LibAnswers for Ask a Librarian Delaware

Notes from the pilot program to live

Description of LibAnswers v.2

1. What can it do? LibAnswers has features that include:

• chat with a variety of widgets and messages to choose from• Email with a variety of webform layouts and fields to choose from• patron comment options• chat/email attachments both from librarians and patrons• spell checker• librarians can use images and multimedia• SMS texting• reports/analytics-Query Spy• FAQs (knowledge base) with link checker• FAQs: coming soon--cross linking/reference to LibGuides

2. How does it look and work for -patrons?

-librarians?

Example:A live sample of a pop-out:

http://aalstaff.lib.de.us/

Springshare’s example showing ‘when chat is offline’

Example:FAQs (creating our own knowledge base!)

Librarian side: View of when questions (“tickets”) are submitted by patrons.

Development (Administration)

URL:

http://answers.delawarelibraries.org

Action/Description When Who

6. Go live on all Delaware libraries’ websites

5. Test space on library sites

a) Bear and Kirkwood – New Castle County

b) Rehoboth Beachc) DDL

3. Training

2. Administrative set up

1. Decisions: a. Training dateb. Who is to be trained/involved?c. Access level for liaisons to what,

such as creating FAQsd. Policy about blocking IPe. Each group can have a different

color – do we want that?f. Additional decisions as needed

January through March 1, 2015

All participating libraries

October through January

Bear/Kirkwood: Kevin Turner, Beth Borene, Steve Davis, Charles Silverman, Anh NguyenRehoboth: Jessica/AlisonDDL: Cathay, Beth-Ann and Christine

Late Sept/early October

Now

Pilot libraries

Cathay will train pilot library staff and administrators

September

Late Sept/early October Cathay

Ask a Librarian Delaware – Proposed Timeline

Training date for pilot libraries is September 25

4. Choose widgets and other features and wording to use on site