Working together works

Libraries and organizations worldwide are committed to collaborative, digital reference and to sharing their expert resources to answer questions for library users worldwide. QuestionPoint uses best-match routing from the Global Reference Network to find the institution best able to answer a question and builds and maintains a global Knowledge Base of previously asked and answered reference questions.

Once a question is submitted, it goes into the local reference librarian’s queue of new questions. The librarian browses this list to retrieve a question to work on. Using QuestionPoint, the librarian can choose to do any number of things with the question:

• respond directly to the user by answering the question or asking for clarification if needed
• assign it to another librarian
• refer it to another librarian within their institution or reference group
• route it to another library participating in the QuestionPoint Global Reference Network

Using the Global Reference Network

The librarian can choose to route the question to the Global Reference Network. This specialized network is a project led by the US Library of Congress, bringing a wide variety of libraries together to work on a variety of issues. One of the benefits of membership in the Global Reference Network is participation in QuestionPoint’s collaborative reference efforts.

Each QuestionPoint member library creates a profile attached to the network. The profile lists the library’s strengths—which are then used by QuestionPoint software to find the best library to match to the submitted question.

The “best match” process considers elements like: the subject and language of the question, the turn-around time the library customer needs, and the customer’s education level. Comparing these attributes with data supplied to the member’s profile, QuestionPoint can route a customer’s question to any number of eligible libraries, either locally or globally, to find an appropriate answer.

Creating a shared resource

A key benefit of collaboration is building the Knowledge Base. By collecting large volumes of research experience—answers developed in direct response to real-world questions—a powerful new resource begins to take shape. The dynamic collaboration that occurs in the process of helping a library customer is captured for future use by anyone with the same or similar question. But it remains a shared resource that can be kept current and timely as more knowledge is added or conditions change.

Thus the collaborative processing of information into knowledge is saved and shared by all QuestionPoint members.