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LibraryH3lp Blog

LibraryH3lp is software used by libraries, educators, and non-profits for better customer service.

Monday, April 28, 2025

What (if any) impact have entry forms had on guest engagement?

Monday, April 28, 2025

An interesting question popped up recently while corresponding with a customer about entry forms and we thought it'd be interesting to reach out to the LibraryH3lp community for comment. The question is this -- how has the addition of entry forms impacted your guest engagement? Are stats up, down, or unchanged? 

To be clear, we know that most LibraryH3lp customers are not using entry forms at all. Entry forms are 100% optional in the 2nd generation chat skins. This question is focused on those folks who have opted to add entry forms to their chat skins.

Our question is one that has it's roots in a shake-up that happened almost 20 years ago. WAY back when we started LibraryH3lp in 2008, the library chat world underwent a huge shake-up because libraries started offering embedded chat boxes powered by Meebo. (Blast from the past, right?) For those of you not familiar with the chat scene of 2008, Meebo was the first popular chat box that totally lacked any kind of barrier to entry. Guests would just start typing to start a chat just as today's entry-form-less LibraryH3lp chat box works. Meebo was intended for personal use but libraries readily adopted it because the price was right (a.k.a. free). Now, the super interesting result from the switch was that many libraries who used entry forms prior to Meebo were having orders of magnitude upticks in their chat stats after migrating to Meebo.

As an example, UNC Chapel Hill started using Meebo (Pam was still a librarian there at that time), the library saw their chat stats immediately more than double nearly when they dropped their old, entry-form-based chat for a formless Meebo box. The librarians there found that patrons liked the anonymity and the way they could start a conversation easily, but yet could still provide personal details later on if needed for the actual question at hand. However UNC quickly realized that Meebo didn't work well when there was more than one person staffing, and so LibraryH3lp was born.

Now fast forward to today, it would be interesting to hear from y'all. If you have adopted entry forms for your LibraryH3lp chat box after having provided service without entry forms, have you crunched the numbers on your chat stats before and after adding the entry form? Let us know in the comments so folks can follow along. Or, if you'd rather not share publicly but open to sharing with us, email us at LibraryH3lp support instead.

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Forcing a webclient user to log out

Thursday, March 20, 2025

At the beginning of the year, we blogged about how you can opt folks out of their staffing assignments in order to effectively remove them from chat should they forget to log out. And now we've made it even easier to force a webclient user to log out if they've forgotten to do so!

On the users management page of the admin dashboard (USCAEUSG), local LibraryH3lp administrators can use the "Force Logout" button for a webclient user. That's it! Easy peasy.

force logout screenshot

One recommended follow-up after using "force logout" is meet with the user later and see if enabling the auto-logout feature in the webclient for staffing would be beneficial.

However if a user does not use the webclient for staffing and instead uses an external chat client like (like Pidgin, Adium, or a mobile app) then "force logout" will do no good because those chat clients have built-in reconnect logic which is difficult to overcome. In this case, the thing to do is go to the administrative dashboard and opt that user out of their staffing assignments on the users management page like we covered in that blog post earlier this year. That way, even though the user remains online, their availability does not affect the queue's overall availability for chat.

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Sharing Chat on Social Media

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Social media is where lots of folks spend an increasing amount of time every day—so reaching out to guests there with great customer service isn’t just smart; it’s essential. Did you know that you can share a link that takes guests directly to your chat widget as part of that outreach in social media posts?

It is simple to craft a URL to whisk your guests directly to your chat box with a single click. You just need three bits of information - the LibraryH3lp server for your subscription, your queue's name, and the ID for your chat skin. The format for the direct URL that uses these three bits of information looks like this:

https://{server}/chat/{queue}@chat.{server}?skin={id}

where {server} is the LibraryH3lp server for your subscription, {queue} is your queue's name, and {id} is the ID for your chat skin. 

For example, below is the URL we use for LibraryH3lp support crafted using the formula above. Our server is the main, US server, libraryh3lp.com. Our queue name is libraryh3lp-support. And our chat skin ID is 29566.

https://libraryh3lp.com/chat/libraryh3lp-support@chat.libraryh3lp.com?skin=29566

For help crafting your chat URL, check out our docs.


