By Hannah on October 27, 2026
Many patrons have a hard time making it into the library during open hours due to their work schedule or transportation issues. There are also always going to be those students who wait until the last minute to finish – or start – their research paper. One way to meet your patrons where they are is by offering 24-hour support through chat reference services. Since you can’t expect your staff members to work the graveyard shift, Springshare’s 24/7 Global Chat Cooperative can fill that gap.
With the combined powers of MLS-degreed librarians from all over the world, libraries can offer meaningful support at any time of the day. LibAnswers FAQs and chat feedback allow you to ensure accuracy and maintain quality. And the best part is that your library’s setup can be customized to meet your community’s needs.
Maybe you don’t need 24-hour coverage, but you'd like extra help during your busiest hours. Perhaps you’d like to create a local support network and offer help from a nearby library first. A local chat co-op can be the solution! See it in action: several public libraries in Texas joined together to help each other fill gaps in service. Watch their presentation from SpringyCamp for Public Libraries to learn all about the mutually beneficial relationship they’ve formed to help patrons during network outages, high-ticket-volume days, and more!
To showcase the quality of this chat service, we’ve selected a few transcripts to share. All personally identifiable information has been removed and we've used fun pseudonyms for both librarians and patrons.
Curious Queries
Sometimes all a patron needs is an excellent jumping off point – and a great librarian can make sure they're set up to hit the ground running.
September 9, 2026 | 7:28 pm
Patritzia Patron: I'm looking for literary theory resources on how narrators from British literature shaped how we see narrators today; whether they are reliable or unreliable, and whether or not they can be trusted.
Patritzia Patron: I want to explore how narrators were depicted (and spoke to the readers) in the 18th century prose, and the direct impact it had on language and how we perceive storytelling today.
Liz Librarian: Okay! Do your sources need to meet any other requirements? Be peer-reviewed? Be published within a certain time frame, like the last 5 or 10 years, as an example? Be a specific type (book, article, etc.)?
Patritzia Patron: It needs to be five well-chosen secondary sources that help support the thesis.
Liz Librarian: I'm going to recommend we start with your library's catalog, as it will search more than one database at a time:
Liz Librarian: We're going to combine a couple of your topic keywords with the Boolean operators OR and AND, like this:
Liz Librarian: ("British Literature" OR "British Lit" OR "Brit Lit") AND (narrator OR narrative) AND (reliable OR unreliable) AND (theory OR theories)*
Liz Librarian: This should give us a general idea of what your library has on the topic, and we can revise or refine from there.
Patritzia Patron: Thank you! It's been a while and I've forgotten how to do this. I'm on the library catalog now.
Liz Librarian: Take a look at those results and let me know if we're on the right path. 🙂
Liz Librarian: I've also tried that search in Google Scholar for good measure.
Patritzia Patron: I found one that seems promising from Google Scholar.
Patritzia Patron: It has several well-known literary theorists that may be able to speak to the subject.
Liz Librarian: That's great, Patritzia!
Patritzia Patron: Thank you so much for your help! I'll be digging through both catalogs and formulating a plan. I hope you have a wonderful day.
Liz Librarian: You're most welcome! I'm so glad I could help.
*Link to library's catalog removed for privacy
FAQ-tastic Interactions
LibAnswers FAQs are an excellent resource for both library users and staff alike. Chat Co-Op librarians know how to skillfully use them to provide current library-specific info!
April 30, 2026 | 1:43 pm
Percy Patron: I need a book sent to my library, how do I request that?
Lulu Librarian: Thanks for your question! Have you logged into the Library Catalog or your account before? And, what title are you looking to read?
Percy Patron: I’m inquiring for my student, she wants to request Trials of Apollo The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan.
Lulu Librarian: Here's a quick walkthrough of how to place a hold*. And here’s a link to the item.*
Lulu Librarian: So, if you go to the item in the catalog, there are several format options, each with a green "place hold" button.
Percy Patron: Awesome, thanks!
*Links to library's LibAnswers FAQ and catalog removed for privacy
Spotlight on Librarian Excellence
While searching for information about the detrimental effects of social media algorithms, this patron's search engine results were too broad and generic. This late-night chat highlights the importance of a well-crafted database search.
July 15, 2026 | 11:28 pm
Priscilla Patron: I'm in a Media Literacy Course and I've been doing research about the negative impact of social media platforms and teenage networking on young adults because of exposure to “influencer culture” and constant misinformation.
Priscilla Patron: Some key words that I’ve come up with already are: Short-Form Content, Trends, Mental Health, Social Media Platforms, and Beauty Standards. Thank you so much.
Lana Librarian: Have you started searching using any of those keywords, or are you just getting started?
Priscilla Patron: I've started researching using Mental Health and Beauty Standards, but I've been struggling to find specific information for the other keywords and how they specifically relate to my topic.
Lana Librarian: Are you focusing specifically on beauty standards and body image in relation to social media and teens/young adults?
Priscilla Patron: I'm focusing on how social media negatively impacts teenagers and young adults, and I think that is a really big point that I want to focus on.
Lana Librarian: Do you need only peer-reviewed articles, or can you use any type of source?
Priscilla Patron: I can use any type of source that has helpful information.
Lana Librarian: Great, let me try some searches, and see what I can find.
Lana Librarian: Here's the keywords I tried to start:
"social media" AND (body image OR beauty standards) AND (teen* OR young adults) AND (effect OR impact OR "mental health")*
Lana Librarian: Those are all types of sources, that you can read online. But if you want to sort to a particular source type, click the filters on the left "Source Type."
Priscilla Patron: I took a look at some of the results and they look pretty interesting, thank you so much! They go into specific detail which is really helpful because a lot of Google results were more generic.
Priscilla Patron: Would you be able to email me a transcript from this chat to send in to my professor as a part of the research process?
Lana Librarian: Yes, of course, I've just sent it.
Priscilla Patron: Thank you again for your help!
*Link to library's catalog removed for privacy
If you missed our previous post in this series, be sure to catch up with the September Exchanges. For more information about the 24/7 Global Chat Cooperative, contact us to get started with round-the-clock help for your library patrons!