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Springshare CMS: LibAnswers

This LibGuide provides information about the Springshare products Reference oversees or uses extensively. This Guide provides basic "how-to" information for IOT Library employees using these products.

Overview

LibAnswers is a tool with several distinct features:

  • ticket tracking system
  • knowledgebase of frequently asked questions (FAQs Portal) with accompanying answers
  • LibChat (chat service)

To login, go to the link above and use the login link at the bottom of the page.

LibAnswers

To access LibAnswers, log in to LibApps (alternatively, you may bookmark LibAnswers and login there): https://iot.libapps.com/libapps/login.php

Click on LibAnswers to go to your Dashboard. 

 LibAnswers Login

Tickets are generated from LibAnswers form (Ask a Librarian) and from emails automatically forwarded from the email: library@iot.edu

Dashboard:

You can manage your dashboard in the LibAnswers > Dashboard view OR using the LibChat Dashboard

Chats and tickets can be claimed from either location. Click on the question (blue hyperlink) or click on claim to respond to the ticket.

LibAnswers Dashboard

Tickets are generated from LibAnswers form (Ask a Librarian) and from emails automatically forwarded from the email: IOT-library@iot.edu

  1. To view a ticket without claiming it, click on the eye icon.

View a Ticket without Claiming click the Eye Symbol

 

 

 

 

  1. To view a ticket and claim it, click on the link under 'Question.'  By clicking the Ticket Title URL your name will be listed  under 'