We’re pleased to present the latest edition of Tales From the Co-Op! If you missed the most recent post in this series, be sure to catch up with the August Exchanges.
At Springshare, we understand that no one can hunt down elusive information (with sources!) quite like a librarian. With the spike in distance learning and increased use of digital resources, you may be wondering how to consistently meet patrons where they are. This is one of the many reasons that we offer the 24/7 Chat Cooperative.
When you join the Co-Op, you gain access to a network of friendly, skilled librarians to support your LibChat service during your off or busy hours. Choose fully customized times that work for YOUR library, with 24/7/365 chat coverage from seasoned librarians around the world. You can even provide support in Spanish! Rest easy knowing that your patrons have access to the best and most accurate information possible.
One user noted recently that the librarian on their chat “was thorough, engaging and provided me with great resources. She was amazing!” To showcase the quality of this service, we’re highlighting several (of the many) excellent recent interactions. Because we care about privacy as much as you do, we've removed all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from these transcripts and have also assigned fun pseudonyms to patrons and the answering librarians.
Curious Queries
This chat highlights some of the fascinating questions our Co-Op librarians receive on a daily basis. In this interaction, the chat librarian made sure to share a handy resource for the patron to reference during future searches.
Feb 1, 2024 | 2:59 am
Peter Patron: Hello, I am writing my senior thesis on the popularity of true crime entertainment amongst American women. I want to find out why violent and gory stories can be comforting for viewers and raise the question to the readers about whether it is ethical.
Lana Librarian: Hi! thanks for sharing your topic. You're mainly looking for scholarly sources (books, articles)?
Peter Patron: Yes please.
Lana Librarian: Okay, and have you already searched anywhere? If so, where? I'm trying to get a sense for where you are in the research process.
Peter Patron: These are some that I found.
Peter Patron: Index title: True Crime Article: The Pleasures and Problems of Consuming True Crime as Theatrical Entertainment in Nineteenth-Century London*.
Peter Patron: Article: True crime podcasting: Journalism, justice or entertainment?* - Article: ‘The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’: The issues of true crime entertainment*
Peter Patron: Other index titles included: Crime, crime podcasts, true crime entertainment.
Lana Librarian: Makes sense, thanks for sharing! Have you just been searching in the library's homepage search bar, or specific databases?
Peter Patron: A bit of both.
Lana Librarian: Okay, and have you been keeping track of your keywords? For example, from what you've shared so far, I have come up with this keyword search string for your topic: "true crime" AND (appeal OR popularity OR pleasure) AND (viewers OR audience) and that can be put into various databases.
Lana Librarian: Here's the sample results from running it through the library search: Search Results*
Peter Patron: This is very helpful! Thank you.
Peter Patron: The results this provided are much better than what I was finding on my own. Thank you.
Lana Librarian: Glad to hear it!
Peter Patron: Have a good night.
Lana Librarian: Take care! Here's also a handout that explains more on how to construct searches like the bolded one I showed above: Link to handout*. The format is called Boolean and it works well with most databases and search engines, including Google.
Lana Librarian: Thanks for using the chat. You will have the opportunity to email a transcript to yourself at the end of this chat. Please login again if you have any additional questions. Take care and bye for now!
Peter Patron: Thank you!
*Links to institution's search and LibGuides removed for privacy
Spotlight on Librarian Excellence
Librarians provide incredible reference support every day, and this includes our Co-Op librarians! Take a look at this chat for an example of some of that great librarian work. We love seeing the word ‘THANK YOU’ in all caps around here!
April 2, 2024 | 3:14 am
Perla Patron: I am looking for scholarly peer-reviewed articles about women in the military outside the U.S.
Linus Librarian: Hello Perla! Have you already started searching the library for resources, or not yet?
Perla Patron: Yes, but I am having no luck finding articles.
Perla Patron: The results I am getting are all about women in the U.S. military, and I need articles about women in other countries' military.
