By Hannah on October 28, 2025
The latest edition of Tales From the Co-Op is here! If you missed last month's post, be sure to catch up with our September exchanges.
With the holidays just around the corner, library access is likely to be affected by holiday closures, staff vacations, or unexpected winter weather. Springshare's 24/7 Global Chat Cooperative is a great solution to fill the gaps and ensure your patrons have uninterrupted access to resources!
When you join the Co-Op, you gain access to a global network of MLS-degreed librarians, ready to assist your patrons – day or night. You decide your hours of coverage, designing a fully personalized service to meet your library's needs. Free up staff time, without compromising quality of service. The best part? Your patrons will love it! One user recently shared, "The librarian was amazing! Fast, helpful, knowledgeable, and kind."
We love showcasing the invaluable interactions our chat librarians have every day. In this series we showcase real-life chat transcripts, with all personal details removed and pseudonyms assigned to each user to maintain privacy.
Spotlight on Librarian Excellence
We know many students conduct research while the library is closed. With a little help from the Co-Op, this student identified excellent readily available sources for their late-night homework session.
February 15, 2025 | 9:20 pm
Pamela Patron: Hi! Thank you so much for your help. I'm writing a paper on vegetative propagation of Pelargonium. Can you help me find some peer-reviewed articles or books?
Lacey Librarian: Happy to help! Let's try OneSearch for a start
Lacey Librarian: Let's search this: vegetative propagation AND Pelargonium
Lacey Librarian: Books are generally not peer reviewed, though they can be scholarly. Would you like to look for books first or peer reviewed sources?
Pamela Patron: I'm not picky! Either is fine as long as they are in scholarly form. My biggest issue is finding sources that I can access online
Lacey Librarian: On the left side of your search results page, do you have "Refine by"?
Pamela Patron: Yes
Lacey Librarian: Great! Under there we can choose Available Online and Peer reviewed
Pamela Patron: Great, thanks!! Didn't catch that
Lacey Librarian: Down the left side, there is Topic - In that section, we can choose Pelargonium. That may help focus.
Lacey Librarian: It means that Pelargonium has been labeled as a topic of the article, not just a word that is in the source somewhere.
Pamela Patron: That's great, thank you!
Pamela Patron: It seems like these articles are hyper-specific towards experiments
Lacey Librarian: Peer reviewed often is pretty narrow. I'll see where else we might look. If you want, you can go back to Topic, click on Show More, and then choose vegetative propagation.
Lacey Librarian: This page has links to some databases for plant science and related topics *Link removed for privacy*
Pamela Patron: Great, thank you!
Pamela Patron: I think I may have to break up the two topics?
Pamela Patron: Since there isn't really something covering both already it seems
Lacey Librarian: CABI seems to have quite a bit for the search we tried in OneSearch
Lacey Librarian: After you search, on the left side, you can check boxes for journal articles, books, and book chapters
Pamela Patron: Ok great
Lacey Librarian: Most are not in CABI in full text, but you can click on the "Get it" button to see if your institution has access
Lacey Librarian: In the filters in CABI, Descriptors work pretty much like Topics in OneSearch
Pamela Patron: Ok, definitely seeing a few more here
Lacey Librarian: Super!
Pamela Patron: Thank you!
Pamela Patron: Appreciate your help!
Lacey Librarian: Happy to help! Is that looking like a good start, or would you like to try more of the databases?
Pamela Patron: I think this is good for sure, I had a few sources, so I just wanted to add a few more. Thanks!!
Lacey Librarian: You're very welcome.
FAQ-tastic Interactions
Co-Op librarians don't need to reinvent the wheel. By leveraging your LibAnswers FAQs, they can make sure patrons get the right answers – in the same way your staff would have answered them!
August 5, 2025 | 4:33 am
Peter Patron: Hi, can someone who is not a US resident acquire a library card?
Luna Librarian: I believe so, but there may be a charge
Luna Librarian: Let me find some information for you
Peter Patron: Thanks!
Luna Librarian: I live out of state but want access to eBooks. Do you offer a non-resident card?*
Luna Librarian: Can I help you with anything else?
Peter Patron: Which app does the library use for eBooks?
Luna Librarian: Libby – How do I find eBooks and other digital media?*
Peter Patron: Can I access Libby from Norway?
Luna Librarian: Yes, Libby and Overdrive are accessible from anywhere, you just will need to affiliate it with your card once you have joined and paid the fees.
Peter Patron: Thanks!
*Links to FAQs removed for privacy
Curious Queries
Sometimes patrons need just a little extra guidance to find the information they're looking for. In this chat exchange, Linus Librarian provided numerous leads to set this patron up for success on their own!
August 19, 2025 | 5:40 pm
Parker Patron: I'm interested in finding out about subscription service behaviors and how they have changed over time. For instance, Netflix is a subscription, and many apps have a subscription, but then increasingly there seem to be subscriptions where you own the physical object and pay for a subscription to a service on that object, like a fitness or sleep tracker. Is there a way to find out trends about those types of subscriptions?
Linus Librarian: I think that's a very interesting topic. It's something that I expect has been researched to some degree in the past.
Linus Librarian: Is there anywhere you've already looked for information on trends?
Parker Patron: I was looking in google but I'm looking for something more academic to see if there are real numbers behind it.
Linus Librarian: That makes sense. I've started looking at your library's searching system. It's often a place to find useful academic sources.
Parker Patron: I was hoping you could tell me some sources I should look for. I didn't know what search term would turn up a good set of sources.
Linus Librarian: Searching can often take a few tries before you start to find sources that are relevant to your topic. I'll try to look for a few keywords you could try.
Linus Librarian: My initial search was for "Netflix subscription trends" because even if we don't just want to look at Netflix, it can be helpful to use a known example first and then expand your search from there.
Linus Librarian: Here is an article I found about market demand for subscription video services: *Link removed for privacy*
Parker Patron: Sounds good. In that same search it looks like there is an English result as well.
Parker Patron: I'll download that
Linus Librarian: I tried a different search, this time "subscription services" + developments. I found this article about fashion subscription services: *Link removed for privacy*
Linus Librarian: One of the key words for that article is "consumer behavior", so I used that in a search and added "subscription" to see if I could find a useful article that way.
Linus Librarian: I was able to find a book specifically about Netflix and its subscription model: *Link to library catalog removed for privacy*
Parker Patron: In the past, I've found statistical services that provided visuals instead of a specific topic that's a full paper. I'm not specifically looking for Netflix, but more an idea of wearables + subscriptions or subscription trends overall
Linus Librarian: I see, that makes sense. Have you tried looking into a market research database?
Linus Librarian: This is a list of market research databases available at your library: *Link removed for privacy*
Linus Librarian: I've also found IBIS World a useful resource.
Parker Patron: No, but these are exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you.
Linus Librarian: I know I've thrown a lot of different options at you in a short period of time. If you like, I can also share your question with the librarian who specializes in economics and marketing.
Parker Patron: I'll start with what you've shared with me, this is helpful. Thank you.
Linus Librarian: You're welcome. I hope you have a great day.
Contact us for more information about the 24/7 Global Chat Cooperative so you can get started offering round-the-clock support today!