TGIF Tips – 7/24/09, Issue 18

When working in chat reference, there are many reasons why transferring the patron to another librarian may be helpful. Sometimes, the patron’s question or need is best addressed by that patron’s own library staff – for example: “I turned in Item X three weeks ago, so why is it still showing on my account?” In other cases, an emergency or last-minute conflict in one’s physical library environment may prevent that staff member from continuing a chat that has already begun… or from adequately giving that patron the time and focus needed to fully address the question. In cases such as these, the option of transferring that chat to another librarian is important (for both you and the patron), so make sure that you understand the steps needed to transfer a chat to another person.

STEPS FOR TRANSFERRING A CHAT

1. Contact the other staff person first! Don’t just transfer to someone without verifying beforehand that they are indeed able to help at that moment. Either send a private instant message (IM) to a particular librarian, or post an open “I need to transfer to someone!” message to the Agent Room, which is for group chat and is seen by all. Keep in mind, however, that you won’t be able to transfer to an individual listed unless that person’s status is set to “Available”.

2. Briefly explain to the patron why you are transferring them to another librarian, apologizing if appropriate.

3. With the chat still open, click on the “Transfer” button, located on the right side of the Agent Console (next to “Dismiss” and “End”).

4. After clicking “Transfer”, you will see the following pop-up, with Department as the default tab. Click on the Agent tab to view the list of available staff.

5. Select the individual person you will be transferring the patron to and click on “Transfer”. (Note: Only those staff marked Available will populate the list.) The librarian you are transferring *to* will see the following pop-up. They must choose “Yes” in order to proceed.

6. Once the second librarian accepts, the chat display/transcript area will show the following message: “Librarian X has entered the session.” Both librarians are now in the chat, similar to a three-way phone call.

Both staff will now see the same buttons – “Dismiss” & “Leave” – on the right side of the screen (where “Transfer” and “End” are normally found). When the initial librarian clicks on “Leave”, the chat will disappear for that librarian, and only the “incoming” librarian will be in the chat with the patron.

At this point, both the incoming librarian and the patron will see a “Librarian Y has left the session” message displayed in the transcript area. You may wish to send a message such as “Please wait a moment while I read your question” if the patron’s question had not yet been addressed, or “Please wait one moment while I review the chat transcript” if the chat has been in session for a while. Now we are ready to help the patron!