Twine as a Training Tool for E-Resource Troubleshooting
Location
Deauville Room
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
13-5-2019 3:30 PM
End Date
13-5-2019 4:20 PM
Description
With a vast number of e-resources available, but a limited number of staff to manage them, how can we address the many questions that library users have when navigating e-resources? The Claremont Colleges Library took a cross-divisional approach to the problem, training cataloging and metadata staff to answer e-resource trouble tickets. This presentation will look at the training tool that was key to the success of our trouble-ticket system: an HTML-based text game – created with Twine – that made troubleshooting easier for staff new to e-resource issues.
Our initial approach to training was to document common issues and solutions, and to create troubleshooting flowcharts. Staff still felt overwhelmed, however, and were reluctant to engage with the troubleshooting process. As we encountered an increasing variety of e-resource problems, our flowcharts became impossibly complex, and still didn’t address all issues and types of responses. We felt a new approach to training was needed. By using Twine, an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories, we were able to build a training tool that simplified and gamified the troubleshooting workflow. The result is a text game that combines all of our complicated flowcharts into one interactive screen that is easy to use. In this presentation, we will discuss how this approach has made collaboration easier, improved morale, increased our staff’s expertise in e-resource issues, and benefited our users. We will also examine how we might improve our outcomes.
Twine as a Training Tool for E-Resource Troubleshooting
Deauville Room
With a vast number of e-resources available, but a limited number of staff to manage them, how can we address the many questions that library users have when navigating e-resources? The Claremont Colleges Library took a cross-divisional approach to the problem, training cataloging and metadata staff to answer e-resource trouble tickets. This presentation will look at the training tool that was key to the success of our trouble-ticket system: an HTML-based text game – created with Twine – that made troubleshooting easier for staff new to e-resource issues.
Our initial approach to training was to document common issues and solutions, and to create troubleshooting flowcharts. Staff still felt overwhelmed, however, and were reluctant to engage with the troubleshooting process. As we encountered an increasing variety of e-resource problems, our flowcharts became impossibly complex, and still didn’t address all issues and types of responses. We felt a new approach to training was needed. By using Twine, an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories, we were able to build a training tool that simplified and gamified the troubleshooting workflow. The result is a text game that combines all of our complicated flowcharts into one interactive screen that is easy to use. In this presentation, we will discuss how this approach has made collaboration easier, improved morale, increased our staff’s expertise in e-resource issues, and benefited our users. We will also examine how we might improve our outcomes.
