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This Is Auburn Auburn University Libraries LibGuides

LADC Student Employees Guide

This website is intended to provide information regarding the various tasks, duties, and functions performed by student workers at the LADC.

Libanswers logo: a small orange cloud with a white question bubble and a white reply bubble centered in the middle of the orange cloud.

LibAnswers                                                                          

LibAnswers is the program that Auburn uses to evaluate the usage and staffing needs of the library.  The more interactions recorded, the more employees we are allowed to hire.  The fewer interactions recorded, the fewer employees we are allowed to hire.  This is why it is crucial to record every interaction in LibAnswers.

an icon consisting of black lines on a white background where three simple images of people are connected in a circle. The people icons make up three points of a triangle with the circle connecting them to the bottom left person of the triangle to the top person and then from the top person to the bottom right person. The circle is complete by connecting the lower two people of the triangle together with the lines of the circle making a perfect circle interrupted only by the people. In the center of the circle is two chat bubbles; one mostly overlayed on top of the other. The chat bubble has three dots inside. The originating "chat" triangle shows that one bubble is being spoken from the person on the left and the back chat bubble that is mostly hidden shows that chat bubble is being spoken from the person on the lower right.

INTERACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE RECORDED IN LIBANSWERS.

WHAT YOU SHOULD RECORD

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT RECORD
  • ALL QUESTIONS OR INQUIRIES
    • Anything from "Where is the bathroom?" to "Is Amy in?" to "Do you have any books about X,Y, or Z?".
    • Patrons stopping by to see library staff or wishing to make an appointment.
  • ALL INTERACTIONS WITH PATRONS
    • Checking out books (whether they speak to you or not).
    • Picking up books from the Reserve Shelf.
    • Wordless interactions from Patrons that involve assisting them in any way.
    • Showing a Patron where a book is found on the shelves
    • Showing a Patron how to look up something on the computer
    • Assisting Patrons in any way.
  • People walking in and out of the library.
  • Friends stopping by to chat.
  • Academic staff taking a tour of the library.
  • Courier services picking up or dropping off mail and packages.
  • Cleaning crews working
  • Suggestive eye movements from patrons
  • Patron to Patron interactions
  • Lists of what foods and drinks people bring into the library (that would be weird.)

IF YOU ASSIST A PATRON IN WORD, ACTION, OR DEED, LOG IT IN LIBANSWERS!

an icon made of black lines over a white background of a rectangular, spiral notebook with three boxes next to three lines. The top box is checked. A book mark is poking out the bottom of the notebook and a pen is laying next to the notebook. All from a two-dimensional perspective.

AFTER ASSISTING A PATRON, LOG THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FROM THE INTERACTION INTO LIBANSWERS:

QUESTION ANSWERS
  • Type the question you were asked or select the pre-written category into which the question you were asked fits.
  • Describe what happened.
    • Do not write only "yes" or "no"
INTERACTION TYPE, LOCATION, & DURATION INTERNAL NOTE
  • Document whether the interaction was Face-to-Face, LibChat, text, email, etc..
  • Select where the interaction took place.
  • Select how long you spent assisting the patron.
  • Under "Internal Note" write your name in case the interaction noted needs to be referred to later or needs further attention

DON'T FORGET TO CLICK SUBMIT!

 

2-dimensional, gray line image of a person's face and neck facing right over a white background with a lightbulb of matching style overlaying the back of the head's cranium. The light bulb has lines emanating from it, also gray, with clusters of four gray dots mimicking sparks.

UNDERSTANDING THE "READ" SCALE
1 2 3 4 5 6
DIRECTIONAL ACTION REQUIRED SEARCH REQUIRED SEND TO AMY SEND TO AMY SEND TO AMY

Example:

- "Where's the Bathroom?"

- "Where is B6?"

- "Do you have a pencil?"

Example

- Anything having to be powered on.

- Printer needs paper

- Reserve items

- General library policy information

Example

- Looking up the title or author of a book.

- Showing a patron how to print or use the book scanner.

- Assistance with catalog or web searching

Example:

- Multiple sources need to be consulted, or

- if someone needs to be called in order to be fixed.

- Verifying citations or locating sources from a list of citations

Example:

- Substantial time/effort to find answers.

- Multiple resources used.

- Questions not typical of Circ or Reserve

Example:

- Whenever in-depth, specialized, time-consuming, and/or on-going research is needed.

- Questions cannot be answered on the spot.
Appointment Needed Appointment Needed Appointment Needed
  • No interaction is too small to record in LibAnswers!
  • Always record your name with every interaction!
  • Describe what happened rather than giving yes or no responses!
 Don't forget to click "Submit"!

 

LibAnswers Training

Libanswers is a reference program used by Auburn Library's reference staff to record and organize the various types of interactions and inquires made by students, faculty, staff, and the general public.  By recording the interactions and their nature, the reference staff is able to assess the use of services and information already available to the public, as well as assess whether there is any need to develop new services by giving recorded evidence of the public's need.

  • Libanswers should be a part of the tabs that appear when you first open Google Chrome.
  • Please interact with the slides below to familiarize yourself with the LibAnswers process.

 

Step-by-step Guide for Using LibAnswers

To access the LibAnswers database, open Google Chrome if it is not already open.

Once in Google Chrome, locate the bookmark that reads LibAnswers: Add Transaction

Log in to LibGuides using the username ladc@auburn.edu and the password architectur3

Before you begin recording your information, ensure that the dataset selection is set to LADC

Under the Question section, type in the contents of the patron issue or inquiry. Extra space is provided below to elaborate if need be.

Under the Answer section, type the contents of your response to the patron issue or inquiry

The Time Stamp section requires some more attention. Should your exchange with a patron be relatively short (such as helping them locate a book in the online catalog or providing them with directions), this selection should remain on the default, which is Current. However, should the exchange take more time and you need to add this entry some time after the exchange (such as helping a patron locate multiple books or walking someone through the printing process), then you should select the latter option, Edit Date/Time, and follow LibAnswers's prompts to enter the time closest to when you aided the patron.

Like the Dataset section, you will need to be sure that the Answered By section reads Auburn University, LADC

Under the Internal Note section, please type your name and the names of other student employees who assisted with this exchange

The Read Scale section also requires some more attention. This section helps rate the complexity of each of the patron exchanges we record. Please click on the information i following the scale for explanations and examples about each of the rating numbers. Once you have assessed the best fit for your situation, return to the Read Scale and click on the appropriate number.

The Question Type section requires a selection of how the question was received, The most common is Face to Face.

The Contact Point section requires a selection of the location in which the question was received. You should select LADC desk.

The Time Spent section requires a selection of how long the exchange lasted.

When all the entries have been filled, click Submit & Clear so that the page remains open, empty, and ready for the next entry when needed.