Ask Here PA, again

I manned a shift on Ask Here PA again today. I find myself getting into the most interesting questions there. I'm sometimes frustrated by the depth of some of the questions, particularly the ones that start one place and end up being something totally different. I have reference questions in person at work that do the same thing, but maybe it's harder to do the reference interview over chat. Sometimes I've gotten someone who has difficulty typing, and it takes a few minutes in between my question and their answer. I don't want to waste that time, so I'm starting the search for the information - just without all the clarification. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Today's main/tough question would have been easier to answer with a print reference tool - the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. Someone was looking for a particular issue of a particular magazine in the 60's without remembering what magazine or issue it was. Tricky. I was able to answer the "how can I find a job in ____ state?" question, though. I was glad about that.

Useful Tech

During the (almost) three semesters I've been working on my master's, there have been a handful of times that I've been able to immediately apply something I did in class to something I need to do at work. Today was one of those times. I worked a shift on Ask Here PA again today, and found myself using Google Scholar to try to find the information the patron was looking for. (I finished an assignment over the weekend that required I use Google Scholar.) It was a helpful tool, although I didn't find exactly what he needed. I guess some things may not be available on the internet, even using Google Scholar.
Last week I used Google Sites to start a website for resources for my staff (another case of applying what I'm learning...) My reference assistant and youth librarian will both contribute info to the site - so it functions as a wiki. I think that will be more effective (and certainly more efficient) than trying to maintain bookmarks on each of our circ desk computers.