Answer Board Librarians - Recently Updated Pages

Slam the Boards!

BillAHML — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:46:42 CST

The next "Slam" is Thursday, December 10!

BACKGROUND:
Very briefly, "Slam the Boards" is an attempt to get reference librarians to provide answers on popular "Answer Board" sites like Yahoo Answers, WikiAnswers, AskVille, etc. We also make it clear that the questions have been answered by librarians. This gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our question-answering skills to users who may not realize that librarians provide reference services. For more information, see the original posting below.

Let's make "Slam the Boards!" monthly (9/17/07)

(Scroll down for the original "Slam the Boards" posting from August)

OK, it's one week later. Still answering questions? Any answers turning into "Best Answers?" Just a few thoughts that have come along:

Recurrence

Let's keep this thing going!

The comments I've seen and received seem to suggest that a lot of librarians would like to make "Slam the Boards" a regular event. A couple of people have suggested making it monthly. So let's do it.

In the interest of making things easy to remember, I suggest that the 10th of each month be "Slam the Boards" day. That way it'll naturally rotate days of the week (and even hit a weekend now & then). Remember, if you can't make the specific day, then pick up questions when you can. The idea is to stay involved and promote reference services.

Let's also be realistic...we all put a lot of time into the 9/10 event, which was a great way to announce ourselves, with some folks answering well over 25 questions. We can't do that every month, so if you did 15 questions on 9/10, think about 5-10 on 10/10. If you did 10, aim for 3-5, etc. Unless you want to do 15-20 again, then go for it! And of course, just remember to pick up questions here & there whenever you have the chance, just to keep a baseline of involvement.

Networking

Caleb also suggested setting up a chat environment to allow inter-librarian communication during the events, so I'll look into that a bit (open to any suggestions on how best to implement this!).

In terms of more traditional communications, why don't some slammers get together at Internet Librarian for a dine-around? Unfortunately, I won't be able to be there this year, but it'd be cool to hear what kind of ideas for non-traditional promotion of reference come out of a meeting over good food & drink--I've always liked Stokes Adobe (http://www.stokesrestaurant.com) and Montrio Bistro (http://www.montrio.com) . If it works in Monterey, then try it again at Computers In Libraries. And PLA. And ALA.

Original posting (August '07):

Slam the Boards!

Librarians invade the "Answer" sites

Monday, 9/10/07--All Day

Supporting Wiki: http://answerboards.wetpaint.com

I'd like to invite any and all interested librarians to be a little bold and have a little fun by going to online "Answer" sites, such as:

Yahoo Answers
Amazon's Askville
The WikiPedia Reference Desk

(see a list of others at http://answerboards.wetpaint.com/page/Registry+of+Answer+Boards?mail=1127)

Once there, let's answer!

I envision a day-long answer fest. Answer as many questions as you feel you can. 5...10...20...you decide. Just try to do what we do well--provide answers from authoritative resources.

...and then MARKET!

This means making it clear that this question was answered by a librarian/library professional/etc. End each answer with the mention your own library, your VR service, etc. Add the link. Mention that readers should consider their own libraries, too. Promote it to local media. Keep in mind how many people don't even realize that libraries offer reference services. Let's surprise and delight them with our quality.

I'd like hundreds of librarians to do this. Thousands? Why not?

Be clear...you'll almost certainly be helping patrons who aren't yours, but I see this as an opportunity to make the reference librarian community more visible. I'd like to see a number of us remain engaged in the answer services, on the chance that the users will have us in the backs of their minds when they have questions they don't want everyone to see. As such, I'm not expecting to see a huge "blip" in our reference/VR stats because of this. But who knows?

The point is to meet some folks where they otherwise wouldn't expect us.

What to do next?

First of all, pass this message along to anyone who might remotely be interested.

Second, this is a very informal "action," so you can just mark the date and start answering, but you may also want to visit the Wiki and put your name up as a participant: http://answerboards.wetpaint.com/page/Participating+Librarians. I'm very lonely there right now!

While you're on the wiki, share. Think of good marketing "tags," signatures, etc. that we can use.