** An extra bit of integration for Facebook

If you have a Facebook Page, not only can you include your chat URL in posts, you can also include it as a "Contact us" call to action button on the Page. Pretty slick, right? You can see this integration in action on our Facebook Page.

Monday, February 17, 2025

Group Chat Makes Work Easier (and More Fun!)

Monday, February 17, 2025

We're betting that you are not a fan of long email chains or waiting hours for a simple answer. If you are into those things, then this post definitely isn't for you. But if you aren't, read on! Whether you are working in the office, remotely, or somewhere in between, having a shared space to talk, collaborate, and stay on the same page with your coworkers makes everything run smoother. That’s where group chat come in. 

Group chats help teams move fast. Instead of scheduling yet another meeting or digging through emails, you can drop a quick question in chat and get an answer in seconds. Need feedback on a guest's question? Want to share an update? It’s all right there in one place, keeping work flowing without unnecessary delays.

But it’s not just about efficiency—group chats can help you feel more connected. When folks can easily share ideas, troubleshoot problems together, and celebrate wins, work feels more like a team effort. And let’s not forget the little things—like sharing funny memes, weekend plans, or just checking in with coworkers. Those moments help build real relationships, even if you’re not in the same physical space.

In LibraryH3lp-land we call the place where you can internally chat with coworkers "conference rooms." Each subscription includes unlimited conference rooms which can be created and configured by local account admins

Conference rooms are accessed through chat clients.  The LibraryH3lp webclient provides a user's conference rooms automatically at the bottom of the main chat screen.  Users in external chat clients such as Adium or  Pidgin can also join these rooms using special credentials; your local admin can give you the needed credentials for your conference room.

Of course, it’s good to set some boundaries (no one wants to be glued to chat 24/7, or maybe you do!). But when used right, group chats make work easier, more collaborative, and yes, even a little more fun.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Updated and Expanded Queues Management Page

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

We've expanded the features available in the queues management page of the admin dashboard and given it a fresh new look! We invite you to give it a whirl (US, CA, EU, SG) and let us know of any suggestions you might have to improve it for everyone.

Note: If you have administrative access to your LibraryH3lp subscription, then this post is crafted just for you! If not, alas you won't be able to see any queue details in the dashboard. 

Let's take a quick tour and touch on the high points...

List of Queues

When you visit the queues management page, you'll see a table which lists all of your queues. For those of you with many queues and/or folders, there's filtering available under the column headings to help you whittle the list and find whatever queue you may be looking for. You can also uncheck the "Include offline" checkbox to whittle the list to only queues which have at least one operator logged in and staffing.

List of Queues

Managing a Queue's Settings

To see a particular queue's settings, click the queue row in the list. At the top of the queue's management page, you'll be able to update the queue's name, the email address associated with the queue, and optionally file the queue under a particular folder. 

Individual Queue Page with Assignments Tab Selected

Assignments

By default, you'll first see the staffing assignments for your queue. As in the old queue management page, you'll see everyone assigned to staff the queue, which staff are opted into the queue, and which staff are logged into chat. 

(New) Chat settings

In the chat settings tab, you'll find some new features that were not previously available in the old queue management page. The chat settings for a queue which are new include:

  • Guest privacy controls: Control Guest IP metadata saved with chats. You can save the full IP, only the subnet, or disable saving of IP metadata.
  • Chat transcript emails: Customize the email subject line used when chat transcripts are emailed to guests. The default subject line is "Your Chat Transcript."
  • Concierge auto-responses: Previously concierge auto-responses were managed by support request to LibraryH3lp staff. In the new page, you can now manage all aspects of concierge auto-responses for your queue.
  • Closing message: Add a message which is sent to the guest when an operator ends a chat. This is commonly used to offer a survey option to guests.
  • Simple rollover: Service rollover allows you to define priority order for queues when routing chats. This means you can do things like send guests to experts first and then a more general queue when experts aren't available. Or if you are part of a collaborative service, you can direct guests to a local librarian first and then to partners otherwise.

