Four months (throw)down…
February 4, 2008
Happy two-days-after Groundhog’s Day!
We’ve hardly stopped celebrating one holiday before we’re celebrating again. Today, we’re celebrating four months of Staff in the Know!
That’s right. It has been four months. And to commemorate this occasion, we’ve got a little throwdown for you!
Okay, so I celebrated Groundhog’s day by watching a little too much Food Network . . . but don’t worry, Bobby Flay isn’t going to march in to your branch and demand you show him how to sign up for an RSS feed (but wouldn’t it be awesome if he did?). No, we’re going to throwdown against one another. Here are the rules:
1. You’ve got one week – yup, that’s one week – to demonstrate your expertise by taking the Throwdown Quiz.
2. Post your score in the comments. The honor system is in effect.
3. Winner will be announced on the Intranet – see the staff news section!
And henceforth, the winner shall be known to all as the First Quarter Staff in the Know Throwdown Champ. Or FQSITKTC for short.
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NPL Staff in the Know 
February 4, 2008 at 9:48 am
Whoo hoo! I only missed the tricky question #6. At least I passed! Thanks for all the work you both do in this endeavor. 🙂
February 4, 2008 at 12:38 pm
7 out of 10 – you got me on the Overdrive/Netlibrary questions! Thanks for the feedback comments when you answer incorrectly… very helpful!
February 6, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I got a six of ten, but only because I out thunk (that’s right I just said THUNK) the quiz. Case in point, I can download a NetLibrary book to my Linux based computer and listen to it on my portable media player without having Windows Media Player.
Also, you won’t show a patron how to attach a file to an email, but take the time to explain Google Docs to them? I’m gonna have to have a costumer service throwdown.
Dictionary.com defines thunk as “an abrupt, dull sound: the thunk of a shutting window.–verb (used without object).” On second thought, perhaps I the quiz was not out thunked.
February 6, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Well, if you’re going to throw Linux in there…we might give you a pass.
Not sure what you mean though about helping a patron. I’d definitely show someone how to attach a file to email and/or use Google Docs. Hope we didn’t suggest otherwise.
Either way, I’d love to see a customer service throwdown! Bring it on! 🙂
February 6, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Way to get around that cumbersome media player business.
February 6, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I missed the first question because I didn’t check “they must know how to attach a file.” I thought obviously they don’t know or they wouldn’t have asked for help. As I carefully re-read the question, there is nothing in it about the patron asking for assistance. You’ve clearly thunked me on the head.
February 7, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I only got 7 out of 10. I too got tripped up by not checking enough boxes on the Netlibrary and Overdrive questions 😦
February 7, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I got “thunked.” But the feedback comment, at the end of the question, I found to be useful as well. Thanks.
February 7, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Perfect 10.
February 7, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I scored 9 out of 10, but I take issue with the question about NetLibrary. You have to have media player software, but not necessarily Windows Media Player. The help for Net Library says “Portable device media software
Windows Media Player v9 and above
Musicmatch Jukebox v8.2 and above
Nullsoft Winamp v5 and above ,
so Windows Media Player is not required if you have one of the others. Also when I tried to review the quiz it wouldn’t let me get past Question 2. Any idea why?
February 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I got 6 out of 10 but I am protesting questions 6 & 7. It’s not fair to have 4 different choices and then an all of the above with the real answer being to check more than one box. Since when are multiple choice tests set up like that?
February 11, 2008 at 10:06 am
Beth, you raise a good point about NetLibrary. In setting up the quiz, I wrote down only one of the 3 media players that is compatible with NetLibrary. I usually think of Windows Media Player, but it is good to remember the other two. Thank you for pointing out the omission.
And thank you to everyone who has commented. Kyle and I put the staff in the know posts together, but there is always room for more information. We only know so much and learning from each other is what we were hoping for. So, please keep commenting and we’ll keep trying to put relevant posts up!
February 11, 2008 at 10:10 am
Sorry for tripping people up with NetLibrary and Overdrive. Those two services are confusing so we wanted to make the questions kind of tricky. I always seem to remember the tricky questions better.
February 11, 2008 at 10:39 am
Thought I’d comment on question 2, because everyone might not be aware of this info–Patrons CAN save to CD in a couple of different places, at least here at Main–the microfilm scanners PCs (in Ref and the Nashville Room) and the two public PCs in the Special Collections Center. So there are other folks who are probably going to get number 2 wrong, like I did!
February 11, 2008 at 11:03 am
I had no idea about the CD burners in Special Collections. Can anyone use those? Could a person with a photo CD even upload pictures to the web? Or is it more for research use?
February 11, 2008 at 3:44 pm
10 out of 10 — but it wasn’t easy.
February 11, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I got 9 out of 10. The question I missed was about files that can be downloaded in the library. I did not select mp3 music files because I remember the tutorial said that most music sites require software to be downloaded. To me, this would be a program and therefore not downloadable (is that a word?). So, because we have Winddows Media Player installed on library computers, patrons can download mp3’s without the music site’s special software? It makes me wonder why the tutorial made that process sound impossible.
Aside from the tricky questions, this was fun and useful. Keep “Staff in the Know” coming!
February 15, 2008 at 11:11 am
I made an 80. But question No. 3 seems to have a glitch? I chose download tax forms and photos as being downloadable, but the answer came up as sorry, you can’t download any music files or programs to the public computers. Huh? This happened both times I took the quiz.
This is a great idea, though.
February 15, 2008 at 11:52 am
Well, I didn’t score as high as some of the other staff members (show offs). However, I did learn a few things. When is the next throwdown?
February 15, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Thanks Glenn and Julie for your comments.
I see what you mean about question 3. The “Wrong” caption is not consistent with your answer.
Some Mp3s can be downloaded from the web using Internet Explorer. Windows Media Player is only for playing music, not usually downloading.
We were trying to make sure everyone understood the difference between a program and file. Even though it seems different, mp3 is just a file. We will look into the downloading music possibilities so we can all be more clear on what we can do.
February 15, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Oh, I scored 8 out of 10, and I wrote half the quiz.
February 15, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Not sure when, but there will be another throwdown!
February 19, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Well, I’m lazy because I forgot to do the quiz in time, but I did get all the questions right. 🙂 It was tough going on a couple though.
I’ll fess up, although I knew you could put multiple books on hold with the book cart function… I’d completely forgotten about the book cart stuff until now!