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Procedures for Mucking Simplified
for the Ask an ipl2 Librarian online reference service
Reference Administrator Volunteers
Responsibilities. Ref Admins (RAs) process all questions that come in during their shift
(these are called the “Incoming” questions). Diligent work in the Incoming category provides
a stream of questions for participating students who, through their coursework, are working to
meet the needs of users while meeting their assignment deadlines!
QRC Categories
Ready Reference Questions TBA: Questions in this category should be answered by
providing resources that contain specific facts.
Research Questions TBA: Questions in this category should receive answers in the form
of sources where patrons can research their topic themselves.
Rescue Reference Questions TBA: Questions in this category need to be "rescued."
Types of questions found in this category are:
 ManyQ: patron has submitted multiple questions at once
 Quota: questions over our limit for accepted, unclaimed questions
 rjdp: newly submitted questions due today or tomorrow
 Sludge: questions that have remained unanswered
 SubSpec: questions likely to require specialized knowledge to answer
During your Ref Admin shift you should periodically check in to see how the
questions are moving. This usually occurs during the beginning, middle, and end of
the shift depending upon how busy the service is.
Step One:
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Log into QRC
Prior to and during training, log into Development QRC (or Dev QRC) so you can practice
and get familiar with the Incoming category:
http://dev.ipl.org:7700/
Step Two:
Check Quota – Quota is the maximum number of Unclaimed questions in the Ready
Reference and Research TBA (to be answered) Categories.
1. You will see the current number for Quota at the top of the RA Notifications box.
2. Count up all the unclaimed questions in the Ready Reference and Research
Questions TBA categories.
3. Calculate the number of questions that can be transferred to the Ready Reference
and Research TBA categories:
a. First, add the number of unclaimed questions from "Ready Reference and
Research TBA"
b. Then subtract this total from the current unclaimed quota amount.
4. View other Categories to form an idea of how busy the service is.
Step Three:
Processing Regular Questions
1.
The steps for processing questions:
a. In the Incoming Category, open the question by clicking on the Title/Subject
line.
b. Click the “Admin” button.
c. Check the subject code if one is provided. Change the subject code and
subject line, if needed. The subject line is what students and volunteers see in
the Title/Subject column as the question, so the clearer this is, the more likely it
is to be claimed and answered.
d. Select a template message to send to the patron from the dropdown menu. (If
you would like to view the text of any/all template messages, click the words
"View Text of all Template Messages" - a new window will open.)
e. Set the status of this question by clicking on the appropriate radio button.
f. Select the appropriate TBA category from the dropdown menu to transfer the
question.
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g. Click the “Do It” button.
2. Order of operations for moving questions into the TBA categories
Review and work with all ASK_INFO, RECV_MSG questions first. These questions
will have a blue coloring and you will see ASK_INFO, RECV_MSG in the status
column. These are questions that were unclear and received a request for
additional information. The RECV_MSG notation indicates that the patron has
responded with clarifying information.
Here are the steps:
a. Go to the Incoming Category.
b. Scan the Status column. Look for and check out all ASK_INFO, RECV_MSG
questions.
c. Open the question by clicking on the subject line.
d. Review the patron’s clarifying information.
e. If the patron’s response clarifies their original question or if you have a good
guess about what the patron is requesting, do your best to give some direction to
the person who will claim and answer the question. Put helpful suggestions and
clarifying information in a Post-a-Note (if patron’s response is clear, just copy and
paste this into a Post-a-Note).
To Post-a-Note, click on the Post-a-Note button, enter the response into the
text box, select the no status change radio button and click Post.
f. Process the question using the steps above.
3. New Incoming Questions (“Nostatus”).
h. Read through all questions with “NOSTATUS” in the Status column.
i. If a question has “NOSTATUS” and there are no problems with it, then it can
then be accepted and processed to the appropriate TBA category using the
steps for processing questions above.
