Monday 1 June 2009
An interactive digital reference service that will enable people all over the world to get answers to questions about Scotland was today launched by Michael Russell MSP, Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution.
AskScotland is a collaborative national service developed by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) that will pool the staff and resources of Scotland’s public library services to bring their knowledge and rich collections to a global audience.
In the initial stages of the project, users will submit questions via email using a form on the AskScotland website. The question will then be routed to the appropriate library service and a personalised response will be researched by a specialist reference librarian.
AskScotland is part of the wider ScotlandsInformation.com service that brings together information available in Scotland’s libraries, museums and archives to offer a single, user-friendly access point to the vast array of important resources and collections held in Scotland.
ScotlandsInformation uses Google map technology to allow users to browse collections and get service information by clicking on a location.
Launching AskScotland in Peebles at the annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS), Mr Russell said: “I am pleased to be able to launch the latest innovative service from the Scottish Library and Information Council – AskScotland. This interactive digital service will educate and inform people all over the world about Scotland and Scottish culture.
“As information technologies develop throughout the world, we must continue to come up with new and exciting ways to promote Scotland to the wider world. AskScotland will not only improve access to these valuable resources to people of Scotland, but also open up access to our country to people across the globe.”
Elaine Fulton, Director of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) said: "Scottish Libraries have a long history of formal and informal collaboration and this embryonic service builds on this, enabling libraries to deliver more effective services which minimise duplication and save resources.
“More importantly, this service will help libraries to engage with users and promote their collections to a wide audience. The ongoing development of this pilot service demonstrates that libraries are embracing new technologies to ensure that Scotland’s information services are designed for the future.”
AskScotland is powered by QuestionPoint, a virtual reference service developed by OCLC, the global computer library service and research organisation.
Attending the launch, OCLC President and Chief Executive Officer, Jay Jordan, said: “OCLC’s relationship with Scottish libraries is now in its 25th year. It was in 1984 that the University of Edinburgh began cataloguing on OCLC. Glasgow University was one of the earliest adopters of the FirstSearch online reference service outside the U.S.
“It’s fair to say that Scottish libraries have been in the vanguard with OCLC. The new AskScotland service will provide information on all aspects of Scotland as well as answer questions relating to the many resources available in Scottish libraries, archives and museums.”
The current phase of AskScotland involves 13 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities and the service will be rolled out over the next two years, with all authorities scheduled for participation by 2011.
The next phase of AskScotland will introduce an online chat service that will allow users to get instant responses from library staff.
Contact: Rhona Arthur, Assistant Director, SLIC Tel: 01689 458888 Mob: 07778 285659
Despite the widespread use of search engines to find information and undertake research, it can be difficult to find reliable and detailed information on Scottish topics using Internet searching. Scotland’s libraries and professional librarians, however, are ideally placed to bridge this information gap and provide a responsive national information service that can be trusted. AskScotland aims to use new technologies to exploit the richness of our library and information collections, and the knowledge and experience of staff, to showcase our cultural heritage on a global platform.
ScotlandsInformation is the parent digital library service developed by SLIC, which draws together information about library, archive and museum locations and their collections (including catalogues). This information can be accessed through a user friendly map interface, which has been designed to simplify the information retrieval process for general users. The constituent elements of this service have become established academic research tools but the new interface broadens the appeal to the general public.
The Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) is the independent advisory body to the Scottish Government on library and information matters. SLIC was established in 1991 and is funded by organisational membership subscriptions. The Scottish Government partially funds the Council in its work and the National Library of Scotland also contributes financial assistance. SLIC members include all local authority, higher education and further education institutions, NHS Trust library services and other specialist library and information organisations.
CILIPS is the Scottish arm of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, the professional body for librarians and information professionals in the UK. Formed in 2002 by the amalgamation of the Library Association and the Institute of Information Scientists, CILIPS undertakes the representation of CILIP in the Scottish context and works on behalf of Scottish members to improve and support Scottish library and information services.
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC is a non-profit library service and research organisation that has provided computer-based cataloguing, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web services to over 60,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories. OCLC and its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the world’s richest online resource for finding library materials. WorldCat.org is a Web destination with search and social networking features that allow information seekers to discover, localise and personalise content from a library’s collections and those of more than 10,000 WorldCat libraries globally. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.