There's a feature to ban a user's IP address, but it should be used very sparingly and with caution. It should be used ONLY if the patron's behavior is inappropriate. Being a non-MIT patron is not an appropriate reason to ban an IP address, even if their questions are outside the scope of the service. It is important to remember that banning an IP address doesn't necessarily ban the patron - it bans the computer they were using at the time. They may be using a public computer either inside or outside of the MIT system.
To ban a user's IP, use the icon that looks like a red circle with a white slash through it located on the menu bar of the chat window. When you hover over it, it says "Ban user's IP.
If you've accidentally banned an MIT IP address because of a problem patron, don't worry - reversing the ban at a later time is possible.
Let Courtney know if you have blocked an IP or if you need to reverse the ban.
After banning an IP address or dealing with a problem patron, file an incident report. You will be emailed the report receipt. Please forward the incident report receipt to ask-chat@mit.edu. If the comments are very explicit, please do not include them in the incident report verbatim. Instead, on the incident report note that the comments were of an explicit (sexual, violent etc.) nature. Please send the comments verbatim separately to the IDLA department head, Felicity Walsh, and/or the Program Head for Access Services, Cassandra Silvia. You can find the transcripts of chats from the LibChat Login page: on the orange menu bar, select "libchat" and then "transcripts." You can download the transcript using an icon on the right side.
It would also be helpful if you shared the IP address in the incident report so we can determine if it’s coming from a library computer. You can find the IP address from the LibChat Login page. In the orange menu bar, select "libchat" and then "transcripts." The IP address is the second column in the transcripts.
More information from Public Services Documentation about reporting incidents.
Start of shift
Approximately five minutes before your shift, log onto LibAnswers and connect to LibChat. If there is any important information from the previous shift that needs to be communicated, the staff member will contact you to relay this information. Otherwise, you may not hear from them.
End of shift
Wait until the next staff member comes online before you log off of chat. If the next staff member does not come online, please remain logged into Chat. If you need to leave, a reasonable effort should be made to find someone from Ask Chat to fill in till the scheduled person arrives onlline. Check IM to see if someone from the Ask Chat team is available to login for you. It is a best practice that Chat should never go unstaffed during service hours (10-6, M-F), unless there are extenuating circumstances. If that happens, the staffer should log out, so Chat looks unavailable to users.
If you know you’re going to be late, ask the person scheduled before you if it’s ok in advance, or arrange for coverage. Use the Calendar Resource "LIB: Ask Chat" to determine who is scheduled before you.
If you're in the middle of a chat with a patron and feel that you'll be able to fully answer their question within a few minutes, please continue helping them. If their question is too in-depth, or if you need to leave for a meeting, etc., please use the canned message, "End of shift transfer to another chat operator" before transfering the patron over to the next staff member.
If anything happened during your shift that the next staff member might need to know, make sure to stay online and give them a thorough explanation.
Called to the desk
It is a best practice that in a situation where a staff member is screening Chat and they get a question from the desk, Chat has priority. If you are called to the desk while on Chat, let them know that you are on Chat. If no one else is available for the desk, offer a phone call or use reasonable effort to find other support. Use your best judgment.
Canned messages are commonly used messages that we set up in the LibChat system. These messages can easily be sent by choosing the message in the drop-down menu in the chat window - just select the message you want, and hit 'enter' to send it. After selecting it, you'll also have a chance to edit the text before sending it.
Canned messages that have already been added for you to use:
Greeting: Hello! What can I help you with?
Goodbye: Thanks again for your question. If you want, you can request a copy of this chat when we close the window. Have a good day.
MIT-affiliated?: Could I please ask if you are a current member of the MIT community? I’d be happy to help if you are, but since some resources are only available to the MIT community, I want to make sure that I suggest resources that you can actually access.
Non-MIT questions outside of our scope: Unfortunately, due to limited resources, we can only provide this service to current members of the MIT community. Sorry about that! I’m sure a librarian at your local public library would be happy to help.
Filling out a Quick Referrals form on behalf of user: I want to make sure that you get the best answer possible, and this question can best be answered by another staff member over email. You will receive a confirmation email letting you know that someone is working on getting an answer for you. Could I just have your email address?
Transfer to another chat operator: This question can best be answered by another staff member. Please wait a few moments while I transfer your conversation over to them.
Helping 2 users at the same time: We’re helping someone else at the moment, so my response time might be a little slower than usual.
Anything else?: Is there anything else I can help you with today?
End of shift transfer to another chat operator: Unfortunately, my shift is over, but I want to make sure that your question gets fully answered, so I'm transferring you to one of my colleagues. Please wait a few moments and we'll be back with you.
Closing time: Sorry I wasn’t able to answer your question. Your question requires more time. We will refer you to our Ask Us email service. Someone will be in touch with you in the next business day
If you think of other canned messages we should add, tell Courtney.
If you have looked through the documentation (see below) and you are still unable to answer a question, or feel that a question can be best answered by someone else, don't worry! You can refer the question.
Use the Ask Chat Slack channel or phone a friend.
If you need quick help from another library staff member, post your question to our slack channel to cast a wide net. Our Slack channel is ask_chat
For help with circulation questions, please note students and temporary staff at service points may not be aware of specific policies or procedures. It is best to contact a circulation supervisor or manager.
Using Quick Referrals Form
Fill out the Quick Referrals form on behalf of the user if the question is:
There's a canned message that will explain to the user why you are referring their question.
To fill out the form, you'll need to get the user's e-mail address (in theory, should be their Kerberos ID, but it would still be good to confirm that). Do not fill out the quick referral form with non .mit.edu addresses. You can also copy the chat transcript into the form. The user will see what you write in the quick referral.
Refer user to research guides
If the patron's question is subject-specific, and you don't have the expertise to answer the question, point them to a subject-specifc research guide to get them started while you fill out the Quick Referrals form.
Ask Us canned answers
The Ask Us wiki might also be a good source of information. The central knowledgebase has responses to frequently asked questions.
Remember, we don't provide information regarding a user's library account via chat. See the Privacy Policy. Often times a user will chat to confirm or inquire about a hold, request, loan period. You should always refer the user to Your Account first so they can access the information themselves.
If they aren't seeing what they need in Your Account, you can check their Aleph account if the user provides their MIT ID number AND the title of the item they are inquiring about regarding a loan or hold. Using Aleph, you may confirm that the item is on hold for them, the due date, or etc.
All loans appear in Your Account...eventually. An item requested through any of the resource sharing methods (BLC, BorrowDirect, Illiad, etc) won't appear in a user's Aleph or Your Account until the item has been received by MIT Libraries and is physically on hold. If someone is asking about an item requested through our resource sharing methods that does not appear in Aleph or their Your Account, ask them to check their Illiad account. If all else fails, refer them to ILB and direct them to the ask-ilb link on the left bottom corner, or submit a quick referral for them.
Need more documentation? See the Troubleshooting Your Account page in PS Docs.