Note: If you would like to add some helpful guidance, use a Post-a-Note to
offer a suggestion (such as “A good place to start with the IPL’s POTUS area,
online at:…” and give the link)
TIP: Follow your question to the appropriate category to make sure that it went where you
intended! If there is something wrong with the question, it’s best to transfer it back to the
"Incoming" category so it’s away from student view while you work with it.
Step Four:
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1. Processing other types of questions
a. rjdp: Rejected due to date passed” – Need by date is within 24 hours, so the tag
“rjdp” is automatically assigned by QRC (and is visible on the subject code area of
the patron’s question)
 These questions can be processed and transferred into Ready Reference,
Research and Rescue TBA Categories. When processing, do not remove or
alter the rjdp subject code.
b. Quota: Questions over our limit for accepted, unclaimed questions
 These types of questions will receive the accept-general: [Quota] Reference
question has been accepted message (which automatically adds the Quota
subject code to the front of the question) from the template messages drop
down and can then be transferred to the Rescue Reference Questions TBA
category.
 As these questions have been accepted, they are the first to be transferred into
the Ready Reference and Research TBA categories. They were received
before any new questions in Incoming, so they need to be transferred for
answering first.
 To transfer Quota questions from Rescue Reference into the other TBA
categories, simply select the appropriate category from the Transfer to another
category dropdown. You do not need to remove the Quota subject code.
c. SubSpec: SubSpec questions require extended research or are on an advanced
technical/mechanical topic requiring extensive personal expertise.
 These types of questions will receive the accept-SubSpec: [SubSpec]
Question may require subject expertise message and then be transferred to
the Rescue Reference Questions TBA category.
d. ManyQ: Multiple questions that are submitted by a patron, generally all on the
same topic.
 These types of questions will be processed by SRAs and ipl2 Administration.
NOTE: You may see questions tagged sludge that have been transferred into this category
by the IPL Administrative Team. Don’t be alarmed.
2. Duplicate Questions. Scan down list of email addresses. Look for duplicate
questions from the same person. Verify that the email address and question are
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exactly the same. If they are the same, do the following:
a. Process the first question as normal.
b. For the rest of the questions, choose the [dupe: ] duplicate question from the
same
patron code in the Change subject code: dropdown. (Do not choose the
Replace
old subject code below with new subject code above? Box.)
c. Transfer all duplicate questions to the "Spam and Other Trash" category.
3. Bounced questions
Questions that show “bounced” in the status column indicate that the patron’s email
address didn’t work when the Acknowledgment Message was automatically sent
through QRC. Here’s what to do:
a. Click on the question to view/open it and then click on the Admin button.
b. Check the email address. If it has an obvious mistake (i.e. yaho.com (yahoo.com)
or g.mailcom (gmail.com)):
i. Find the “change original address” textbox.
ii. Change it to the corrected email address.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Select template message “acknowledgment: Resend automatic acknowledgment
message”
Click “Do It.”
Now go back into the question and use "Post-A-Note" to make a note that you changed the email from “X” to “X”, and that you resent the acknowledgment
message.
If there is no obvious way to correct the email address:
i. Transfer the question to the Bounced Messages (Fake or Bad
E-mail
Addresses) category.
ii. If the question is in one of the TBA categories, immediately
transfer it
back to the Incoming category and attempt to fix the
email address or
transfer it to the Bounced Messages (Fake or Bad E-mail
Addresses) category.
4.
Rejections or setting a question to “ADMIN:”
a. Questions asking for professional advice. If the question specifically asks for legal,
medical, or tax advice (not for information, such as for research or homework),
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then choose the appropriate rejected subject code as follows:
i. Choose either “lawreject:” “ “medicalreject:” or “taxreject:” from the Send
template message to patron dropdown
ii. Set status to “Rejected”
iii. Choose the Rejected Reference Questions category from Transfer to
another category:
iv. Click the “Do It” button.
b. Questions asking for our personal opinion
i. Use your judgment here. Sometimes these questions are not rejections.
