The world’s libraries. Connected. Session 2: Let's get chatting - chat basics, using scripts, using policy pages. Tuesday 2 nd December 2014

The world’s libraries. Connected.

Session 2: Let's get chatting - chat basics, using scripts, using policy pages.

Tuesday 2nd December 2014


Session 1. December 1st 10.30-11.30. Introduction to Enquire, what it is, local service, SCL Universal Offers and more. Session 2. December 2nd 10.30-11.30. Let's get chatting - chat basics, using scripts, using policy pages Session 3. December 3rd 2.30-3.30. Offline worlflow - answering offline questions, referring to colleagues Session 4. December 8th 10.30-11.30. 24/7 Reference Cooperative and staffing the 24/7 Reference Cooperative Queue Session 5. December 9th 10.30-11.30. Administrator training - new user accounts, running and interpreting reports, institution level information Session 6. December 10th 2.30-3.30. Creating local services - Qwidget or full form, adhoc or permanent and the email form


Glossary of useful terminology

• QuestionPoint – this is the software that underpins the Enquire service

• Enquire – is the subscription service of 58 library authorities in England and Scotland participating in collaborative virtual reference

• Chat – online, real time Q&A sessions

• Offline – a chat session to be answered more comprehensively by email later, or referred by our UK and US partners locally

• OCLC’s 24/7 Reference Cooperative - U.S libraries who cover Enquire when UK staff are not online

• Local Services – these are configurable services over an above the Enquire stream, so use locally however you wish


A little bit about etiquette

• Chat in short sentences

• If the question is a tough one, explain that it might take a while to answer;

• Set users at ease with phrases like ‘that’s an interesting question’, although over doing this can appear insincere; also try to work the customer’s name into the conversation to make the service more personal.

• Ask for the client’s approval if appropriate ‘I’d like to refer this question to a specialist. Is that OK with you?’

• Keep users interested by offering relevant websites to look at whilst you do further research.

• Another method of keeping the user engaged is to tell them what sources you are searching and why.

• If you have had technical problems or require more time to find the answer tell the user politely and send a follow up email as soon as possible with the answer.

• Before closing, ask the patron if the question has been answered (“Does this completely answer your question?”)

• Close each session politely and definitively e.g. Thank you for using the service…’


Chat Etiquette

• Keep patrons informed

• Be aware of chat abbreviations – does your patron know what you are

communicating?

• If you require more time to find the answer tell the user politely and send a follow up

email as soon as possible with the answer. Keep your promises.

• Close each session politely

• QuestionPoint has good reference interview guidelines in the Policies (

http://wiki.questionpoint.org/247-Policies#42ReferenceInterview ) and Best Practices (

http://wiki.questionpoint.org/247-Best-Practices#ReferenceInterview/ResourceSelection )

http://wiki.questionpoint.org/247-Policies

http://wiki.questionpoint.org/247-Best-Practices


Good Service In, Good Service Out

• The tone of the response; i.e. level of formality or personalisation, tell me about yourself, take charge

• Depth of response; i.e. how much of a 'reference interview' to be conducted; short or long answers; how much help to be given when questions outside the scope

• How much time to be given to a transaction / setting expectations

• Method for evaluating responses, by users and reference co-ordinators

• Create loyalty out of failure – ‘signposting’

• Customers are the arbiter of quality, we need to keep them not lose them – ensure we establish credibility for Enquire, our local authorities and public libraries.


Staffing Enquire: things to do at the start of your shift


Things to remember when starting your chat shift

1. Remember to configure (or at least check) the settings before each shift

2. Look to see who your shift partners are – they are the only ones that count. You can access the rota from the Enquire Staff URL: http://

www.oclc.org/support/services/enquire.en.html

http://www.oclc.org/support/services/enquire.en.html




1. Next check your pc settings.

• If you forget to do this before launching chat, don’t worry you can do this when you are in chat.

• This is a one time change unless your machine is upgraded/changed.