Most of all, visit the various answer sites, see if you need to set up an account. Try answering a few questions. A couple of us have already done this and we've already got a few "Best Answers" under our belts. See the "Exemplary Answers" section of the Wiki. Post one if you've got one!

Then, on September 10, get ready to "Slam the Boards!"

--Bill Pardue

Registry of Answer Boards

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:01:07 CST

Anyone can ask, anyone can answer

AnswerBag
AnswerPool
Ask MetaFilter (registration fee required)
Askville (Amazon)
Naver (Korean language search engine where Answer Boards originated)
CantFindOnGoogle (registration required to answer)
The Straight Dope Message Board
Wikipedia Reference Desk
Yahoo Answers (the biggie!)
- Point and Levels system
Fluther.com (registration required)
ChaCha (registration required to answer)
Yedda (registration required to answer)
Wikia from JimmyWales of wikipedia fame
WikiAnswers (second largest Q&A site and growing!)
TweetQA (a Q&A "filter" for Twitter)
Mahalo Answers (registration required)

Anyone can ask, a few people can answer

JustAnswer
Mosio QnA (text messaging answer board)
NowNow
uclue
AllExperts
Aardvark (send an SMS, get an answer from a friend or friend-of-a-friend)

Participating Librarians

lcfowler — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:19:35 CDT

8/13/07--Recently removed a number of "targetalert" tags, which apparently only display in firefox and create broken image links in IE. If you insert specialized tags, please test in multiple browsers. Thanks! --Bill Pardue

Sara Weissman, Morris County Library, NJ
Connie Masson, St. Vrain Valley School District, Longmont, CO
Kris Johnson, AskColorado Coordinator, Denver, CO askkrisjohnson@yahoo.com

Rhonda Fisher, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, PA rfisher2@pct.edu
- Check out my blog at http://morphedlibrarian.blogspot.com/
Theresa C. Stanley, Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ tcstanley@pima.edu
Nadine M. Flores, Echo Park Branch, LAPL, Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles, CA nflores@lapl.org
Regina Stemmer, Houston Public Library, Texas regina.stemmer@cityofhouston.net
Joel Bangilan, Houston Public Library, Tx, joel.bangilan@cityofhouston.net
Glynis Wray, Ocean County Library, New Jersey, gwray@oceancountylibrary.org
Jack Tegel, Joliet Public Library, Illinois, jtegel@joliet.lib.il.us
Denise Kuhr, Villa Park Public Library, Illinois, dkuhr@linc.lib.il.us
Sharyn Heili, Marathon County Public Library, Wausau, WI sharyn.heili@mail.co.marathon.wi.us
Lisa Holmes, Christchurch City Libraries, New Zealand, lisa.holmes@ccc.govt.nz