Linus Librarian: I can help with keywords selection and with doing a search. I will need a few minutes to consider keywords please. What keywords have you used so far?
Perla Patron: Sounds good thank you!
Perla Patron: articles about women in the military outside the U.S. AND scholarly reviewed articles about women in the military outside the U.S.
Linus Librarian: Are you focusing on any country outside the USA? So, I can include relevant keywords?
Perla Patron: Canada and Israel have been selected by other classmates.
Linus Librarian: Would you like to research those countries too, or not?
Perla Patron: No please, I need a different country, maybe Japan, Ukraine, or Mexico?
Linus Librarian: Thanks, ok I will include keywords about those in my suggestion. Please, give me a few minutes
Linus Librarian: Ok, so based on what you have said so far, let me paste a suggestion below and then I can help you with a search in the library
Linus Librarian: women AND military AND (Europe OR Mexico OR Japan OR Ukraine)
Linus Librarian: I will start from this page: library database search*
Linus Librarian: I will paste the keywords in and will give you a link so that you see what I see too, please give me two minutes
Perla Patron: sounds good and I am also trying
Linus Librarian: Thanks, Perla! I searched for the keywords in Titles only and I am on this page now: search results*
Linus Librarian: You mentioned you need scholarly articles - there is a filter to select to view those on the list. Please, look to the left and you will see "academic (peer reviewed) journals", this is below the heading "Limit to"
Linus Librarian: After you select the filter, please have a look at results and let me know if you see anything that helps
Perla Patron: ok I am looking for the filter right now
Linus Librarian: Let me know if you need a screenshot
Perla Patron: yes please
Linus Librarian: Screenshot* Does this help?
Perla Patron: I think I found an article
Perla Patron: and it's recent also, so even better!!
Perla Patron: THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Linus Librarian: You are very welcome!
Linus Librarian: I am glad you found something you can use
Perla Patron: I hope you have a good night!!
Linus Librarian: Have a great night too! All the best with your research
*Links to institution's search and LibGuides removed for privacy
FAQ-tastic Interactions
This conversation shows how easy it is for Co-Op librarians to use LibAnswers FAQs to streamline chat convos and provide great service that is both accurate and fast!
April 30, 2024 | 2:06 am
Poppy Patron: Good evening (it’s so late, I’m sorry) I want to get this book* and I see that there’s one available at the library. Could I go to college at around 9am to get it?
Lou Librarian: Hello Poppy. Let me take a look at the library catalog.
Lou Librarian: Ok, from what I see on this page*, there is one copy available, there are no requests on it, and it looks like it is in place on the shelves. Theoretically you can go to the library and get the book and issue it to your library account. If when you go to the library you are having issues locating the book on the shelf, please speak to a member of staff to help you. Is that ok, Poppy?
Poppy Patron: Do you happen to know when the library opens
Lou Librarian: Let me find the opening hours, be back in two minutes
Lou Librarian: Found them on this page: Is the Library open? FAQ* I am pasting from the page:
Spring Quarter Hours:
April 1, 2024 - June 14, 2024*
Monday - Thursday: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Friday: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Saturday: 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Sunday: Closed
*Closed: May 3, May 25, May 27
Poppy Patron: One last question: do you know if I can grab the book if I lost my student id card? Will they take my student number? If you don’t know, no worries I’ll still go tomorrow
Lou Librarian: I can check what is required to borrow books, please give me a few minutes
Poppy Patron: Thank you, Lou
Lou Librarian: You are very welcome, Poppy! Ok, so this page: How can I check out library materials? FAQ* has info about how you may borrow books, please have a look and let me know if this helps
Poppy Patron: That's perfect. Thank you! Have an awesome day/ night!
Lou Librarian: You too, Poppy!
Lou Librarian: Come back if you need any more help
*Links to institution's search and LibAnswers FAQs removed for privacy
For more information about the 24/7 Global Chat Cooperative, contact sales@springshare.com.