Ask Here PA. Training and Service Manual August

Transcription

1 Ask Here PA Training and Service Manual August

2 Table of Contents Workshop Agenda. Page 3 Information for New Staff... Page 4 System Requirements.. Page 4 Log On (Start your Chat Shift) Page 5 Session Guidelines Page 6 Ending a Session Page 7 Librarian to Librarian IM..... Page 8 Creating Scripts..... Page 9 Staffing the 24/7 National Cooperative... Page 9 Chat Follow-up..... Page

3 Ask Here PA Workshop Agenda 09:30 Welcome and Introductions Introduction to Ask Here PA and QuestionPoint 24/7 Reference Computer Settings QuestionPoint Demonstration Practice Session Noon Lunch 04:00 End VR Best Practices Your experience using VR Ask Here PA Behaviors Checklist Librarian to Librarian I.M. My QuestionPoint Features Ask > Settings > My Scripts and URL Scripts Follow-up: My Questions and Question Lists Wrap-up Support For support after training, please contact Cindy Pitchon. Phone: Staff Web Page UserID = askherepa Pword = ask

4 Information for New Staff Q: What is Ask Here PA? A: Ask Here PA is a service of the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Bureau of Library Development, and managed by HSLC/Access PA that will provide synchronous virtual reference, including online chat services to the residents of Pennsylvania, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Ask Here PA will also be part of a national consortium organized by OCLC which will provide shared virtual reference services on a national basis. The national consortium is called the 24/7 Cooperative. Q: What is the OCLC 24/7 Cooperative? A: The 24/7 Cooperative provides round-the-clock coverage for libraries and to bolster service when and where it is needed most. Librarians at participating locations in the cooperative utilize the QuestionPoint software system hosted by OCLC in order to provide virtual reference to all member libraries, contributing a fraction of time in order to receive complete coverage. Q: What is QuestionPoint? A: QuestionPoint is a total reference solution composed of three basic tools: reference, Chat reference, and a 24/7 cooperative reference. QuestionPoint is designed to be a fully integrated service. This is accomplished by utilizing an add question feature that allows you to input and track questions by walk-in, fax, phone, etc. You will be able to respond to and manage these questions and they become part of the statistics reporting system. The live chat consists of two basic features; chat and co-browse. Cobrowsing enables the librarian and patron to peruse the same webpage. The 24/7 cooperative reference service will enable Ask Here PA to provide live chat coverage 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Our plan is to utilize PA staff from 8 am to 9 pm and the cooperative service will cover the other hours. Q: How does a statewide live chat service work? A: Library staff from participating libraries jointly provides coverage (a minimum of 5 hours per week per library) for Ask Here PA. There will be two queues; an academic queue and a general queue. Staff from participating libraries will staff the appropriate queue and serve as backup for the other queue. For more Questions and Answers, please see the Ask Here PA FAQ posted at QuestionPoint System Requirements Chat Librarians not using co-browse A web browser with JavaScript turned on: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or 7, Netscape 6 + Firefox 1.5+, Opera and Safari A high speed connection to the internet Adobe Flash Player: Version 9 or higher Patrons not using co-browse A web browser with JavaScript turned on: Microsoft Internet Explorer (6 or higher), Netscape, Firefox, Opera and Safari A connection to the internet (the faster the connection the better the experience) For the most current QuestionPoint System Requirements, please visit

5 art your chat shift) Log On (Start Your Chat Shift) 1. Go to 2. If using Internet Explorer: a. Select Tools > Internet Options > b. Select Settings (Browsing History) i. Check for Newer Versions of Stored Pages should be set to Every Visit to the Page ii. Select OK > OK 3. Click Librarian Logon (at top of page). The QuestionPoint Logon page appears. Tip: Bookmark this page as a shortcut for steps Type your QuestionPoint authorization (User ID). 5. Type your QuestionPoint password. Tip: Case sensitive; be sure that Caps Lock is off. 6. Click the Logon button to go to the My QuestionPoint page in QuestionPoint. 7. If you wish, click Chat Monitoring Tool in the Quick Links to check the status of your queues. Click Home when done. 8. Click Launch Chat in the Quick Links to start your chat shift. Note: You must log off to end your shift properly. 9. Keep QuestionPoint window open/minimized during chat shift. 10. Resize the Chat Monitor. 11. Selecting Queues: a. Click Ok on the dialog box indicating that you should select queues. b. Select your Queues c. Select Save Queues 12. Click Settings to change your preferences for patron alerts and font size, if needed

