Champions of Live Chat Reference

We celebrated some great library teams on Staff Development Day. Here's another team to commend: JPL's Ask a Librarian live chat reference agents.

We have 60 agents system-wide, representing every branch, plus Teen, Popular Library, Special Collections and Reference at the Main Library. Take a look.

Row 1: Laura Minnich, David Fuller, Christa Snow (co-coordinator), Erik Larsen, Julie McNeil, Carol Bailey, Mike Shell (coordinator)

Row 2: Yuri Jewitt, Sharon Kirkes, Valerie Mattair, Curt Beadell, Gloria Buenavista, Elizabeth Garnett

Row 3: Daniel Kibler (standing), Guy Adkins, Karen Hardin, Janine Stanley, Katherine Daye, Eve Harm

Row 4: Michael Rouse, Rita Vernon, Sara Radovic, Jeff Geiger, Margaret Morford

Not pictured: Susan Arthur, Jessica Bailey, Jack Betancourt, Mia Brack, Cheryl Callavini, Mia Clark, Margo Crafton, Kristi Dorney Revondolyn DuBois, Doug Fair, Kimberly Forster, Arnetta Girardeau, Trudy Hill, Amber Holley, Lanette Jackson, Radhika Kandlakunta, Justin Keiser, Alissa Leonard, Keli Likins, Laura Minor, Mary Mlady, Jay Mooney, Brian Moses, Matthew Moyer, Jodie Nehrt, Michelle Petrin, Isabelle Pierre, Michael Platzer, Anne Robert, Carisia Rooney, Theresa Rooney, Greg Royce, Maude Scott, Jacinda Stephens, Tasha Toliver, David White, Laura Young

Alumnae: Kema DeSegrada, Francesca Roccosalvo, Stacey Van Hoy, Carrie Paez

These folks serve real-time remote customers 20 hours a week. Local customers come through the JPL website interface, but the team also handles customers who come to Ask a Librarian through any Florida library site.

For more details, check out the Ask a Librarian Day post on this blog, as well as the statewide Ask a Librarian Blog.

Thanks, all you marvelous people!

Ask a Librarian Day is February 20, 2009

You all can feel proud that Jacksonville Public Library has one of the largest live chat reference teams in Florida's Ask a Librarian network.

We now have 60 chat agents, librarians and library associates who work at every branch, as well as at Main Library.

In addition, each month we place fourth or fifth for the number of public library customers who login to Ask a Librarian through our website.

Ask a Librarian chat and email services are available to anyone on the Internet who logs in through one of the 100 participating Florida K-12, public and academic library systems (more information about the service and its history here).

Local Desk
Better still, JPL is now expanding its Local Desk service.

Whenever a JPL agent is logged into Local Desk, JPL customers are connected directly to us, instead of to someone in another library system. You can imagine how much more helpful this is.

We can

• search JAXCAT
  
• take local customers to JPL's e-Research databases, the Programs & Events calendar, etc.
  
• introduce them to all the resources of My Online Library
  
• do the same circ transactions we would do by phone (holds, renewals, reports of account information, etc.)
  
• draw upon our own staff, collections and services throughout the JPL system, as well as upon our knowledge of and access to other local resources.
  

Ask a Librarian Day
On Friday, February 20th, Florida celebrates Ask a Librarian Day (details on the Ask a Librarian Blog).

Here's a chance for all of us to make our local Ask a Librarian service visible to our customers.

JPL chat agents at each location will have bright Ask a Librarian tee-shirts to wear on the day, and there will be lapel stickers for the rest of you.

There will also be business cards to give customers, and we encourage branches to do displays.

Special note: You don't have to be a trained chat agent to demonstrate Ask a Librarian to your customers.

Just login, click the Chat button, and show your customer a sample chat with a Florida librarian or library associate.

You can also take customers to the live chat demo to show them what to expect during a chat.

Remember that we also offer two other services through the Ask a Librarian page.

Email reference can take questions 24/7, and our goal is to reply within 24 hours (except Sundays and holidays).

Book a Librarian allows customers to schedule a session with a librarian at Main Library, in order to get a personal introduction to resources available there.

Unsure what to say to customers? Here are a few key speaking points:

• If you need help when you’re not in our library, visit Ask a Librarian
  
• Your questions will be answered by library professionals
  
• The service is open until midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and 10am to 5pm on Friday and Saturday
  
• It's free
  
• If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat, you can always email your question to us, and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.

And, of course, if you want more information about Ask a Librarian, contact Mike Shell, Christa Snow, Brian Moses or Julie McNeil in Main Reference. We'll be glad to help.

Thanks, everyone.

Ready Reference Information

Thanks to Greg Royce at Main for the following reference information:

If you haven't already had a customer ask for "free phones," you will soon enough. According to this story, Safelink Wireless is now offering a free phone program for low-income families.The service is designed for those who are already on government assistance, such as Medicaid, food stamps, etc., though Florida's Public Service Commission offers rebates for qualifying applicants through their Link Up and Lifeline programs.