See my Yahoo Answers at http://tinyurl.com/2aa8jl

Bill Pardue, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, bpardue@ahml.info
See my Yahoo Answers at http://tinyurl.com/2lokkf
Pam Leffler, Carol Stream Public Library, pleffler@cslibrary.org
Steev Baker, Kewaskum Public Library, Wisconsin bakers@mwfls.org
Joy Schwarz, Winnefox Library System, winnefox@yahoo.com
See my Yahoo Answers at http://tinyurl.com/3d6qca
Beth Cackowski, QandANJ.org, cackowski@sjrlc.org
Julie Strange, Maryland AskUsNow!, jstrange@askusnow.info
- check out my Yahoo! Answers
Laura L. Barnes, Illinois Waste Managment and Research Center Library, lbarnes@wmrc.uiuc.edu
See my Yahoo Answers at http://preview.tinyurl.com/2fpdcb
Jackie Borin, Cal State San Marcos Library, jborin@csusm.edu
Paty Bustamante, Houston Public Library, hlptrr@yahoo.com
Beth Schetroma, James V. Brown Library, bschetroma@jvbrown.edu
Michael Mulholland, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, mmulholl@ahml.info
Ross McPhee,Kingsley College, rmcphee@kingsley.edu.au
Vicky Chase, Lucy Robbins Welles Library, Newington, CT, vchase@newingtonct.gov
Sue Schneider, Lucy Robbins Welles Library, Newington, CT, sschneider@newingtonct.gov
Prudence Fallon, Assistant Director, Tiverton Library Services, RI, assistantdirector@tivertonlibrary.org
Caleb Tucker-Raymond, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR, calebt@multcolib.org
Rochelle Carr, Fresno County Public Library, Fresno, CA, rochelle.carr@fresnolibrary.org
Enquire Librarians (UK) as a service, j.john@oclcpica.org
Larissa Moebs, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL, lmoebs@icc.edu
Debbie Griggs, New Lenox Public Library, dgriggs@newlenoxlibrary.org
Nicole Carter (MLIS student) University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada nicolecarter@yahoo.com
Lorelle Anderson, FAMU College of Law Library, Orlando, FL, lorelle.anderson@famu.edu
Jessica Johnson, Kenton County Public Library, Covington, KY, jessica.johnson@kentonlibrary.org and erewhon77@yahoo.com
Roseann Hara Polashek, BA, JD, MLIS, Yonkers Riverfront Library, Yonkers, NY rpolashek@ypl.org -And don't forget to check out my librarian's blog at: Roseann-the-Librarian.blogspot.com for some fun and informative sites!
Stephen Francoeur, Baruch College, New York, NY stephen_francoeur@baruch.cuny.edu
Sarah Houghton-Jan, LibrarianInBlack.net librarianinblack@gmail.com
Heather Scalf, University of Texas Arlington, scalf@uta.edu
Amanda Pape, Tarleton State University (Texas), pape@tarleton.edu
Daniel Thom, Queens Library,dthom@queenslibrary.org
Naperville Public Library, Naperville, Illinois
Spokane County Library District, Spokane, Washington, kbrandt@scld.org
Holly Sammons, Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, NY sammons@onlib.org
Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN ask@acpl.info
Emily Papagni, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR, emilyp@multcolib.org
Adam Steele, Kent State University Library, Kent, Ohio. absteele@kent.edu
Rosalie Bork, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Arlington Heights, Illinois rbork@ahml.info
Kate Ganski, UWM Libraries, Milwaukee, WI ganski-at-uwm.edu
Sean Davis, EVPL, Evansville, IN: www.evpldos.wordpress.com, seand@evpl.org
Tori Tracy, New Lenox Public Library, New Lenox, IL vtracy@newlenoxlibrary.org
Anna-Stina Axelsson, Regional Library of Stockholm, Sweden, anna-stina.axelsson@kultur.stockholm.se (will slam at least one Swedish board!)
Alicia Naab, Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, OH anaab@cpl.org & NEO-RLS Virtual Reference Librarian, OH.
Deb Sommer, OCLC Questionpoint, Virtual Reference Librarian, IL sommerd@oclc.org
Monica Harris, Oak Park Public Library, YA Librarian, mharris@oppl.org
Brian Smith, Prairie Area Library System, IL brians@palsnet.info
Martha Farley Berninger, Reference and Loan Library, Madison, WI martha.berninger@dpi.state.wi.us
Sarah Krygier, Young Adult Librarian, Solano County Library skrygier at snap.lib.ca.us
Nancy McClements, Reference Librarian, Univ. of Wiscosin-Madison nmcclements@library.wisc.edu
Lesley Williams, Head of Reference Evanston Public Library lawilliams@cityofevanston.org
Renee Ponzio, Reference Services Manager, LEPMPL, Eau Claire WI. reneep@eauclaire.lib.wi.us
Dallas DiLeo, MSLS, Pittsburgh PA dileod@gmail.com
Chantiny, Martha, MLS, University of Hawaii, Honolululibrary.manoa.hawaii.edu
Ann Kucera, MLS, Baker College of Auburn Hills, MI ann.kucera@baker.edu
Beth Johns, MLIS, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, MIbmjohns@svsu.edu
Steven Bailey, Reference Librarian, King County Library System (WA), sbailey@kcls.org
Kristen Pool, AfterDark Project Coordinator, KnowItNow Online Reference Service of Ohio, kristen.pool@neo-rls.org
Susan Corl, Head of Reference Services, Holmes County District Public Library (OH) scorl@holmeslib.org
Saima Kadir, Houston Public Library, formerly of DePaul University Libraries, Chicago; saima.kadir@cityofhouston.net
Jacquie Foster, MLIS, Reference/Instruction Librarian, California State University-Chico JSFoster@csuchico.edu; and Butte Community College fosterja@butte.edu
Donna Terpack-Palter, MSIS, TX, terpackpalterdm[at]yahoo.com ... see myYahoo! Answers
LeEtta Schmidt, MLS, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, lschmidt@lib.usf.edu
Karen Docherty, Ask a Librarian Coordinator, Maricopa Community Colleges (AZ), karen.docherty@riosalado.edu
Michael Braun Hamilton, L-Net (Oregon's Virtual Reference service) volunteer, michamilton@gmail.com
Jonathan Betz-Zall, Highline Community College Library, jbetzzall@highline.edu, andhttp://ecolibrarian.org

