AskNow’s del.icio.us Useful Resources

AskNow is an Australasian collaborative virtual reference service that enables librarians and patrons to interact in real time via an online chat facility. During an AskNow chat session, a patron asks questions and a librarian sends websites and information, which display on the patron’s computer.
AskNow librarians need to balance the time necessary to search for reliable and freely accessible web-based resources, with user expectations that they will receive relevant information instantaneously. The challenge lies not only in searching for, but also evaluating websites, in a short space of time. Librarians involved with the AskNow service (www.asknow.gov.au) recently started using the social bookmarking tool, del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us), to help them meet that challenge.
AskNow’s del.icio.us webpage, at http://del.icio.us/usefulresources, assists librarians in finding relevant websites and online resources quickly, whilst also satisfying user expectations and matching their information needs. When a question is received the librarian can search within del.icio.us/usefulresources for an appropriate website and share it with the patron.
del.icio.us/usefulresources is a sound alternative to general search engines, as searching is facilitated by the use of del.icio.us descriptive tags which help to categorise and describe the websites. The account also sorts websites into primary, secondary and tertiary levels so they can be matched to the patron’s experience or learning level.
Another positive outcome is that del.icio.us/usefulresources has brought AskNow operators together and encouraged them to share their ideas. Ongoing maintenance is also collaborative, which helps to ensure its currency, relevance and usability. To ensure its integrity, del.icio.us/usefulresources can only be edited by librarians with a logon. Suggestions or corrections can be sent to the AskNow service team at asknow@nla.gov.au.
del.icio.us/usefulresources can be accessed by anyone, and feedback indicates that it is of use to other librarians, not only those using it with AskNow.
Information on how to set up your own del.icio.us account, and more information about the service generally, can be found at http://del.icio.us/help/getstarted.
Gwyn Wilding
Reference Librarian, Information Services