2. Check your shift partners:http://www.oclc.org/support/services/enquire.en.html


2.1. Shows date and time the rota was last updated

2.2. Shows which authorities you are on duty with


Logging into QuestionPoint:http://www.questionpoint.org


Enter your User ID Your password will initially be the first 20 characters of your email address – just keep typing until the cursor stops – all email addresses are case sensitive, all of yours will be in lower case

http://www.questionpoint.org


Personal settings: email / timeout – 1 off setting change

The world’s libraries. Connected. http://www.questionpoint.org


Things to remember when conducting a virtual reference session:

• Never forget the reference interview – the same principles that apply to physical, email or telephone reference still apply here – always try to ascertain the level, where they have been before and what they want it for.

• Be confident to multitask – you’ll need to be able to cope with opening multiple internet sessions to find information.

• Have a positive service attitude and willingness to help

• If you want time to think about it take it offline

• Use the Policy Pages.

• Inappropriate questions – there is a script

• Stay calm and have fun!


Question and Transcriptexamples


Examples of questions asked on Enquire

• Can I have the contact details for the chaplaincy training centre for the army? Please

• What are some street addresses in London, especially in Bloomsbury, where Virginia Woolf lived?

• email response please I need to find at least ten (fiction) books written about World War I for a A level English literature student. I've got a few but could you suggest some more please.

• i want to come and borrow a book that teaches me how to work with spreadsheets and or excel. this is to find out if you have any books that can teach me. thank you

• I'm writing a novel and am researching a character: a man who works as a civil servant in the colonial office in London in the 1950s.... Any ideas where I can a) find out about who worked at the col. office/in what capacity/their backgrounds or b) general fiction or non-fiction that might help me get inside this character's head? I've already read some Graham Greene. As an American woman, I'm finding this character particularly tricky!


Let’s get chatting

• An overview of both the patron and the librarian


Patron/Customer Access:

• To get a better feel for how you can help the customer, be a patron:

• Know your way around the patron’s form

• Know how pages are displayed

• Look at the difference ‘preferences’ that are available in a session for different formatting


Patron/Customer Access via the link on your library pages



Librarian access



What are all these queues1-3 queues: staff are monitoring only their local service and will not see Enquire questions9 queues: staff are monitoring Enquire, it is very important you select both queues 40+ queues: staff are on duty monitoring Enquire and the 24/7 Reference cooperative80+ queues: these are OCLC Backup staff that are the last resort for pick up. We should pick up questions as timely as possible and not rely on the Backup staff, as they are monitoring many other queues too.



Lets Chat….


Your toolbox – Info: about the patronScripts: pre written information for speedNotes: librarian only notes Policies: policy pages for the library

You type here

The transcript, librarian and patron conversation appears here

Where the patron has come from



















Instant Messaging: sending


Instant Messaging: receiving


Closing your Chat Session


Quality


Quality assessments:

Everyone within QuestionPoint has the ability to raise queries regarding quality.

For Enquire this is generally done through reporting to [email protected]

For the US, they go directly to Quality (which we do on your behalf).

The quality is assessed against the Best Practices and Policy pages:

mailto:[email protected]


In the question –Refer To– box pick as follows and type in a comprehensive assessment


Question: could you tell me how to find an address rather than a persons name on the census. it is a school for the deaf and dumb I am looking for during 1851-1891 thank you

Category: ENQUIRE_UK

zip code: s62 7qt

IP Address: 86.172.156.234

Referer: http://www5.oclc.org/questionpoint/ENQUIRE_UK/ENQUIRE_UK.html

Browser/OS: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; Trident/7.0; rv:11.0) like Gecko

---

Clues about the session:

Postal code: could be key (in this instance it isn’t)

Category and Referer: Clues about the origin of the query, in this instance it is the generic Enquire form.


Patron: could you tell me how to find an address rather than a persons name on the census. it is a school for the deaf and dumb I am looking for during 1851-1891 thank you

Librarian 1: Librarian <name> has joined the session.

Patron: I need to know how many people were at the school in 1851 and do not know how to look for the school without a students name

Librarian 1: Hello and welcome to Enquire.It is possible to check the Census by address by using the Ancestry database.Where was this school and I can perhaps help you with this one.

Patron: I do have ancestory, Yorkshire residential School for the deaf and dumb probabley in Doncaster

Patron: how can I look at the censuses without a name?

