AskAway Blog

Patron Typing Bug

Submitted by admin-boss on

We continue to have reports of patrons experiencing difficulty typing into some Qwidgets.  QP is continuing to investigate this issue, and has requested our help in identifying the issue.

If a patron reports difficulty typing during their chat session with you, please send me an email with the following information:

1. Time and date of the call
2. Patron's institution
3. Whether the patron's status indicator (beside their name in the My Active tab) is a green square, yellow triangle or red circle.
4. The About info:

10 Tips for Picking Up Patrons

Submitted by admin-boss on

Managing the patron queue can be difficult, particularly as AskAway gets busier. We're all committed to providing the best patron experience possible and sometimes this means holding back a moment when a new question arrives to ensure it's picked up by the librarian best suited to answer that question.  Here's some tips compiled by Myfanwy Postgate, one of our BC ELN AskAway librarians...

10 Tips for Picking Up Patrons

Mastering the Reference Interview

Submitted by admin-boss on

AskWA, the Washington State virtual reference service, offers Ref22 online sessions on a variety of topics of interest to virtual reference librarians.  The latest session was on Mastering The Reference Interview.

From the AskWA coordinator:

Thanks to everyone who attended our awesome Ref22 session this morning on mastering the reference interview.  Christa Werle from Sno-Isle Libraries handled the session very well, and we had a fun and interactive group of participants.

Strategies for Busy Times!

Submitted by admin-boss on

We're getting into the busy part of the term and we're seeing shifts with 20-30 questions per hour. Here's a few strategies to help ease the burden on AskAway service providers and stressed patrons during this time of year...

1. Log into Campfire! In Campfire you're able to quickly communicate with all your AskAway colleagues online.

2. Swamped Scripts. Pick up patrons as quickly as you can, preferably before 60 seconds have passed, and use the swamped scripts to manage patron expectations and queue flow.

New Option for Evening Staff

Submitted by admin-boss on

Do you work end of the day AskAway shifts?  Then you know how frustrating it can be wrapping up your chats while also juggling incoming after-hours questions.  Now you don't have to!

QuestionPoint has added the ability to deselect the active Queue and still continue with existing chats at closing time. This allows librarians to finish up with current questions without the added pressure of sending out the Closed scripts to new patrons arriving after hours.

BCIT Library Website

Submitted by admin-boss on

Just a heads up that the BCIT web site which includes the Library is undergoing a face-lift. As of Saturday it will look substantially different. None of the actual content has changed, however, just the look of the main page and the navigation.

UBC Engineering Classes

Submitted by admin-boss on

Colleagues:

Starting with this week, we are teaching approximately 1,800 engineering students in a few major classes- Engineering Cases (APSC 150), Engineering Communication (APSC 176) and Technical Communication (APSC 201) .

If you get those students coming to you, please help them by starting with our SciEng homepage - http://scieng.library.ubc.ca where you will see links to the appropriate course pages – APSC 150, 201, 176 and 262

Please refer any questions you may have with these folks my way.

Many thanks,

QuestionPoint Bug Fixes

Submitted by admin-boss on

There have been a number of reports of QuestionPoint bugs since the last software install on September 19th.  These include:

1)  The inability to see how many calls other librarians are handling via the "All" tab in the chat monitor.

2)  The address bar doesn't appear when the Policies link is clicked in the chat monitor.

3) Patrons have been reporting difficulty typing in the Qwidget box.

The first two items will be resolved in the next QP install, happening tomorrow AM (September 28).

How-it-Works for Patrons!

Submitted by admin-boss on

Have you ever wondered exactly what the AskAway session looks like from the patron side? Perhaps wondered what options are available for making the session more user-friendly or accessible? Check out the new How-it-Works tutorial for patrons with step-by-step help, key screenshots & "more" hover tips!

UVic Chem 101 Labs

Submitted by admin-boss on

From Liz Ball at UVic:

Hi Colleagues:

RE CHEM 101 Labs:

There  are 900 students trying to complete their first CHEM 101 Lab.  There is a CHEM 101 Web page at  http://web.uvic.ca/~chem101/.  Lots of answers to questions students maybe asking at the Library Help Desk are found on this web page.

If students want help in writing up their Lab, they should be sent to the Chemistry Drop in Centre on the 2nd floor of Elliot (30 hours a week) .

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