Amanda Brewer, Beaufort Branch Library, Beaufort, SC abrewer@bcgov.net, http://www.beaufortcountylibrary.org

Michelle Rosenberg, Winnefox Library System, Oshkosh, WIill.maven@yahoo.com
- Check out my Yahoo Answers at http://tinyurl.com/3y6q9y

Meghann Gardner, Sewickley and Moon Public Libraries, Sewickley and Moon, PA - gardnerm@einetwork.net
Patricia Memmott, MSI (LIS), QuestionPoint Backup Staff, librarianpm[at]gmail.com.
Wendy S. Greenwood, MLS, wgreen@ghpl.org Grandview Heights Public Library, Reference Department Manager, Columbus OH http://www.ghpl.org. Also a librarian for KnowItNow Online Reference Service of Ohio.
Barbara Holland, MLS-Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn NY
Sandra Ruth, Lorain Public Library, Ohio and KnowitNow operator , sruth@lpls.info
Jenna Rinalducci, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA, jrinaldu@scad.edu
Mitchell L. Silverman, BA, JD, student, FSU College of Information; Senior Reference Administrator (volunteer), Internet Public Library. mls06h@fsu.edu
Jessica Langlois, Reference and YA Librarian, Middletown Public Library, RI
(indulging from home on Monday). jessica@coollibrarian.com and http://coollibrarianblog.blogspot.com
Amanda Holling, Business Librarian, Charleston County Public Library, SC http://businessnotesonline.blogspot.com / [lastname]a@ccpl.org
Renee Buker, Outreach Services Librarian, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Jared Hoppenfeld, USF Tampa Library, jhoppenf@lib.usf.edu
Amy J. Kearns, MLIS, Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, amy at cjrlc.org. I blog at LibraryGarden.
Rebecca A. Cooper, MSLS, Society of the Cincinnati Library. rebeccacooper at Gmail.com. Infomancer.net
Clay Williams, Hunter College, City University of New York. clay.williams@hunter.cuny.edu
Mary Buck, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Virginia. Contact me at mbuck@crrl.org. Our web site is at librarypoint.org.
Erin Marsh, Youth Services Librarian, Ransom District Library, Plainwell, Michigan. Our website is www.ransomlibrary.org. E-mail: emarsh@ransomlibrary.org. MySpace: bookwoman24
Amy Harmon, Reference & Archives Librarian, Hudson Library & Historical Society, aharmon@hudson.lib.oh.us My blog: http://infowidget.blogspot.com

Susan Van Alstyne, MLIS, Internet Public Library volunteer.
Meg Westbury, Reference Librarian, University of California, San Diego, libmeg@miegel.org.
Cheri Campbell, MSLS, Lorain Public Library, Lorain, OH ccampbell@lpls.info and KnowItNow AfterDark librarian (alex2) www.knowitnow.org
Jennifer Gregory, Virtual Services Librarian, Boone County Public Library (KY) and Ask Why Ky Project Administrator
Fiona Turnbull, Librarian, Vehr Theological Library, Denver, CO fiona.turnbull@archden.org and infogoddess@hotmail.com AKA infogoddess_ at Yahoo Answers
Erika Soeterik, Childrens Reference Librarian, erika.soeterik@aucklandcity.govt.nz Auckland, New Zealand www.aucklandcitylibraries.com
Cathy Johnston, Information Services Librarian, Clarence Regional Library, Grafton, Australia, reference@crl.nsw.gov.au

