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Documentation

CHAT Objective

Pennsylvania libraries are collaborating to provide a 24/7 online chat reference service that efficiently and effectively meets the information and learning needs of Pennsylvania residents.

General guidelines

When it appears a patron is chatting with a purpose beyond our stated objective, please attempt to steer the session into an effective reference transaction. We are generous with patrons and give them the benefit of the doubt. We recognize that the chat environment encourages a wider variety of text communication opportunities. It is important that you do not take rude or inappropriate behavior personally.

Sixteen scenarios and tips on how to handle them:

    1. Patron begins by not asking a question.

Tip: Respond by asking for specific information need.
Example:
Bob: Hi 
Librarian: Hello Bob. Do you have a research question?
-or-
Librarian: Welcome to Ask Here PA. We assist with research and information gathering. Do you have a research question?

    1. Patron interjects tangents.

Tip: In keeping with the chat environment, you may want to address the tangent and discuss it briefly. As soon as possible, steer the conversation back to the reference need.
Example:
Ian: What does ICP stand for 
Librarian: Do you know how this is being used?
Ian: As a name abbrevation of a rap group
Librarian: Oh, okay. Insane Clown Posse is my first thought. Let me check their website and send it your way.
Ian: do u listen to them
Librarian: http://www.insaneclownposse.com/
Librarian: This has a lot of flash so it may not load well with our software so I am sending their address for you to look up later.
Ian: What is ur favorite song of ICP
Librarian: Is that all you need or do you have other research questions? (We are busy so I need to help others as well)
Ian: ya bye

    1. Patron asks question, becomes impatient.

Tip: Provide an estimate of how long the session will take. Clarify that searching for reliable information can take time. If the patron does not have time, remind them that Ask Here PA is available 24/7 and suggest they come back later or offer to follow-up by e-mail. If the patron agrees to follow-up, be sure to get their e-mail and code the session for follow-up by me or follow-up by patron’s library.
Example:
Patron Ed: Can you hurry? I don’t have much time.
Librarian: I am looking now. It may take a few minutes. Do you have time or
would you rather try back later since we are open 24/7?
Or
Librarian: Ed, this is going to take a while. Do you want to log back in
when you have more time or if you send me your e-mail we can follow-up with
you a little later. Which option would you prefer?

    1. Patron is logging on because they are bored.

Tip: You may choose to ask them for details on their interest and send them information which will provide them with insight or inspiration.
Example:
Kendra: hello 
Librarian Good morning, Kendra. How can I help you today?
kendra: well i’m just board
Librarian: Here’s something fun and interesting, from the CBC
Librarian: CBC http://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc/#/play/
kendra: what do you do on it?
Librarian: It just has some games and such.
kendra: thank you!!!BUNCHES!

    1. Patron asks personal questions.

Tip: Avoid providing personal information and stay focused on the reference transaction.
Example:
Bob: Hey, are you married? 
Librarian: Do you have a research question? This service doesn’t answer personal questions.
Or
Librarian: I am happy to help you search for quality information on (topic), but we do not provide personal information or opinions.

    1. Patron asks for opinion.

Tip: Clarify that we provide information but cannot give an opinion or advice.
Example:
Bob: Well, what do you think about this? 
Librarian: Reference librarians are here to help answer questions and to make referrals to other sources of information. We cannot give advice.
Or
Librarian: Bob, I can steer you to reliable information so you can make your own decisions. However, I am not permitted to give an opinion or advice.

    1. Patron asks about personal issues.

Tip: When patrons ask for advice about how to handle a personal problem like having a fight with a friend or other issues, provide the patron with online resources and/or suggestions of library material which relate to their concerns. Do not attempt to counsel or advise the patron.
Example:
Betty: What do you do when a friend is mad at you? 
Librarian: I can help you find some information on resolving conflicts with friends. I can’t give any personal advice since this is an information service. Is that okay?
Betty: Yes. I know this isnt the question im suppose ti be asking but i have nothing to do otherwise.
Librarian: I want to send you something about conflict resolution.
Betty: That’s fine. Ok
Librarian: Although this has more to do with avoiding violence, it has some good ideas for resolving conflicts that might apply to you and your friend.
Librarian: [Item sent – SafeYouth.org – Teen Facts – Conflict Resolution]http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/teens/conflict.asp#what
Betty: Thank you i think you can leave now. I think this is all i need

