askON is growing! How can your library take part?

Welcome to our participating library kit. The information in this kit is intended to help interested libraries and their management understand how askON functions and answer some of your key questions surrounding:

• library commitment
• technical requirements
• support resources and training tools
• service quality

Ask Ontario has transitioned from a project to a full service with a new self-funded partnership of college and public libraries. Our family of askON libraries benefit from our two sector collaborative in many ways:

• a lot for a little: 44 service hours a week public libraries, 62 colleges in extended service hours in return for 2-10 hours of staffing contribution
• learning and professional development for staff, who develop proficiency in virtual reference and information literacy 
• best practices of reference service delivery for high visitor satisfaction, verified in independent annual evaluations
• improving the profile of the library in your community  
• a means to engage online communities and new generations as library users; using friendly and familiar chat to build capacity 
• ease of use with transferable technology & online support tools for staff 
• skilled intern support for hard-to-staff hours

Interested in joining us? Fill out this form and we’ll get back to you with more info. There will be info sessions in early November for potential new partners in January 2012, September 2012 and beyond.

As of January 2011 the following libraries are partners in the askON service:

Public Libraries

College Libraries

Ultimately, it is Ask Ontario’s goal to include every library that wishes to participate in the askON service.

If you need information not provided here or wish to learn more about Ask Ontario please contact:

Jan Dawson
Ask Ontario, Project Manager
jdawson@knowledgeontario.ca
647-288-0255