Kelsey Smith, Adult Services Librarian, Olympia Timberland Library, Olympia, Washington, kelseybrarian@yahoo.com (kelseybrarian at yahoo answers, and I blog at fluffah.vox.com)

Chris Wade, Librarian, State Library of Victoria, Australia
Paul Hambelton, assistant, National Library of Scotland, Enquiries & Reference Services.
Vincci Kwong, Reference/Instruction Librarian, Indiana University South Bend, South Bend, IN
Ahniwa Ferrari: Virtual Reference Coordinator for Washington State - aferrari@secstate.wa.gov - on Yahoo! Answers
Kate Will, Public Services, Illinois LibraryStaffer here, LibraryStaffChick on Askville

Exemplary answers

Anonymous — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:20:38 CDT

Toot your own horn! Add examples of answers you're proud of or that can show others how to effectively promote your service through public answer boards.

What type of knowledge base must one have in the field of librarianship?
Is there one great source for finding the original publication date of a book?
Looking for a good book on marine animal?
Is there a website that gives you interesting facts about the countries in the world?
How do you find grants for going back to college after a serious disability?
Is there a diff between Dramatic and Melodramatic?
I need to know where I can get a professional book review on "the Crucible" besides the nytimes!
For my college i need names for pharmacy magazines
17.00 BST is what time in United States/ Central (dallas TX)?
Is there anything that can get whiteout out of a shirt? The stain has been there for a good 6 months... I did NOT get best answer on this one--check out what was the best! ;-Þ
What is the name of this photography book? This was just practice using my Yahoo account persona. I got voted best answer on my first entry. We librarians DO have something to offer!
I need info on Biodiesel and transesterification? This was the first question I answered on Yahoo Answers. I've answered six so far and have a Best Answers average of 100%.
How do I improve the look of my house through landscaping? 66 answers... asker gave 'Best Answer' and 5 stars!
In the book Wuthering Heights when Nellie is singing, what do mither and mools mean? This was a hard one, and I'm rather proud of it. :)
Help me choose my business name please? Opinions matter :)
Know anything about tribal colleges?

Press/Hype

BillAHML — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:34:49 CDT

LATEST BLOG ENTRIES (from Bloglines)

04/08/09
OCLC press release on the amazing 77% "Best Answer" rate posted by the UK's Enquire service on Yahoo!Answers.

12/12/08
Italian-language journal article on "Slam" and other approaches to "predatory reference."

5/27/08
Summary and PPT from a "Learning 2.0" presentation in New South Wales, Australia.

A posting from an Australian musem staffer taking note of the above presentation. I especially like his quote that museums (and, we might add, libraries!) “assert relevance, don’t assume relevance”

3/12/08
The Annoyed Librarian chimes in on WikiAnswers.

1/1/08
Interview with Sarah Long of the North Suburban Library System.

10/8/07
Interview about "Slam" and "predatory reference" on Library Garden.

9/10/07
A dissenting opinion from the Annoyed Librarian and another idea to boot.

9/7/07
A very lively discussion (and some debate!) on the Yahoo Answers Blog.

9/5/07
Information Today Weekly News Digest:
http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/wndReader.asp?ArticleId=37382

9/2/07
Podcast with Bill Pardue and Brian Smith of the Prairie Area Library System: http://www.palsnet.info/askaway/AskAwayBPpt2.mp3

(Part 1 covers the AskAway Illinois statewide VR project: http://www.palsnet.info/askaway/AskAwayBPpt1.mp3)
These are also posted on the new WebJunction Illinois site:
http://il.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=15876

8/31/07
Library Journal has noticed us!

8/28/07
See the 8/28 issue of Library Hotline

8/14/07
From American Libraries Direct:

Invade the Answer Sites
On Monday, September 10, librarians are invited to be a little bold and have a little fun by going to online “Answer” sites—such as Yahoo Answers, Amazon’s Askville, and the Wikipedia Reference Desk—and answer queries all day. Make it clear that your answer was provided by a library professional. Add a link to your own library, and suggest that readers should consider finding answers in their own libraries, too....

