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TL 16.22.indd 26 Ontario School Library Association interaction. Some of the questions are sweetly funny ("I need help getting answers from my textbook but I don't have it with me… can u please help; can u help me prove read my intro?") while others demonstrate a maturity and eagerness that is inspiring to the teacher-librarians who staff the service. Here's a smattering from 4ReSrch: ◆ What does the term "economic apathy" mean? ◆ I am doing research on HPV aka human papillomavirus and I was wondering where I could get very detailed and legitimate information on this topic. ◆ I need help with fi nding good sites, which show info on what Canadian astronauts have said about planets as they viewed them from space. ◆ I have to talk about three diff erent international agreements and why they are necessary to protect the environment. So one of them I was thinking of doing is Convention on Biological Diversity. However I'm having some trouble understanding the concept. ◆ I need help with citation if that's ok. Th ey asked us to cite our essay using MLS so that includes in-text, 1. I've seen a lot of ppl use footnotes so I wanted to know if I can too (like is that also MLA) and if so if I'm doing it right. AskON uses exit surveys at the end of help sessions and even commissioned a comprehensive outside examination of the quality of help off ered. A Grade 8 student goes to his local library website and sees that askON online research help is available. Th e student has a speech in fi ve weeks on fetal alcohol syndrome and it is clear he wants a book, not web articles. askON staff checks the local library catalogue and fi nds a book that looks helpful, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome by Amy Nevitt. Th e book is at a branch in another town so askON staff tells the student how to get a PIN number from the library so he can make an online request to have the book sent to his local branch. Expert analysis Th e guiding principle of askON is that it provides "better information than you could have found on your own." A formal evaluation of the pilot phase of the service (January 8-March 31, 2008) was released in June 2008. It was based on 500 random transcripts (333 from the college/university service and 167 from the public library service). Th e analysis found the service met its stated goal 72.5% of the time. Th e key fi ndings found that askON: ◆ Provides visitors with high quality service; ◆ Successfully helps academic visitors fi nd better information than they could have on their own 75.4% of the time; Transcript of a typical exchange (all identifying information has been removed) Length of interaction Visitor status Question asked 0:15:41 Student, K-12 I need info on John Labatt and tommy burns XX:45:35: info: Please wait for askON staff to respond. XX:47:11: info: You are now chatting with 'askON Staff' XX:47:33: Visitor: Hi XX:47:44: askON Staff: Hi Visitor. Is this a school project? XX:47:55: Visitor: yes, i have to write and essay XX:48:19: askON Staff: A biographical essay on these two men? About their lives & what they did, that sort of thing? XX:48:26: Visitor: yes XX:48:32: askON Staff: What grade is this for? XX:48:43: Visitor: 10 history XX:49:XX: askON Staff: And what kind of sources are you looking for? Books, articles, websites? XX:49:30: Visitor: anything XX:50:05: askON Staff: I'm not familiar with Tommy Burns, can you tell me a little about him so I know I'm on the right track? XX:51:06: Visitor: he was a Canadian boxing champ XX:52:32: askON Staff: Here is a good little biography of John Labatt, from a reputable source - I'll send the link XX:52:39: askON Staff: www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.sp?BioId=41619' XX:53:22: Visitor: that's labatt?? XX:54:13: askON Staff: Is there a different Labatt you are looking for? This is the Labatt who established the brewery in London, ON XX:54:31: Visitor: no, I thought you were sending Tommy Burns XX:56:05: askON Staff: I'm still looking… XX:56:12: Visitor: ok XX:56:59: askON Staff: Can you tell me when your project is due? XX:57:19: Visitor: 2 weeks XX:57:49: askON Staff: ok thanks. XX:58:43: askON Staff: Here is a link to a picture and brief description of Tommy Burns on another good website… not much info, but the picture could be useful… XX:58:55: askON Staff: www.collectionscanada.c.ca/05/0527/05270306 XX:59:26: Visitor: yeah, that's good XX:01:10: askON Staff: I can't locate any books specifi cally on either of these men in your library catalogue. For book sources, I suggest visiting the reference section of your local library, and seeing what Canadian encyclopedias they have, or checking out Canada's Who's Who - these books have bios of Canadian people. Ask a librarian and they will be able to point them out for you. But I'm still looking for articles/websites - do you have time to wait while I search? XX:01:55: Visitor: no, that's good. I can go tomorrow. Thanks XX:02:16: askON Staff: Ok, good luck. And come back and ask again if you need more help later on! XX:02:33: askON Staff: Please tell us how we did today by taking our survey. Just click on the 'close' button in the upper right hand corner of the chat box to end the session and take our survey. You will be able to request a transcript of our session there.