    1. Patron asks for information on sex or other delicate subject.

Tip: Assume all calls are legitimate. Do a thorough reference interview to insure you understand the information need (those with real questions will stick with this, those who are joking around may quit). Send reliable, age-appropriate information on the subject.
Example:
Sean: Hello?
Librarian: Hi Sean. Do you have a question?
Sean: what is sex?
Librarian: Sean. This is a library information service. Is this research you are doing on sex?
Sean: yes it is a sex ed class
Librarian: Which grade?
Sean: 9th
Librarian: Okay. I am looking. by the way, anything in particular you are wanting to know?
Sean: no
Librarian: I’m sending a page designed for 14-16 year olds. Let me know if this is helpful.
Librarian: [Item sent – Sexual Health for Teens from Nemours]http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/
[Sean – has disconnected

    1. Patron begins okay, but becomes rude.

Tip: Send warning if mildly rude. Drawing the line early is important. Never take rude behavior personally.
Example:
Jill: what are the austalia aboriginies 
Librarian: Hi, Jill. Let’s see what we can find.
Librarian: [Item sent – Australian Aboriginal History]http://australianmuseum.net.au/Stories-of-the-Dreaming
Jill: ok good job slave
Librarian: Your language is inappropriate. We are here to help you with your research, not do the work for you. Please change your language, or you will be disconnected.
Jill: sorry
Librarian: Thank you. Let’s see what else we can find together.
Jill: ok
Librarian: Let’s try the Librarian’s Index to the Internet, http://lii.org/
Librarian: [Item sent – lii.org] http://www.lii.org/

    1. Patron is rude or offensive at any point in reference transaction. Patron is in crisis asking about suicide, mental health or other issues.

Tip: This might include inappropriate language or abusive language. Send the script(s) provided in the software and disconnect at your discretion.
Example:
Joe: austalian aborigines and tools they use 
Someone will be with you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Joe: hello
[a library staff member, is coming online… please wait.] Joe: was up bitch
Librarian: Your language is inappropriate. Please change it, or you will be disconnected.
Joe: ok fine
Librarian: Thank you, Joe. Let’s see what we can find about the Australian aboriginals.
Joe: brian is gay and o my god ur sooooo retrded
Librarian: Your language is still inappropriate. You will now be disconnected.

    1. Patron is in crisis asking about suicide, mental health or other issues.Tip: As quickly as possible, provide the patron with online resources including phone and online contact to professionals who can assist the patron. Do not attempt to counsel or advise the patron. It may be difficult to determine a prank from a real scenario so please assume it is real and provide professional contacts for the user. After you send the scripted message and the website(s) or phone numbers below, do not engage with the customer. Thank the customer for using Ask Here PA and exit from the session so that the customer can contact the hotlines and get the help they need.

Script: I’m sorry I’m not a professional counselor so I’m not allowed to give you any advice, but I do have information that you can use to get help. Please contactNational Suicide Hotline: Crisis Line, Automatically routes the call to the nearest crisis center. 1-800-SUICIDE (someone is available to talk 24 hours a day)

    1. Patron claims distress, specifically requests or intimates 911 emergency services are required.

Tip: Occasionally, patrons will log into Ask Here PA and ask a librarian to phone 911 emergency services for them, or via the text exchange communicate to the librarian that they are involved in an emergency situation, thus intimating (but not directly asking) that the librarian contact 911 emergency services on their behalf. If this happens, librarians may use their professional judgment regarding whether or not to contact emergency services.
Scripts: We are not an emergency service, please use your telephone and dial 911. Ask Here PA is not an emergency service contact point. We are unable to call 911 on your behalf. You are not liable if you call 911. You should explain to the 911 operator the circumstances of the call (e.g. I’m a librarian staffing an online Reference service and I received this chat message.) If you call 911, you will not be able to follow-up and find out what happened to the person.

    1. You assist the patron and at the end the patron hangs up without comment.

Tip: There is no way of knowing, at times, what happened with the patron. It could be an unintentional disconnect, technical problems, or other issues. a. Check the patron information to see if they have an e-mail address. b. If the patron has provided an email address, continue to work on the question, provide information, etc. This transcript with your answer will be automatically e-mailed to the patron with all the communication and resources. c. OR If the patron has not provided an e-mail address, you may assume you have assisted them with their reference search and choose the resolution code which most fits the transaction.

    1. You assist the patron but the patron lingers online but does not respond.

Tip: There is no way of knowing, at times, what is happening with the patron. They may be multi-tasking, fixing dinner, etc. Please continue to work on the reference question and provide the information needed. At your discretion, you may end the call or leave it open while you assist other patrons.

