By Corinne on June 26, 2024
Welcome back to our second installment of Tales From the Co-Op! If you missed our first post in this new series, be sure to check it out here: May Exchanges.
What is the LibAnswers 24/7 Global Chat Cooperative? As the name suggests, the Co-Op brings coverage to your library's online LibChat service - all day, every day, anywhere in the world. It's staffed by our in-house MLS-degreed librarians along with tons of cooperative members from contributing libraries.
We're bringing years of expertise from academic, public, school, and special libraries and putting it to work helping connect your patrons to library resources and research assistance. Here's how it works: When your librarians are unavailable, a Co-Op librarian will pick up any online chat request from your patrons - so your patrons get help right away! Our Co-Op librarians have answered countless questions over the years, covering everything including library policy and FAQs, access to digital content, searching strategy, and more.
In Tales From the Co-Op, we're sharing snippets of real-life interactions between patrons and Co-Op librarians. We'll take every opportunity we can to highlight amazing interactions from the Chat Cooperative - but don't just take our word for it. One patron commented on their Co-Op chat interaction to say, "I can't describe how amazing Libby Librarian was! I feel so much better about using the library for research!"
Please note that we care about privacy as much as you do, so we've removed all identifiable details from these transcripts and have assigned fun aliases to patrons and the answering Co-Op librarians.
Curious Queries
Librarians never know what they may be helping with on any given day! When a unique research topic comes up, this gives our Co-Op librarians the chance to dig in, ask questions, and guide students on their research journey. Happy searching indeed!
Spotlight on Librarian Excellence
Librarians provide incredible reference support every day, and this includes our Co-Op librarians! In this chat, our librarian connects the patron with a relevant LibGuide from their institution's library, then showcases some stellar searching technique.
FAQ-tastic Interactions
Why reinvent the wheel? Sometimes, the perfect help from a Co-Op librarian comes in the form of a LibAnswers FAQ from the original institution! Here's an example of how sharing the right FAQ at the right time ensures quick, accurate, and streamlined service - while also helping library users know where to look in the future, too!
For more information about the 24/7 Global Chat Cooperative, contact sales@springshare.com.