LibraryH3lp Blog

When chat originates over a queue, you can tag that chat for follow-up -- even if the chat has already ended. Usually a chat is tagged for follow-up because the guest cannot be fully helped immediately and some sort of follow-up action is required.  Most commonly, chats are tagged for follow-up via email. However, LibraryH3lp also offers a DeskTracker integration that works with tag for follow-up.

How do I find out which chats were tagged for email follow-up?

You can see which chats were tagged for email follow-up from the Chat History page in either the dashboard or webclient for staffing with the Tags column.  By default, the Tags column is hidden since not everyone uses the tag for follow-up feature, but it is easy show it using the drop-down menu in any of the column headings.
Any chat tagged for follow-up via email will have a "follow-up" entry in the Tags column as part of its metadata.

How do I tag a chat for follow-up?

In the webclient for staffing, there is a tag for follow-up button that is included with every chat over a queue.
Operators using an external client such as Pidgin or Adium should click on the "chat management link" that displays at the top of each chat and begins, "For transfers, etc..." to tag chats for follow-up.

Still using the old /webchat/ client?

Not sure which client you're using?  Check the login screen appearance.

Hi all!  The updates continue.  This time we've got the Activity page (available in both the admin dashboard and webclient for staffing) in our sights.  There are a few minor aesthetic changes but the big news is that you have more control over your downloads of chat metadata and transcripts.

As before, you can select which chats to download by clicking the checkbox for a chat in the metadata table.  Or if no chats are selected, all chats displayed in the metadata table are downloaded.

We've consolidated the separate download metadata and transcript buttons into a single button that covers it all.  It is the blue button you see above that has a cloud with a down arrow.

Download selected chats button

Click that button to unlock the goodness.

New "Download chats" dialog for metadata and transcripts

Using the Download chats dialog, you can:

There's a new option for manual chat window layout now available within the webclient for staffing. Those who have used LibraryH3lp for many years and are familiar with the original version of the webclient for staffing will already know this feature well.

By default, the webclient for staffing automatically lays out chats in Hollywood Squares format.  That is, each open chat takes up the maximum possible real estate without overlapping another open chat. We've made automatic layout the default since it is a timesaver, allowing the operator to focus on the guest instead of window management.

However if you prefer to prevent that automatic layout from happening and would rather manage your own chat space, head over to your webclient preferences and uncheck the "Automatically arrange and size chat windows" option.

Here's an example of what you would see when there are two chats with automatic layout:


And below is what those same two chats look like with the manual layout.  The grey area is the chat space and the chats are floaty windows that live inside that chat space.  You can move and resize chat windows at will and move them around all willy nilly by grabbing anywhere in the chat window title bar.  The resize handle is located in the bottom right-hand corner of the chat window.


To ensure your browser grabs the latest version of the webclient for staffing, click the reload button while holding down the SHIFT key to clear cache before logging in.

Menu Layout

The navigation menu has moved from the top to left sidebar, which opens up the space for your custom status (more on that below).

Left: older layout with navigation at top.  Right: updated layout with navigation along left sidebar.

Custom status for colleagues more conveniently located

Canned message improvements

Visual canned message browser.

Hope everyone is having a great summer!  Quick heads up that we pushed out some aesthetic changes to the webclient for staffing and the admin dashboard recently.  Though we've modernized the look and feel, there are no major changes to the underlying functionality for this latest update.

Hi folks!  We are solidly into summer and we all know what that means...  It's time to re-group and shore up for the next academic season.  To help you get the most out of your Ask a Librarian service when students return, we've dusted off and updated our checklist from last year with some new ideas.

Ask a Librarian Check List

• Is help available anywhere a patron might need assistance?  
• Action item: Check all the usual places: website, subject and course guides, catalogs, databases, mobile apps.  Don't forget your 404 (not found) page!
• Can patrons easily locate chat and FAQs on your web pages with just a glance?
• Pro tip: Aim for a consistent, highly visible place where patrons can always find help.
• Action item: Ask a friend to play the part of a patron and see how long it takes them to find help without intervention.
• Do you proactively invite patrons to chat?  
• Action item: If a patron has been sitting on a page for a while, they might be stuck.  Add a proactive chat invitation to your web page and ask them if they need help. 
• Are patrons getting the help they need?
• Pro tip: You can search the chat metadata on the Activity page to find unanswered chats and evaluate wait times.
• Action item: Create canned messages for librarians to use when responding to patrons.  This saves a lot of redundant typing and speeds up response time.
• Action item: Do you find yourself always asking patrons for the same info? Set up a concierge auto-responder which immediately triggers a request for that info so the librarian has what they need up front to better serve the patron.
• Can patrons get help after hours?
• Action item: When chat is offline, point patrons to your searchable FAQ.  (Don't have a LibraryH3lp FAQ, email us and we'll create and customize one to match your website for free!)
• Consider back-up staffing: Our partner, Chatstaff, provides responsive, high quality back-service 24/7 or for select hours.

Text a Librarian Check List

• Do patrons know about your Text a Librarian service?
• Action item: Advertise on your website and make it easy for patrons to use.  Here's a handy HTML example:
  <a href="sms:15555551234">Text us at 1-555-555-1234!</a>
• Action item: Advertise on all printed promotional materials and during tours and instruction sessions
• Action item: Encourage patrons to add the library to their contacts list for later use.

• Double-check your offline auto-response.
• Action item: Pretend you are a patron and text your service when it is offline.  If the offline auto-response misses the mark, email us with a new auto-response 140 characters or fewer.

Email a Librarian Check List

• Create a new user, automatically adding her to queues, conference rooms, canned message pools, and buddying her with colleagues. 
• Perform a search/replace operation across FAQs.
• Bulk import questions and answers into a FAQ.
• Edit questions or templates in the console. Because consoles rock.

• Display staff chat status as an in/out board. 
• Count the number of active chats and the number of operators currently staffing chat.
• Receive reports when too few operators are staffing.
• See if chat is online and, if not, why not. 
• Somebody forgot to log out.  Opt that operator out of staffing so guests don't think you're available.
• Update staffing assignments on a schedule.
• Create a chat bot to answer basic guest questions.

•  Forward all of yesterday's chats to your inbox.
•  Get a summary of last week's activity. 
•  Delete last month’s transcripts. 
•  Download chat transcripts for import into Excel.
•  Download a record of FAQ views and searches.

•  Poll 3mail for new messages and send notifications via chat or email.