AskMN: Best Transcript of 2014

In December I sent out a call out to AskMN participating libraries to send in chat transcript(s) from 2014 that they felt exemplified exceptional service. The chat session could have taken only five minutes or fifty minutes or it could have been a very involved interaction or quick and easy. We received several submissions that highlighted the quality work we all do every day. Similar tones were illuminated in all the chat transcripts: The librarians were considerate, patient, willing to work with the patrons, and personable. Alas, there had to be a winner. The winner of Best Transcript of 2014 is Normandale Community College! This chat session was selected because the librarian took the time to understand what it was the patron needed by clarifying the patron’s responses and asking where they had already looked for information. The librarian provided thoughtful responses and guided the patron to the best resources and suggested good search terms to use with clear and understandable instructions. Here is the winning transcript of 2014: Patron: Qwidget: Would you be able to tell me how to find a biography on Jim Carrey Librarian: Hi. I'm librarian from Minnesota. Your library and my library work together to answer questions. I am helping out your librarians by answering questions for them right now. I'm reading your question and will be right with you. Librarian: Hi! Are you looking for any particular kind of information on Jim Carrey? Patron:  I'm writing a paper on his personality and traits that define who he is. I need to find information on his life when he was younger as well as his personality and also anything on his battle with depression. Librarian: Ok, great! What class is this for? And are you looking for books or articles? Patron: It is for Psych of Personality. I need to find scholarly articles (that way I know it is true) so it could be in any form as long as the information is backed up Librarian: Got it. And where have you tried looking so far? (so I don't repeat anything you've tried already) Patron: I'm on EBSCO currently and I haven't found anything on here and so far that is where I have looked Librarian: Ok, did you go to the library's page and use the search in the middle of the screen? Patron: I am actually in the process of that now Librarian: Great. Well one thing to keep in mind is that the library databases look for the words you type in, not articles about what you search. So, you'll want to think about your keywords before you start, such as Jim Carrey, personality, depression, etc. You can mix and match the words. And every time you change the words you'll get different results. Librarian: If you want to keep looking there I am going to look to see if I can find something else that will help Patron: okay, thank you! Librarian: What are some of the words or phrases you've tried searching so far? Patron: i've tried "Jim Carrey" and "depression" i have also tried "biography of Jim Carrey" Librarian: Ok, sounds like you're on the right track. I would probably also try jim carrey and personality. Librarian: But let me show you a couple other things that might help. Librarian: The search box on the library's homepage searches a number of databases all at the same time so you have to be pretty specific. Librarian: Sometimes it's good to try a specific database to look for articles. Librarian: Let's start back at the library's homepage: <link> Patron: okay I am there now Librarian: Great! This time click on Start My Research on the left. Patron: okay I'm there Librarian: This is a page of links to guides on lots of different subjects. Librarian: For your topic you could click on Humanities and Arts, Media and Communication or Social Sciences. Since you're looking at psychology, maybe start with Social Sciences Librarian: A new menu will open and you can click on Psychology Librarian: If you click on Psychology it will take you to a guide with resources specifically for Psychology research. I would click on Articles in Journals to see databases you can try searching for scholarly articles. Librarian: But you could also try looking at the Media and Communication guide to find resources specifically on media. Librarian: Does that make sense? Patron: wow I've never seen this before, thank you! Librarian: No problem! Librarian: And remember: with any database you go to, you'll want to try different combinations of keywords. Although just searching for Jim Carrey is pretty specific. But you could also try comedians or actors to make your search more broad. Patron: thank you so much for your help! Librarian: What do you think, do you have enough to continue on your own? Or can I help you with something else? You can always come back if you have more questions. Patron: I think I am all set for now! Librarian: Ok, great! :) Librarian: Feel free to come back if you need more help, though Patron: thank you so much! :) Librarian: You're welcome! Have a great night! Librarian: Librarian ended chat session.