Resolving Technical Issues in LibraryH3lp

Technical issues may arise while staffing askON in LibraryH3lp for several reasons, including network issues, browser issues, or human error. This document outlines the following:

• How to identify when you or your shiftmate have been disconnected from the platform

• How to reconnect with the platform and your visitor

• What steps to take to avoid or reduce technical issues

Getting disconnected

• askON operators may be disconnected from LibraryH3lp if their network connection is interrupted

• If you are fully disconnected from LibraryH3lp it will be necessary to log back in; however

  • It’s possible to be fully disconnected without realizing it

  • It’s also possible to be momentarily disconnected and reconnected multiple times without realizing it and without being fully disconnected from the system (this is usually due to network issues)

Clues that you have been disconnected

• When you try to type a message in backchat, it does not appear in the backchat chat log after you hit enter

• When you try to transfer a chat to someone you see a red “block” icon appear

• A busy shift has suddenly become very quiet (you can test by typing a message in backchat)

• Your shiftmate tells you that your chats are appearing on their chat screen even as you continue to chat with your visitor (this happens if you are disconnected and reconnected multiple times)

Clues that your shiftmate is having technical issues

• Your shiftmate disappears partway into their shift/chat with no explanation. Check your buddy list to see if they’re there

• Your shiftmate’s chat shows up on your chat window

Implicit transfers and how to deal with them

• An implicit transfer is when an operator is disconnected from their visitor for any reason

  • This can happen if the operator is disconnected OR if the visitor is experiencing network issues

• If their visitor sends another message, it will come through to all operators in the system, just like a new chat would but with the chat history attached. This is an implicit transfer

• The visitor won’t necessarily realize they’ve been disconnected

• The implicit transfer will ONLY happen if the visitor sends another message. If the visitor is waiting patiently for the disconnected operator to send another message, an implicit transfer will not happen. It will be necessary to find that visitor in the activity tab and reconnect

What to do:

If you’re the one who is disconnected you will need to pick up your visitor again as soon as you can

• If you can see your chat in the system, claim it

• If you have to log out and back in again, ask your shiftmate if they received the chat as an implicit transfer. If they did, they can transfer it back to you.

• If your shiftmate does not see your chat, go to the activity tab, find the chat and transfer it to yourself

If your shiftmate is disconnected and you get an implicit transfer

• If you see that your shiftmate is still (or back) in the system, check with them and then you can transfer the chat back to them if they can’t claim it themselves

• If your shiftmate is not in the system, give them a minute to get back in; if they aren’t logging back in, reach out to them via email if you have their info or reach out to their site coordinator for assistance. In the meantime, pick up the chat and use our honest and kind policy to let the visitor know what is going on and help them as necessary with their question. Transfer them over to your shiftmate when they reappear

Avoiding technical issues

Settings in LibraryH3lp

In the old platform, some askON staff reported technical issues when traffic is very busy. This happens when the browser isn’t able to keep up with the amount of traffic. These system delays tend to occur when new questions come in or when switching between chats. These issues have not been reported in the new platform that launched in January 2017; however, if they do please notify Lauren and try the following suggestions:

• Use Chrome or Firefox to log in to LibraryH3lp

• Have a separate browser open to conduct your searches. So if you are in Chrome for LibraryH3lp, use Firefox to search library websites and databases

• Under settings in LibraryH3lp turn off chat bubbles

• If you notice that canned messages popping up are causing lags, you can disable the canned messages auto-fill option in the settings tab

  • You will still be able to use the canned messages pop-up feature above a chat

• If you notice that the browser notifications are causing delays, you can disable in settings

• All of these settings can be turned back on for quieter shifts

• If you’ve done all of the above and are still seeing a lag, be patient and give the system a few seconds to adjust before trying to reply