6 Basics for Every Session 1. Be welcoming and personable. Use the patron s name if appropriate. Reply to his/her specific question, using scripted responses thoughtfully. 2. Type like you would talk. You can match the conversational tone of your patron s posts without using slang, shorthand, or emoticons. 3. Don t use library jargon or abbreviations. 4. It s OK to use short phrases and informal language.don t get hung up on grammar and punctuation!!! use three or four periods between words to indicate pauses. 5. Verify the patron s question if needed and/or conduct a reference interview/clarify the question 6. Break up long responses into shorter blocks (two or three sentences). Type the first part, make your last word more, and continue the message in your next post. 7. Avoid the Caps Lock key. Typing in all capitals is considered yelling. 8. Be as clear and concise as possible without being abrupt. Be careful to word your messages in a way that communicates helpfulness ( Were you able to check in our online catalog? NOT You already checked the online catalog, right? ). 9. Keep the chat conversation flowing. Thirty seconds of dead air is a long time for the patron. Try to establish a rhythm of sending a message every 30 to 45 seconds or less. ( I am going to check some printed sources. I am still searching. ) 10. Let the patron know what you will do next. ( I m sending you a Web page now. ) 11. Allow enough time for the patron to read, think and respond before your next posting. Ask for cues from the patron about pacing. ( Let me know when you see the page that I sent. Let me know when you are ready ) 12. If the question will take more time to answer, keep the patron informed and give him/her something to do in the meantime. ( While I am checking, you may want to look at this Web page. ) 13. Confirm that the patron can see the web page sent and/or that you have answered the patron s question 14. In chat reference, users are more anonymous, which may reduce inhibitions. You don t have to tolerate abusive or offensive language, but don t take impatience or abruptness personally. The Pew Report reveals that 37 percent of teens using IM have written something that they would not have said faceto-face. 15. Send a goodbye message this should include a thank you for using Ask Here PA. Please review the 24/7 Reference Best Practices document available online at: Basics for Every Session from Getting Chatty Anytime, Anywhere Answers: Building Skills for Virtual Reference

7 Ending a Session When you are finished helping a customer, you must officially end the call. Do not click on your browser X. Once the chat session has been ended, the librarian follows these steps to end the call: Step #1: Click the "End Session" button. Step #2: Choose one of five Resolution Codes. Step #3: Click on your Resolution Code choice, then click Add. Step #4: Click the Close button 1. Answered: No further action is needed / No further action is possible and no address provided 2. Follow-up by Me: Transcript will appear in My Questions > New on your My QuestionPoint screen. You will personally send an answer to the customer using QuestionPoint after the live session. 3. Follow-up by Patron's Library: Transcript will appear in statewide Shared Follow-up on the My QuestionPoint screen. Someone else will work on it and send an answer to the customer after the live session. Majority of follow-ups are handled in this way. 4. Lost Call: For example a disconnected session where you had no communication with the customer and you do not have a way to follow-up with the customer. Please check to see if the patron provided an when they logged on before using this resolution code. If an was provided then a follow-up resolution should be used. 5. Practice: Practice, test session, or demonstration by library staff. Click on your Resolution Code choice. It will pulse and then appear as a darker shade of green. Click the "Add" button. The Resolution Code you have added will then appear at the end of the chat transcript as a Note to librarians. NOTE: Please do not select Descriptive Codes

