start a small business for adults. Recent research questions include:
- I am trying to find research studies on effective classroom routines or how such routines help with classroom management.
- What is the amount of water the entire state of Colorado uses in one day?
- I am researching the effectiveness of LinkedIn as a job search tool. I have lots of short articles but no substantial research. Help!
- I am sending invitations to our state senators and representatives. How do I address them on the envelope?
AskColorado has also received its share of whimsical questions:
- Can you help me find an article that has a list of the top 500 fictional villains…the evilest!?
- What is the circumference of a moose?
Interesting questions received on the service are posted at the AskColorado Twitter account nearly daily. AskColorado also participates in popular social networking sites, including Facebook and Delicious.
The AskColorado service works on a model similar to public radio: it is grant-funded and paid for by member libraries. Federal monies through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) are supplied via the Colorado State Library, a unit of the Colorado Department of Education. In addition, member libraries contribute financially and through staff support.
Libraries throughout Colorado of every type — public, academic, school and specialized libraries — contribute money to pay for the software and 24/7 service. Local libraries also provide the staff time to work online with Colorado students and residents. If your library would like to join, or you would like additional information, please contact Kris Johnson.
Website: http://www.askcolorado.org
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AskColorado
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AskColorado
Operations Manager, Kris Johnson, johnson_k@cde.state.co.us, 303-866-6922
Congratulations AskColorado!
Thank you for this wonderful tribute to our reference service, I’m proud to be part of this unique network of librarians. The camaraderie can’t be beat!
One of my favorite patron comments… this is great! thank you so much! But hey are you human or one of those question answering ‘bot things?
I was there when we started this, still here through the different software and the glitches that we have had. Glad to be able to help those that are looking for help. Yes, we are real and no I am not in Kansas!
I’m chuckling over “what is the circumference of a moose?” Of course now I’m trying to figure out how to answer that…
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080415182153AAlwSDN
For anyone who cares to know…my brain hurts after reading this thought out answer to “what is the circumference of a moose?” I’m glad I did not get this question because I don’t believe I could have put together an answer that is quite this good!
This was a tricky and fun question, and I think our response to the patron was better than Yahoo. Generally, there is not “one answer” to the questions we receive on AskColorado. We often receive questions asking for very specific data or statistics, only to find that the information collected is not exactly as the patron would like. This was the case with the moose question. The librarian first had a conversation with the patron, explaining that this measurement could vary, moose to moose. The patron then narrowed it to an “average bull moose.” The librarian searched and sent several natural history sites (including: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/moose.html & http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/moose.php) then continued the conversation with the patron saying the circumference was not a measurement cited, noting “they measure the height and the width of the antlers mostly.” Educational for both the patron and the librarian!
Do you have a presence on twitter? I can’t seem to find AskColorado Celebrates Seven Years, Nears 300,000 Questions « Colorado Libraries on there and I would like to connect with you there. I like your writing style, thanks Martine Okafor