Pick up chats as quickly as possible. Even if you're busy with a chat already, try not to leave patrons waiting more than a few seconds.
If you're busy, pick up the chat and say something like:
"Hello! I'm helping someone else at the moment, but please go ahead and type your question and I'll be with you as quickly as I can."
This lets the patron know that our chat service is open, and that a real person is aware that they're waiting for help.
If your first patron is typing slowly, or has a simple question, and you can manage to switch back and forth between questions, great. Otherwise, it's okay to leave the second patron waiting while you finish with the first. (Sometimes there is a line at the reference desk too.)
If you're going to need some time to research the question, it's a good idea to let the patron know (something like "It will take me a minute or two to search, hold on if you don't mind") and/or check back in with them (e.g. "I'm still searching, please bear with me another minute") to let them know you're still working on their question.
If chat gets very busy and you need help, email libchat@gsu.edu. Someone(s) will usually log on within a minute or two to help.
At the end of every chat transaction, either ask the patron if they have everything they need, or invite them to come back next time they need help.
Any of these are good examples:
"Do you have everything you need to get started, or do you have any more questions?"
"Is there anything else I can give you a hand with today?"
"You're welcome! Come back next time you need help."
"Let us know next time you have a library question."
Always close with a "Goodbye," "Have a good afternoon," or similar closing.
It doesn't matter how you phrase it as long as you finish up with an offer of further help and a friendly goodbye of some sort.
Each incoming chat patron may choose to indicate their GSU affiliation (yes or no) and their campus (Atlanta/Perimeter).
You can see their responses by clicking the Patron Information tab at the top of the chat window.
This shows not only the patron's affiliation and campus, but two more useful pieces of information:
An IP address that starts with 131.96 or 168.28 indicates that the patron is on campus (Atlanta and Perimeter respectively).
You can also see what page the patron is on when they initiate the chat session.
When sharing links, remember to use URLs that will work on or off campus. Use proxied/permalinks whenever possible.
The OpenAthens link generator works in many cases. Copy a library link, paste into the box, and press Enter. See Denise's "Linking to Articles" LibGuide for more info.
GIL-Find: use the Permalink under the Send To menu.
Discover and most EBSCO databases: use the Permalink button on the right side of an item page, or under the Share menu of a search results page.
Databases:
Simply right-click, copy and paste the URL from the Databases A-Z list or use the Share button next to the database name.
We have some pre-written scripts built into LibChat. These have the answers to some common questions: library accounts, policies, and basic requests.
Select the "Canned Messages" button in your chat window and select the message you want. It won't be sent to the patron until you press Enter.
You can also create your own canned scripts.
You don't ever have to use canned scripts -- they're just an optional tool.
It's very rare that we get patrons intentionally causing problems on chat. When we do, it's usually just a bored student.
If you get one, your options include:
If you do need to block an IP address, please email Jason Puckett to let him know. Since GSU IP addresses get reassigned to other computers on campus, we don't leave them blocked for longer than necessary.
