ala midwinter, january 2002

ALA Midwinter, January 2002ALA Midwinter, January 2002

Knowledge Base: Archiving

Q & A

Knowledge Base: Archiving

Q & A

Collaborative Digital Collaborative Digital Reference ServiceReference Service

Abigail Grotke, Library of CongressAbigail Grotke, Library of Congress


RequestingRequestingLibraryLibrary

Patron

KnowledgeBase

KnowledgeBase

AnsweringAnsweringLibraryLibrary

Librarian

ILL, DocumentILL, Document DeliveryDelivery

REQUESTREQUESTMANAGERMANAGER

SEND QUESTION

GET QUESTION

AUTOMATIC or MANUAL KB SEARCH

NOTIFICATIONNOTIFICATION

EDITEDQ & A

GETANSWER

SENDANSWER

Member Profile

Member Profile Member

Profile

Traditional and Online Resources:

Catalogs, Web Resources, Print Resources,

Subject Specialists

CDRS Process

CDRS Process


Why Create a KB? Cons:Why Create a KB? Cons:

Concerns raised in a recent discussion on an e-ref listserv:

•Diversity of questions make reuse of answers unlikely

•Factual questions the exception, not the rule

•Patrons merit some human contact in the information-seeking process


Why Create a KB? Pros:Why Create a KB? Pros:Why not give patrons vetted Q&A

related to their subject and let them decide if the information is useful?

•Patrons not exactly sure what what they need or are asking for

•Enjoy thrill of accidental discovery•Diminish “current events” frenzy of

librarians answering the same question again and again


The Work of Librarians Is Relevant

The Work of Librarians Is Relevant

If reference librarians treat the product of their work as dispensable and not worthy of archiving, how are others to find it valuable?


Development Issues to Consider

Development Issues to Consider•What records are included?•What fields are included or

omitted?•How much gets edited?•How do is information kept fresh?•How much can be automated?


Sources of KB DataSources of KB Data•Question and answer sets from

CDRS•Members' ready-reference files•Databases of answered e-reference

questions•Potential arrangements with

publishers


Editorial Guidelines

Knowledge Base WorkflowKnowledge Base Workflow

CDRS or other source

InactiveKB

Records

Volunteer Editor

Q & A sets

Active KB

Records

Deleted Records

CDRSMembers

End Users


Technical SpecificationsTechnical Specifications• Custom-designed and built by

OCLC based on CDRS requirements

• Back-end database: Sybase• Keyword search applied to:

Question and Answer fields Keyword fields


Developing an Editorial Process

Developing an Editorial Process•Ad-hoc editorial board: LC, OCLC,

CDRS members•Draft of guidelines•Tested by volunteer editors• Issues discussed by board,

guidelines revised


Refining the Editorial’s RoleRefining the Editorial’s Role•Level of editing required•Style guide and preferences• Importance of source citations•Review dates•Update field for additional

information supplied by editors


Outstanding IssuesOutstanding Issues

•Intellectual property

•Q & A ownership

•Language and cultural

•Dewey vs. LC Subject class

•Intellectual property

•Q & A ownership

•Language and cultural

•Dewey vs. LC Subject class

http://www.loc.gov/cdrs/http://www.loc.gov/cdrs/http://www.loc.gov/cdrs/http://www.loc.gov/cdrs/


ala midwinter, january 2002

Documents