8 Librarian to Librarian IM HOW DO I INITIATE AN IM WITH ANOTHER LIBRARIAN? To initiate an IM with another librarian: 1. From the chat monitor, select the IM tab 2. Locate the librarian you wish to contact from the list and click once on their name 3. This will open an IM session. You should type a message in the lower right box and press send. (Note that simply selecting a librarian from the list immediately initiates a request to IM with the other librarian and the other librarian will receive the New IM request has arrived! notification. Sending a message is not what initiates the request. If you receive an IM request (using the instructions below) and a message from the initiating librarian does not display right away, it likely means that they have not sent a message yet.) HOW DO I PICK UP AN "IM" WHEN I'M SENT ONE BY ANOTHER LIBRARIAN? There are three steps to retrieving an IM (Instant Message) when another librarian has tried to send you one. 1. You'll see a pop-up alert appear in the middle of your screen stating, "New IM request has arrived!" You need to click the "Close" button here before you are free to do anything else. When you click the "Close" message to acknowledge the New IM request has arrived! message you are *not* actually picking up the IM request. You are only acknowledging that you are aware that another librarian is trying to send you an IM. 2. Your second step is to select the "IM" tab appearing next to the New tab on the chat monitor. This will open the IM view on the right side and lower portions of your screen. On the lower left of your screen you'll see the other librarian's name appear below the heading "My Active IM Sessions." 3. The third step is to actually click on that librarian's name in the "My Active IM Sessions" area. Now your IM session is open and you can chat back and forth with your colleague. When you're done, simply click on the button labeled "End IM Session." If you had an active session open with a patron, that will still be live in your "My Active" tab. You can click the My Active tab and then click on the patron's name to return to that session at any time. Ask Here PA Manual - 8 -

9 Creating Scripts To create scripts: 1. Go to 2. Select Librarian Logon 3. In the Select Service pull-down menu, select Ask 4. Select Settings a. To create personal scripts, select My scripts b. To create URL scripts, select URL scripts Ask Here PA Staff Use Web Site UserID = askherepa Pword = ask247 Staffing the 24/7 National Cooperative SELECTING QUEUES WHEN YOU HAVE A 24/7 NATIONAL COOPERATIVE SHIFT: When you are staffing the 24/7 National Cooperative queue, select the two queues you regularly select AND the 24/7 queue. KEY NOTES ABOUT STAFFING THE 24/7 NATIONAL COOPERATIVE QUEUE: Pick up patrons as soon as possible. Do not close Active questions from non-pennsylvania patrons. This allows the home library to review the session from their Active list and close the question themselves. When the home library closes the question, it will remove it from your Active list. Do not set Descriptive Codes Please attempt to use the home library hello and goodbye scripts. For example, if you assist a patron from the Maryland AskUsNow service, you do not want to say Hello and welcome to Ask Here PA to the Maryland patron. If there is a local hello and goodbye script available, you will find it in the list of scripts under Patron Library. Ask Here PA Manual - 9 -

10 Chat Follow-up If the question requires follow-up, select one of the follow-up resolution codes at the end of the chat session. 1. When a chat session ends, the librarian selects one of the following follow-up resolution codes in the chat monitor: Follow-up by me (the librarian who chatted with the patron will follow-up) Follow-up by patron s library (the patron s home library or group will follow-up) 2. QuestionPoint creates a question (reference transaction) for the session and places it in the QuestionPoint system, including the chat transcript and other information about the session. Note: A question can be added in QuestionPoint through a chat session, web form, telephone call, reference-desk visit, etc. Any expression of a customer s information need can be managed in QuestionPoint as a question. Based on the resolution code selected, QuestionPoint assigns a status to the question and adds it to a question list: Resolution Code Question Status Question List Follow-up by me? New for the chatting My New Questions librarian Follow-up by patron s library? New for the patron s home library or general shared follow-up 3. To answer a question that has been coded as follow-up New Questions or Shared Follow-up 1) The librarian logs on to QuestionPoint. 2) The librarian goes to one of the lists of questions that need follow-up: a) List of questions for you to follow-up (My New Questions) b) List of questions for your library to follow-up (New Questions) c) List of questions for libraries in your group to follow-up (Shared Follow-up) 3) If the librarian selects a question in the list to follow-up. IF the patron DID provide an at logon a) Select Answer (if available) or Claim and then Answer and provide your response. IF the patron had NOT provided an at logon but did leave an within the session transcript a) Select change patron and follow the steps to change the patron and close the previous session (changing the patron creates a new session transaction) b) Select Answer and provide your response Additional follow-up and question management support is available from: Ask Here PA Manual