8/8/07

Marv Kaminsky graciously interviewed me on his LibVibe podcast. You can hear it at:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LibVibe/~5/142160310/LibVibe101_20070809.mp3

(I'm about 6 minutes in , but there's plenty of other good stuff!)

Visit his site at http://libvibe.blogspot.com/.

Question Feeds

BillAHML — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:35:02 CDT

Recent Y!A questions with "Does anyone know..."

Recent Y!A questions with "Is there anyone who knows..."

Recent Y!A questions with "I need to find out..."

Recent Y!A questions with "I need to know..."

customer services and the collection

Anonymous — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:48:45 CDT

Anonymous
Aug 16 2007, 12:02 PM EDT
I already do this on Yahoo Answer... I provide resources and then always suggest the person go their local public library where a librarian will happily provide the information the person is looking for. I almost always get a best answer for it too. woo hoo.. 10 extra points. People Like to get resources more than they like to hear ours expounding on opinions.
Great idea. I am SO on board.

BillAHML
Aug 22 2007, 2:43 PM EDT
Fantastic! Just for a twist, you may also want to try different boards (I admit I've been ignoring those in favor of the "easy pickins" over at Yahoo, so I need to diversify a bit).--Bill

MariaLolo
Oct 26 2008, 7:28 PM EDT
if i do not talk english well?

BillAHML
Oct 27 2008, 1:21 PM EDT

"if i do not talk english well?"

Yahoo Answers does have sites in other countries and in other languages...look for the flags at the bottom of the main Yahoo Answers page (http://answers.yahoo.com). The best thing is probably to work in the languages that you're most comfortable using. Also, you don't just have to use Yahoo Answers. Is there a question/answer site specific to your country or specifically in your language? It would be good to see librarians giving answers there, too!

Tips and Tricks

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:07:48 CST

General Tips

Make sure to use a signature or tag line every time you answer a question!
Have a bias towards online sources, but don't be afraid to recommend or quote from print sources. If you're recommending a print source, you should probably be sure that it's something that's widely held (like Gale stuff, etc.)
With regard to subscription databases, I think we should use them, by all means! Try saying something like:

"According to the XYZ reference site, the answer to your question is 'abc.' XYZ is only available through library subscriptions. Please check if your local library subscribes. Even if they don't, they may have similar tools that are just as useful."

...or something like that.

I think it's good for us to show off the fact that we've got cool tools that go "way beyond google." Flex our muscles a bit!

Research

Many a times questions have already been answered elsewhere. To find existing answers or to conduct research, you may want to use a Question and Answer search engine - Snappy Fingers
To view the buzz around a particular topic you may want to use a search engine that searches forums - Omgili

Yahoo Answers

When you go to the "Answer" section, use the subject guide on the left to get a better "density" of answerable questions, otherwise you'll be sorting through a lot of social questions (like "what's your favorite shampoo?" or "should Lindsay Lohan go to rehab again?"). Unless the social questions are your thing! Anyway, I've had good luck with the "Education & Reference" category, as well as the "Science & Mathematics." I've seen others digging into the "Arts & Humanities/Books & Authors" subcategory.

Askville (Amazon)

Nothing yet, care to add something?

Wikipedia Reference Desk

Sign up for an account (easy and free) and put a little bit about yourself on your User page (which will have the name User:Yourname)

Signatures and Tag Lines

Anonymous — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:06:43 CDT

Librarians- What don't they know!Suggest tag lines and signatures that promote your library or libraries in general.

Librarians ... the ultimate search engines

Have a question you don't want the whole world to see?
Find your local Library at http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html
Librarians--Ask Us, We Answer!
Find your local Library at http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html
If you need more help, just contact your local librarian.
Many library web sites have a link where you can chat online with a librarian 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Academic_main.html
Librarians--We eat questions for breakfast!
Find your local Library at http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html
Libraries - because you NEED to KNOW! Ask a Librarian at your local library
Librarians--Yep, we're here!
Find your local Library at http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html
Librarians provide power tools to the people. Ask a Librarian at your local library
The Library is a resource, not a building. Librarians are where you are - online!
Librarians: Make them your FAVORITE search engines.