See if you can provide non-biased, factual information on the topic. For
example, if the patron asks the question, “What kind of dog should I get?”,
you can give them information about dog breeds.
ii. If the question is personal, or if it is about something you don’t feel
comfortable addressing, set it to "ADMIN:" by adding this code in the
Change subject code: line
Examples of questions you’d probably set to “ADMIN:”
a. Requests to add content to the IPL site, or if a patron is letting us know that the site
has a broken link. Set the subject code of the question to “ADMIN:” to the front of
the subject line. (Do not choose the Replace old subject code below with new
subject code above? Box.)
b. Also use “ADMIN:” and/or check with your SR RA when you don’t know what to do
with or are unsure of the question.
Please leave questions with the “ADMIN” subject code; they are the responsibility
of the IPL Administration.
Note: You are not replacing the subject code, but adding ADMIN: to the left of any subject
code that may be there.
Step Five:
When and how to use the “AskInfo” button
1. Need to ask the patron to clarify the question
Always try to figure out a way to provide an answer before asking for more
information. Only those questions that are indecipherable should receive an
"ASK_INFO." Remember that most of the time patrons just do not write back if
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they are asked to clarify their question. If the question is just too vague to attempt
an answer, you can ask for clarification in the following way:
a. Click on the question to open/view it (Do not claim it first unless you really
want to be responsible for it if the patron responds)
b. Click the “Answer” button
c. Choose the “clarify: Ask info from patron before accepting” message from
the dropdown menu
d. Click the “Include” button. Check that the template message has been
included in the text of message box
e. Edit the message with the questions that you are asking. Change the
appropriate areas of the message to personalize it
f. Change status to “ASK_INFO” by selecting the correct radio button
g. Click the “Do It” button
h. Leave the question in Incoming (unless a response is received; see Step 2.)
2. To answer a question yourself (Primarily when there are no students or at the
beginning and end of terms/semesters.)
First, check to see if there is a notification at the top of QRC instructing ref admins
how many reference questions you should answer. This area is color coded. Red
will mean not to answer any questions. Yellow will mean that you should cautiously
answer questions. Green means you are free to answer questions. There will also
be additional, more specific instructions provided in this area.
If you want to answer the question yourself, remember to always “claim” it first.
a. To answer a question
i. Claim the question before you begin seriously looking for information
to answer the question
ii. Click the “Answer” button
iii. Change the subject code and subject line if needed
iv. Create a personalized message with appropriate information (2
sources)
v. Change the question status to "ANSWERED" using the radio
button
vi. Click "Send"
b. To answer a question using a Pathfinder (PF) or Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) Template Message
You can answer a question quickly with a Pathfinder (PF) or Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) template message that brings the patron to the
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answer. You will find these options in the Select template message to send
to patron: dropdown.
Use FAQ and PF template messages through the “ADMIN” button. This
makes it so there is no need to change the text (if you do want to
personalize the text, use the “Answer” button, as with the way of answering
and you can modify the template message).
Here is how :
i. Claim the question (This will be considered an “answered” question)
ii. Click the “ADMIN” button
iii. Change the subject code and subject line if needed
iv. Select the appropriate FAQ or PF template message
v. Change the question status to "ANSWERED" using the radio
buttons
vi. Click "Send"
Tip: You can view all the messages by clicking on the “View Text of All Template
Messages” link. These template messages link the patron to the guides on the IPL’s site.
Step Six:
End of your shift
1. Visit the TBA Categories. In each category, review the questions and check to
make sure everything looks right. (Look for bounced questions.)
2. Look for “NEED_HELP” requests (in bright yellow) from students. Post any
helpful ideas you have by using the Post-a-Note button.
3. Do not to leave unprocessed questions in the Incoming category (no_status).
4. Verify that you took all the necessary steps on the questions you accepted.
5. Send a shift report to your Senior Reference Administrator (SRA). This is done by
sending an email to your SRA with the following information:
Shift
Comments
Questions
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Remember that you are not alone! If you need help, don’t hesitate to ask your Senior
Reference Administrator. He or she is your mentor and primary support.
 If you have a question, attempt to chat or email your Senior Ref Admin or ipl2 Admin.
Once your training is completed, you will have full access to real QRC. You can access real
QRC through the following link:
http://qrc.ipl.org
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