    1. You assist the patron and at the end, he/she becomes rude.

Tip: There is no way of knowing, at times, what happened with the patron. In some cases, another person has come onto the computer. Since we don’t know specifically what is happening on the patron side, do not take this behavior personally.

    1. You see the patron’s name but they do not respond to your messages.

Tip: The Best Practices document recommends that you send three messages to prompt them to reply before disconnecting. We have seen that patrons login to Ask Here PA while working on homework, using IM with friends, cooking dinner for their families, and other multi-tasking. They may be “on” but not available to you. You may choose to disconnect after the three prompts or leave the session open and continue to assist others.

Tips for Site Coordinators

LISTSERV

To send a message to the listserv, please send your message to askherepa-admin@hslc.org.

If you have questions about the software, serving patrons using VR, to share great scripts that you have created, etc., please feel free to send your message to the Admin listserv.
If you need to get a shift covered on short notice, please send a request to swap shifts to the listserv.

POLICES

Please review your Policies and edit them as needed.

  1. Go to questionpoint.org
  2. Select “Librarian Log-on”
  3. Log-on using your 9 digit Admin account
  4. From the “Select Service” pull-down menu in the upper right of the screen,
  5. Select “Profile”
  6. Select the “Policies” link on the right hand side of the page.

It is important that your Policies are accurate and detailed as they are the primary tool for librarians from PA and beyond that are serving your customers.

E-MAIL NOTIFICATION

If you have an e-mail address posted in the system, the system should be sending you an e-mail whenever a “New” question arrives. Examples of “New” questions would be when a librarian serving one of your patron’s sets the active session resolution code to “Follow up by patron’s library” or if a patron responds to a follow-up response you have sent to them. To determine if you have an e-mail in place:

  1. Go to questionpoint.org
  2. Select “Librarian Log-on”
  3. Select “Administration” from the pull-down menu in the upper right
  4. Select “Settings”
  5. Select “E-mail notification”
  6. Be sure that “Use E-mail Notification” is set to “Yes” and you can enter oneor multiple e-mails. To enter multiple e-mails, separate the addresses with semicolons, such as jlibrarian@library.org;smith@school.edu.

SHARED FOLLOW-UP

Whenever a librarian ends a live chat session and sets the resolution code to “Follow-up by patron’s library”, the question is placed into “Shared Follow-up”, which is available to all Ask Here PA staff of the same queue (Public or Academic). If the patron accessed the service via the unique link provided on a participating library Web site, then the software also routes the question to that library as a “New” question under the “QuestionPoint Lists” provided on the My QuestionPoint window.

Please review your “New” and the “Shared Follow-up” lists regularly and be sure to respond to any questions that belong to your library. If you select the “Shared Follow-up” list, the column to the far right will display the patron screen name and the library that has the responsibility to answer that question. If your library is listed, please select that question. If you are selecting the question from the “Shared follow-up” lists you will select the “Claim” button. If you select the question from the “New” question lists, the link to claim the question will read “Recall from Shared Follow-up”.

Please also have staff claim and answer the questions to which a library is not affiliated. If the library is listed as “Ask Here PA Public” or “Ask Here PA Academic” please have staff answer these questions as well. It is the responsibility of the PA collaborative to answer these questions.

Practice Using Ask Here PA

Follow the steps below for practicing librarian and practicing customer to practice using CHAT.

Practicing as Librarian:

  1. Go to: http://www.questionpoint.org/
  2. Select “Librarian Logon”
  3. Logon using your User ID and Password
  4. Select “Launch Chat” from the link available on the lower left or select “Chat” from the Select Service pull-down menu available on the upper right
  5. Select the “Monitor ‘Practice Queue’ Only” option available below the box that has the live queue options
  6. Press “Save” and press “Ok” and you are ready to go

Practicing as Customer:

  1. Go to: http://www.questionpoint.org/
  2. Select “Librarian Logon” (be careful not to select “Patron Logon” at this step)
  3. Logon using your User ID and Password
  4. Select “Chat Patron Practice Form” from the lower left
  5. Complete the form and press “Submit”

Notes: While the best scenario is to practice with another staff member, it is possible to practice chat using a single user ID and password. If you have two computers available, follow the steps above for “practicing librarian” and “practicing customer” on each computer. If you only have one computer available, follow the steps above for “practicing librarian” but then begin at step 4 for “practicing customer”.

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