Librarian 1: You can check by address - the other option is to contact the library in Doncaster or the nearest archive that may have original census records.

Patron: how do I find it on ancestry?

Librarian 1: Do you have the full address of the school?

Patron: at the moment I have not so I am really testing your skill sorry

Patron: but if I got it how would I find it on ancestry would I just type in the address instead of the usual surname?

Patron: it is also known as Doncaster college for the deaf.

Librarian 1: That's Ok - if you search 1851 Census for example. The search box "Lived in" should be completed using Doncaster as a place name and the name of the street should be used in the keyword search box- maybe even using deaf or dumb as keywords might help. I am logged on to Ancestry just now so I will give that a try for 1891.I will get back to asap.


Patron: thank you <name>

Librarian 1: This search has listed pupils at St John's Institution for the deaf and dumb in Clifford, Boston Yorkshire in 1891. Is this the right one?

Patron: no sorry the area is not the same.

Patron: the area would be Doncaster and at that time 1891 it would be West Riding of Yorkshire England

Librarian 1: I have found entries in 1901 and 1911 Census for the Yorkshire Institution for the deaf and dumb in Doncaster - which lists all the pupils and teachers

Librarian 1: Are you looking for one person in particular? - Would it help if you left the enquiry with me and I could search further for you?

Patron: I think the address for the college now is St Leger Way Doncaster. I do not know any name at all. I just need to find how many pupils were at this school in the 1800s.

Patron: I thank you so much did you type in what you told me in the search boxes. Or better still can you pick me out any name and age and place of birth

Librarian 1: Hi I have searched the 1891 Census putting in Doncaster as the place they lived in and using Leger and Deaf as keywords - there are too many pupils listed for me to count them all for you unfortunately - if you try this search you should be able to estimate the numbers (quite a few!) and it gives you their names and estimate of date of birth. I hope this helps. I have your email address now so I can get back in touch to see how you get on if that’s OK with you?

Patron: Thank you so much <name> for your help and I will give it a try.

Patron: Of course you can and I really appreciate your help.

Librarian 1: Thank you for using Enquire.

Librarian 1: Librarian ended chat session.


---

Note 1: Set Resolution: Followup By Patron's Library

Librarian 2: Referred from: Enquire(10836) by: UK Support(100284857) to institution: Doncaster Central Library (Enq-UK)(11027) Reason: Referred Local Query.

Librarian 3: Hello <patron name>

My name is Chris and your question has been referred to Doncaster Central Library. I have read through the transcript and it looks like your question has been answered. The school is still open in Doncaster as The School for the Deaf, Leger Way, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN2 6AY

<telephone>

If you need anymore help please contact either [email protected] Or [email protected] The staff will be pleased to help your further.


Survey comment

What can I say about this site? I have used this site many times and they always give 100% to your query. I would and have recommended The Patron to my friends and will continue to do so. So thank you to your excellent site.


• Prompt pick up

• Good greeting

• Clear information

• Showing the customer how to use the database (in this instance Ancestry):

• if you search 1851 Census for example. The search box "Lived in" should be completed using Doncaster as a place name and the name of the street should be used in the keyword search box- maybe even using deaf or dumb as keywords might help.

• Clarification

• This search has listed pupils at St John's Institution for the deaf and dumb in Clifford,Boston Yorkshire in 1891. Is this the right one?

• Advised email address was received

• Referred to local library and followed up

• Bread and butter reference

The session encompasses libraries helping customers to access digital information and access information (SCL Information and Digtial Offers).

The session was informative, but set the user at ease with the tone.

What’s so good about the session?


Where to go for help

• http://oclc.org/support/services/enquire.en.html – help guides, hints and tips will be added to our new webpages

• PN List – not many use for this, but it can be. If you are not on the listserv, let us know and we can add you.

• [email protected]

• Support

• [email protected]

• Tel: 0114 267 7502

http://oclc.org/support/services/enquire.en.html



Documents

The world’s libraries. Connected. Session 2: Let's get chatting - chat basics, using scripts, using policy pages. Tuesday 2 nd December 2014