Why do Chat Reference Patrons Disconnect?

I spend a few hours a week working with the online chat service QANDANJ. It is very frustrating when you are trying to answer a question and come back to the chat and find that the patron has disconnected. What are the reasons for this?

• Are they so impatient and expect an answer instantly?
• Is it a technical glitch? - Maybe sometimes but not all the time
• Is the patron multitasking and forgetting about the online chat session?

Various Reference Questions Today

1. A retired mathematics professor wanted to get a copy of The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. He specifically asked for a large print edition. There is actually an ISBN and OCLC number for the large print edition published in 1990.

2. A chemist was researching the preparation of a specific glucoside. He searched the web version of Scifinder Scholar but could only find biotransformations to get at that substance, but was looking for a simple chemical reaction. My search of the web and client version of the database yielded the same result. I searched in general preparation of glucosides and found some very old appers from 1900-1950 that discussed a simple chemical reaction. Hopefully he can apply that to his desired substance.

3. A student was looking for a criticism of the painting "Sacrifice of Isaac".

4. A chemical engineering professor had a problem getting in the the web version of Scifinder and even sent me a screen shot documenting the problem. I forwarded it to the help desk at Chemical Abstracts who recommended she clear her cache. I will have to follow through on this tomorrow.

Do Industrial Researchers use Information Literacy Skills that they learned in College?

I tried to investigate this issue about two years ago, but hardly anyone answered my survey. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=VEPgxcssB81q4Nw_2baqV62A_3d_3d. Apparently industrial researchers don't want to cooperate with academics. So much effort is placed into information literacy in universities, but do professional use those skills? What is the sense of teaching skills to students if they don't use them once they leave academia. Industrial scientists need to keep up with developments in their field. If they are starting out on a new project, they must know that the work they are doing is new or else they could be infringing on another company's patent.

Made some changes to my NJIT Home Page

I had some time today so I made a few to changes to my NJIT Home Page. It is very simple with the only significant change being the inclusion of the professional picture that was taken a few weeks ago. I really need to hone my web authoring skills and improve that site.

Chemical Abstract Service Gets An A++ for Customer Service

I hope Bob Massie is reading this.

Chemical Abstracts Service was concerned when I reported that a majority of the users of Scifinder Scholar at NJIT preferred the old client version of Scifinder Scholar. I had a conversation today with Brooke Hummel Fred Winer, and Kurt Zielenbach about the vague complaints that I received about the web version. I also had Professor Sergiu Goren speak to them. He is a very competent teacher and researcher who first reported to me his preference for the client version.

It is nice to know that they are willing to listen to their customers. I know that CAS is trying very hard to keep all its customers satisfied. I have been in the library field for about 30 years and know that its impossible to keep all the people happy all of the time although we try. I guess this is the situation in any service orientated profession.

Lunch with the boss again

University Librarian, Richard Sweeney, makes it a point to take people out to lunch at the time of their birthdays. Since tomorrow is my birthday, Rich took me to Mix 27 for lunch. A few years ago DAvida took the rference staff to that restaurant. I made it my business not to talk about work related issues. We talked about the new baseball stadiums and some other recreational activities.

Started to Grade Papers in Environmental Engineering Class

Earlier this semester I taught classes to two sections of ENE 262, the introductory course. I recieved the papers submitted in one of the classes today. My role is to evaluate the information literacy skills of the students. I observed what references were used, how they were cited, and if the references were appropriate in answering the question that was posed to them. The students worked on their papers in teams of three. The information literacy skills will count as 10% of the grade for their paper.

Message Sent to NJIT users of Scifinder Scholar Today

Last Tuesday I posted a survey asking NJIT users of Scifinder Scholar on their preference for the client (old) version or web version of the database. 17 of 80 NJIT users answered the survey. No one has responded within the last three days. Here are the results:



4 – Strongly Prefer Web Version

3 – Prefer Web

1 – No preference

2 – Prefer Client

7 – Strongly prefer client.



As a result of this survey which indicates a slight preference for the client version. I am making the following change.



Effective immediately there will be one user for the client version and one for the web. I can keep this arrangement only if NJIT can keep two users to Scifinder Scholar. It is very possible that budgetary constraints may compel the library management to cut back to one user. If so, I will have to change this policy. Please keep the following thoughts in mind:



There are some enhancements that are not available in the client version:



Keep Me Posted

Session History Retention

Index Term linking



Please see this comparison of the two versions written by A. Ben Wagner of SUNY Buffalo. http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~abwagner/SFWebvsSFS-12-1.doc



If you want to access the client version off-campus, you must use the VPN. The web version can be used without the VPN.



If you still have the client software, you may still use it. If you need to reinstall the software, it may be downloaded at http://library1.njit.edu/njit-only/scifinder/sfs2007.exe



You will also need to download site.prf and place it in the C:\sfschlr folder that was created by the installation. You can get that file at http://library1.njit.edu/njit-only/scifinder/site.prf



It would be helpful to me and the staff at Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) if you provided specific examples of problems with the web version. I have found the people at CAS very responsive to concerns and suggestions of their customers.



If you can’t access one version, please try the other one. Please contact me if there are any questions or concerns.

Plaque Dedication Ceremony for Dana Knox

On December 11, 2008 there was a celebration of the life of Dana Knox in the Atrium of the Campus Center. Today there was a short plaque dedication ceremony dedication ceremony in the library for Dana. It was attended by friends and colleagues of Dana from the library, Provost's Office, Chemical Engineering Department and other parts of the university. The photo above is Dana's wife Petra with Don Sebastian, Interim Provost and Vice President of Research and Development at NJIT.

Determining Preferences for Scifinder Scholar

To follow up on yesterday's journal entry I am going to submit a survey to Scifinder Scholar users at NJIT. I will use Surveymonkey to ask my users which version they prefer:

1. Strongly prefer web version
2. Prefer web version
3. No preference
4.Prefer client version
5. Strongly prefere client version

Trying to Keep All my Customers Satisfied

I really think that the transition from the client to the web version of Scifinder Scholar went well here at NJIT. I have received one consistent complaint from a chemistry professor who just said:

My group is not happy with the web version of scifinder

It is slow, difficult to process and apparently missing a module for substructure search. Is there any way to go back to the other version?

I just sent him an e-mail saying that NJIT does not have the substructure module for Scifinder. It is very expensive and there is rarely a need for it here since the chemistry research is not aimed at finding new molecules.

It will be a challenge for me to keep this customer satisfied. I told him that I was willing to sit down with him to determine the exact problem and if there was a way I could rectify the situation. If necessary, I can reactivate the client version of Scifinder Scholar when I know that he is using it since I currently have two simultaneous users.

Evaluating Information Literacy Skills - Environmental Engineering

Last December I wrote a detailed journal entry describing portfolio analysis for evaluating information literacy skills in the humanities. This semester I was able to extend this portfolio analysis to the civil and environmental engineering curriculum. In February I gave classes to two environmental engineering classes that was also described in this journal. I am pleased to report that the professors in this class are allowing the portfolio analysis to count as 10% of the grade of the paper for this course. It will be helpful for me to see if my lecture on how to find information was effective. If it was not, I'll have to give serious thought on how to improve my instruction in the future.