    A note on rollover: If you want guests to see a customized appearance based upon which queue is active in service rollover, you'll want to use the custom service rollover available in the chat snippet instead of simple rollover.

(New) Texting

If you use the SMS add-on module, you'll be able to manage your offline auto-reply and configure how offline messages sent by guests are handled (held Vs. emailed via the 3mail module).

(New) Mailbox & Tickets

If you use the 3mail module, you'll be able to configure your mailbox settings within this tab. 

Tickets is currently an invite-only feature under active development. More on this to come!

Can I still use the old page?

Yes! The old page is no longer supported but should continue to work for a quite a while. You can get to the old page by visiting the "Miss the old queues management page? Click here to access it." link at the top, right of the page. Just be aware that the new features mentioned above are only accessible in the new page.

Monday, February 3, 2025

Got FAQ?

Monday, February 3, 2025
Example: The LibraryH3lp FAQ

Guests want quick, easy answers to questions and access to information around the clock. After all, we're living in the information age right? The LibraryH3lp FAQ module is a great way to provide those answers and information. This handy module has what you need to provide help any time -- structured articles paired with search functionality, all optionally organized by help topic.

When you create a FAQ, you are creating a powerful resource that delivers 24/7 support and makes for happier guests. Why happier? Your FAQ is a huge time saver. By providing instant answers to all the most commonly asked questions, you'll be saving guests a heap of time. And by the way, your FAQ also lightens the load on staff, improving efficiency and service quality.

If you don’t have a FAQ yet, now is a fine time to start. And you don't have to start big. Start small with a few key commonly asked questions and then build over time. If you find you're getting a certain question asked frequently in chat, then add it to your FAQ. Over time, you'll build up an extensive and solid knowledgebase. The LibraryH3lp documentation has a section dedicated to navigating the FAQ module in the left sidebar with all you need to know about starting a FAQ. And unlimited use of the FAQ module is included with every LibraryH3lp subscription so it won't cost you an extra cent.

Whether you already have a FAQ or not, the LibraryH3lp support team offers free template design and import services. You don't have to be a web guru to have a great looking FAQ. Just shoot us an email and we'll be happy to customize your FAQ's templates to coordinate with your website and/or import existing questions and answers from an existing resource. Turn around time is quick -- usually just one or two business days.

Monday, January 27, 2025

Hello? Is anyone there?

Monday, January 27, 2025

We've all done it. Left the office in a rush and forgot to log out of chat. Doh! Now what? You don't want to leave guests hanging. The good news is that you can straighten this out pretty quickly if you have access to a computer or mobile device.

If you realize you've left yourself logged in on a computer that you cannot physically access, you can opt yourself out of your queue(s). What does opting out of a queue mean? When you are opted out of a queue, you won't receive incoming chats from guests. So it doesn't matter if you forgot to log out of chat since no chats are coming your way. Just log into the webclient from any computer or mobile device and opt yourself out of all queues. This opts you out of your queues from all locations no matter what software client you are using.  

Remember the "Review staffing assignments before connecting" screen you see each time you log into the webclient? There's a "No" button you can click for each of your queues which will opt you out of that queue. For a one-click solution, uncheck the "Receive chats on ALL queues" checkbox at the bottom of the queue list and that will automatically select "No" for all of your queue assignments.

After clicking "connect now", logout as usual. Phew! All fixed. Later when you're ready for your next chat shift, you'll click "Yes" (or recheck "Receive chats on ALL queues") to opt yourself back in.

Now if you realize that you've forgotten to logout and you don't have access to a computer or mobile device, your local administrator can also opt you out of your queues so you'll want to get in touch with that admin.

Setting autologout in the webclient

Take another peek at the screenshot above. There's a section at the bottom of the screen you can use to set up autologout to avoid a forgotten login. The autologout timer will help you out if you forget to logout by automatically logging you out after a period of time (timer) or at a specific time (clock). 

When autologout triggers, you will be presented with a box that both lets you know of the impending logout and lets you extend the time if needed. If you don't respond to that auto-logout prompt, you will be completely signed out within a minute.