As we continue to adjust to new workflows in LibraryH3lp, and as the service became increasingly busy this fall, there have been several questions about how to work with patrons who come and go from the chat.
There are 3 new FAQs available that address different types of patron behaviour and provide tips and best practices for providing the best possible experience for AskAway visitors.
We're getting into the busy part of the term and we're seeing shifts with 30-40 questions per hour. Here are a few strategies to help ease the burden on you and on patrons during this time of year.
If you've ever wondered how to send out a swamped call, then this is the blog post for you! Learn when and how to send out a swamped call, what happens when you send one out, and what to do if you see a swamped message.
When you're working on AskAway, there should always be at least one other person on shift with you. If you find yourself alone or short-staffed, your colleagues and the Admin Centre are here to help. Below, you'll find the steps you can follow to request help as well as strategies to manage calls while you wait for help to arrive.
WriteAway is a BC post-secondary collaborative online writing tutoring service. Undergraduate students at participating institutions can submit draft papers to WriteAway online and receive feedback and strategies to improve their writing from qualified tutors. WriteAway can be a nice complement to AskAway, as students who prefer online services or who are working off-campus can take advantage of online writing support.
The real value of Campfire comes from the community of service providers who use it to support one another during their shifts and keep AskAway running smoothly.
Log into Campfire and listen for notifications during each shift so that you'll be aware if something important comes up and your colleagues need assistance. You'll also be able to ask for help if you run into an issue.
A reminder on how to log out fully at the end of your shift.
Best practices and tips to help you prepare for unexpected patrons.
How to send permalinks (i.e. reliable links to database search results) to patrons.