WikiAnswers AnswerThon

BillAHML — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:39:10 CST

It's official. WikiAnswers (http://wiki.answers.com) is going to have an answer-thon on the weekend of March 1-2, during which "registered contributors will answer as many questions as possible over 48 hours, sharing their knowledge and competing for prizes. Answers must be original work and can address unanswered questions in any of WikiAnswers' 2,406 categories. Participants can also correct or improve existing incorrect answers."

See more details at http://ir.answers.com/releaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=294936

If you do sign up for a WikiAnswers account, make sure to put "Slam the Boards" in the "Where I'm From" box in your settings page. If a "Slam" librarian wins a prize, they'll note that in their publicity.

Just a note. Their wording stated that "Answers must be original work." I asked Alison Minaglia of Answers.com if that included what librarians usually do--quote and cite third-party sources (as opposed to replying from personal expertise). I was assured that was fine. Specifically, she said: "Sure… they can quote/compile and then cite it, though ideally, we’d prefer they add something or weave it together/edit a little instead of simply copying verbatim. In other words, say 'According to XXXXX, the solution may be to…' as opposed to just copying and pasting the exact text. Personal experience/expertise is absolutely not required."

So, will some librarians jump in and answer like crazy?

Oh, the prizes:

The FIRST PLACE winner, who answers the most questions in two days, will be crowned our AnswerThon Champion and receive a $500 Amazon gift certificate.

The SECOND PLACE winner will receive a $250 Amazon gift certificate.

The THIRD PLACE winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift certificate

All winners, including the next 10 runners up, will receive WikiAnswers T-shirts.

--Bill

Getting Recognition From the Boards

BillAHML — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:14:30 CST

A couple of answer boards have taken notice of "Slam the Boards" and have taken steps to recognize librarians. Here's what you need to do to participate.

Yahoo Answers: YA will bestow Knowledge Partner status to any Slamming Librarian who requests it. Please contact me for details (bpardue@ahml.info)

WikiAnswers: (Part of answers.com) Is considering creating a "Slam the Boards" logo for any librarian who affiliates him/herself with Slam. You need to create your WikiAnswers profile and make sure to put "Slam the Boards" as the "Where You're From" info on the "Settings" page (use the link on the left once you've logged in, or go to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:preferences).

Remote Library Resources

cmasson50 — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:04:34 CST

Humanities

Biography

Directories

Education

Employment

Entertainment

Geography

Home

BillAHML — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:29:51 CDT

This is an idea-sharing wiki for librarians who post to answer boards, like Answers.com's WikiAnswers (http:wiki.answers.com), Yahoo Answers or Amazon's Askville. We recognize that these sites can help promote the idea that librarians are active and dynamic participants in the web 2.0 community, and we're not just waiting for the questions to come in!

Chat and Networking

BillAHML — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:12:46 CDT

This is a chat room for librarians participating in "board slamming" to discuss their activities with one another. It's not intended as a reference service point for users, patrons, customers, etc.

After the event

KristenKIN — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:51:35 CDT

So, it's Tuesday morning and you've typed your fingers to the bone!
Let's share our experiences. What boards did you work on? What kind of answers did you encounter? Have you had any feedback? (This might take a few days). Most importantly, are you going to stay involved? There's no formal evaulation of "Slam the Boards," but this is your chance to tell your stories.

Well, I picked up about 25 questions yesterday (I know some folks did that by midday!). Added most of those to the QuestionPoint account (contact me if your'e interested in doing this). The tough part was digging through categories to find "real" questions, but if you look at what I finally did answer, it looks like an average day on the reference desk (or the VR service!). I also had one user contact me for follow-up. --Bill Pardue bpardue@ahml.info
From Kristen Pool, KnowItNow: At least 7 AfterDark librarians (Alex, Ian, Bentley, Chuck, McKenzie, Simon, and Alex2) answered 10 or more questions yesterday during the "Slam the Boards" event. I was only able to answer 5 questions on Yahoo! Answers during the day, but it was an interesting experience.

