Introducing Qwidget, the new QuestionPoint chat widget

Qwidget combines the power of QuestionPoint reference management system with the simplicity of a chat widget.

Qwidget gives your library the ability to embed a snippet of HTML code throughout your library Web pages and in a variety of environments. When you deploy Qwidget on your library Web site, your users will enter your virtual reference service through the Qwidget interface that similar to the popular MeeboMe and Chatango widgets, and is supported with the robust capabilities of the QuestionPoint reference management tool.

On the librarian side, the QuestionPoint interface retains all the collaborative and administrative tools you need to handle chat users, review and refer session transcripts, and obtain reports and statistics on chat activity. When users enter via Qwidget, they appear in the chat monitor inside QuestionPoint. This allows multiple librarians to use your existing QuestionPoint account to handle users who come in via the widget, along with all other users arriving via the Web-based chat and e-mail forms in use today.

Why use a widget? A widget is a small application that adds utility or other information from external sources, via html code that you add to your Web page. Widgets are popular among users; according to Jupiter Research (Oct. 2007), awareness and use of Widgets among online users, which was less than 5% in early 2007, has now increased: 39% of online users are aware of widgets, and 26% have used them.

(2008 05 15)