Is the Librarian on duty?

Many libraries with a significant online presence have a feature on their web pages that invites users to contact them with their queries. We have a link to helplibrary@central.wa.edu.au but I sometimes wonder if this is enough. There are several possibilites for making ourselves more accessible and available for our online users; I have suggested embedding a Meebo widget or some other live chat service but theres are issues with rostering staff to have someone available all the time. Some libraries offer help 24/7 but we, of course, cannot run to that.

ask

This is an example of the type of form I would like to see on our web pages. You can see immediatelty whether or not anyone is online and if you are likely to receive an immediate response. You can also select the type of query so it will go directly to the person most qualified to answer it.

Would this work for us? There would be some creases to iron out first but it is something I would really like to see.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 9:05 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Is the Librarian on duty?”

  1. edna’s blogging corner carnival #2 | edna's Blogging Carnival Says:
    March 2, 2009 at 10:22 am

    [...] presents Is the Librarian on duty? « The Fridge posted at The Fridge, saying, “”Many libraries with a significant online presence have [...]

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