My first challenge was trying to create an avatar for my account. I finally gave up and went with the anonymous profile--I figured that character looked about as much like me as the bug-eyed pixies I could choose from in the avatar design area.

The second challenge was finding some questions to answer--I didn't think the goal was to use my expert researching skills to find info on topics as "What could I say to this guy who was hitting on me?" I found that if I went into the specific categories, I was able to find more "real" questions.

But this was also the first lesson I learned--people will ask just about anything of complete strangers on Y!A. If this is our patrons' experience with asking questions online, no wonder we get such strange questions. Knowing that this is their experience and probably their expectation, I think should make us less impatient with the kids who are just doing what they think they are supposed to do.

The third challenge, and some of the other AD Libs said they had this as well, was that I wanted to answer questions that no one had answered yet. But most questions got some sort of answer within just a few seconds! Not always good answers, but something. I started working on one question and by the time I found a good article in EBSCO, summarized a bit and copy and pasted the most relevant paragraph, and then submitted my answer, 5 other people had already answered! The only sources they cited were themselves.

Not that the answers they gave were all bad. This was the second lesson I learned--in this venue, it seems like patrons are glad for information from someone they believe has "street cred." I got the feeling that for most users, Y!A is more about social networking than actually getting info. And there seems to be no lack of people out there who think they have the street cred to answer just about anything--like one person named "been there before," who counselled a pregnant information seeker to go ahead and drink Coke; afterall, it hadn't harmed any of her kids.

And maybe this is why we get the opinion questions on KIN, or have kids so eager to have us just tell them in our own words--they don't understand our obsession, as librarians, to cite our sources. I don't think we can easily explain to our KIN patrons, in a way they'll really understand, why we're "wasting time" looking for expert info rather than just telling them what we think.

I have to say that I've become a little obsessed with earning a "best answer" rating, but haven't so far (although it I did get a couple "thumbs ups"). I hear that some of the AD Libs have merited the coveted "best answer" already. Maybe someday . . .

And that was probably another lesson I learned--even "just" on the Answer Boards, I really care about doing a good job, and I want some feedback about how I'm doing. I think this is why some of us feel bad when we search and search for a KIN patron and find something really great, and then they just disappear without even a thank you. And I think it's why some librarians decided that we should get on the Answer Boards and show that we can do a "better" job. It would be interesting to know whether the question askers thought we were all that much better . . .

Will I keep answering on Y!A? I think so. I definately prefer KIN that has a little more structure, but it is enjoyable for me. Besides, I haven't gotten my first "best answer" rating yet!

Remote Databases Resources

garyprice — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:38:34 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Tips on participating

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:12:04 CDT

Keep the tone friendly. We're not there to put the boards out of business (well, I'm not!). And we wouldn't.
Read this blog entry pointing out that we need to get to know the community we're interacting with.
In your tag/signature, mention your own library, but also mention sources that let readers find their own libraries. Consider:
- Libweb list of local libraries:
  http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Public_main.html
- NCES Public Library Locator:
  http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/librarysearch/
- UK Public Libraries on the web:
  http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/weblibs.html

Signing Up

BillAHML — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:22:12 CDT

A few people have asked how to sign up for "Slam the Boards!" In short, there is no sign up. This is an informal thing. You can just choose your service, create your account there and then just start answering. Practice a bit before 9/10, do a bunch on 9/10, and then keep doing them at whatever pace works for you after 9/10. That's it. If it goes well, maybe we'll do it again sometime.

Of course, you can click on the Join This Wiki button and be a more visible member of the Slam community. You can also add your name to the list of participating librarians, put up some links to "exemplary answers," but none of this is necessary (although I'd love to see more stuff there!).

Can't Make 9/10?

BillAHML — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:34:15 CDT

If you can't participate on 9/10, don't feel left out! We're promoting 9/10 in order to have a well-defined "event," but there will almost certainly be folks who want to have a "Slam the Boards" week. Hey, why not a month?

The point is to stay active and engaged in these communities well after the event. "Slam the Boards" is just an opportunity to raise awareness that the questions are out there and we can answer them. So make the party as big as you want to!

If this goes well enough, I envision repeating it sometime in the future, too.

--Bill