Software How-Tos

1. Login to the Ask a Librarian Toolbox. The password is toolbox. Alternatively, you can take a shorter route by bypassing the Toolbox and going straight to the personal login page.
2. Login using your personalized login (acct ID: 6212).
3. Select the department(s) you will be covering (local, academic/texting, collaborative/texting) and continue.
4. Click on the Agent Console link in the top-right corner.
5. Change your availability status in the lower-right corner to ‘Available’ for chat questions or to ‘Unavailable – Email Only’ if only answering email.

1. Press CTRL and + (on the number pad) to increase the font size.
2. Press CTRL and – (on the number pad) to decrease the font size.

Right-click on the question in the Chat Queue tab. The question, originating library, and other information displays in a pop-up.

1. Under the Chat Queue tab in the upper-right corner, double-click on the patron’s name, or click once to highlight and then on ‘Take Selected’.
2. Patron chat will open in the lower-left corner.

1. Either type a Web address directly into the space above the chat transcript area, or double-click a Web page from the URL’s tab in the upper-left corner of the console. You can also paste using the Control-V shortcut.
2. To preview the web page (just on your end), click the “View” button on the right.
3. To send the page to the patron, click “Push” or press the Enter key on your keyboard. The customer will see the web page displayed on his or her screen.

Some pop-up blockers & other settings may prevent the pushed page from automatically displaying on the patron’s screen. If this happens, just tell the patron to click on the hyperlink in the transcript window to view the page.

1. Send appropriate closing and goodbye scripts to end chat.
2. Click on End (below the Queue area) if finished, or Dismiss to add patron notes before ending.
3. Click on Category tab.
4. Open the correct folder for that patron’s entry point (i.e., Collaborative, Local Desk X).
5. Open the Status folder.
6. Highlight the appropriate closing category and click Continue.

1. Present the follow-up option to the patron and confirm contact information.
2. When the chat is finished, click on “Dismiss” rather than “End”, which allows you to add notes.
3. Click on the post-it note icon, or double-click in the Customer Details box, to add such details as email address and/or phone number.
4. Click on the “Click here to send email” link in the Customer Details form, or click the “Create New Email” option under the ‘Mail Sent’ tab in the upper left corner.
5. Add the email address and a subject (subject example – “Email follow-up for live chat session”) and click OK.
6. Add message to email and click “Send”.

The patron will receive the local, in-depth assistance they need, and you will have provided yet another patron with impeccable service.

1. Login.
2. On the Account Administration page, click on Agents and then Information.
3. Update information and click Save.
4. Notify site coordinator of any display name change.

1. Login.
2. On Account Administration page, click on Agents and then Response Libraries.
3. Click on ‘Launch Response Editor’.
4. Select the Text tab for scripts or the URLs tab for web pages.
5. Click ‘New Response’ to add new scripts or “New Folder” to create your own categories for new scripts. To modify, click Rename.
6. Create the ‘display name’ for the script/URL (this should be short, but give you enough information so you know what the script says) in the top portion of the page; in the bottom portion of the page, type out the full desired text of your new script or the full web address of your new bookmark.
7. Click out of the text box and on ‘Save All’.

1. Login to the Site Coordinator page
2. Select the ‘Knowledge Base’ tab and click on your library system’s name
3. Select the Edit tab and update information, making sure hyperlinks open in new windows
4. Save

To follow-up either during session or after the session is over:

1. f following up after session, make sure end session by using “dismiss” button not “end.”
2. In the Customer Details, click on email field (It says “Click here to send email.”). Note: If the user provided an email in the beginning this will be auto-filled. If you got their email during the session, you will have to add it by editing customer details.
3. The software will ask you if you want to include the transcript click either yes or no.
4. The software will then launch new window. In the new window:
   • select “from” probably want to make sure this is your local desk.
   • Add any CC or BCC
   • Add Subject
   • Add any attachments as needed. Click OK.
5. Then type message and hit Send.

1. Return the question to the queue.
2. Highlight question.
3. Click on small envelope with blue arrow at bottom right of queue.
4. Select Library.

1. Select Transfer Button.
2. Select a specific agent (always ask in private IM or Agent Console in advance) or a department.
3. Select Transfer.
4. When transferring to an agent: when the agent accepts and “joins” the chat, click on Leave.

Log in to the desk(s) relevant to the statistics you are pulling. On the Account Administration page, click the Reports link (next to the Agent Console). On the Reports page, use the below steps to retrieve your desired statistical set.

1. To get email usage by your local users (does not count multiple questions within a session)
   • Click on Departments > Mail Activity then limit to your local library and the desired time frame in your time zone.
2. To get chat usage by your local users:
   • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Chat Optional Data Configurable, under the Custom Reports heading.
   • Hold the Control key and select the relevant desk(s), and search by the desired time frame.
   • After a few minutes, you will get an Excel spreadsheet; open it by clicking the Excel icon.
   • Delete the top two blank rows if desired, then select all and go to Data> Filter on the toolbar to set a filter. Once filter is on, go to column ‘O’ and limit to your library. On the bottom left of the spreadsheet, you should see the total number of records.
3. To get text usage by your local users:
   • Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Mail Optional Data Configurable (2 down from the Chat Optional Data Configurable).
   • Select Texting and limit to desired time frame.
   • Select icon to view report in Excel, add a filter to the data, and sort by the Subject heading to limit to your library. Remember that some of those starting with Collaborative and then your area’s texting number may be local users who didn’t enter your library’s keyword before the text question.
4. To get chat questions answered by your library’s staff:
   • Click on Agents > Chat Activity, then select staff names (hold Control key for multiple names, or click the first name, Shift key, and last name for a consecutive set) and desired time frame.
   • Alternatively, if your library’s staff log in to your library’s local desk, you can click on Departments>Chat Activity and choose your library from the list.
5. To get email or text questions answered by your library’s staff:
   • Click on Agents > Mail Activity, then select your library (for email) or Texting (for text) and desired time frame.

Retrieving log files for technical troubleshooting.
Ask a Librarian and/or Oracle software staff may occasionally request log files from you and appreciate your patience in working with us to help you. The log files can be found by logging into the Agent Console and then clicking the small folder icon in the lower-right corner. The logfile naming format is (csrfirstandlastname)_(csrid)_ac(YYMMDD).log. Alternatively, you may look for them in a default-download locations as OS/C –> Users –> Your Name. Windows 7 users can view this demo for assistance in locating these files. Some libraries may require the assistance of their IT staff.