Ask a Librarian spit and polish

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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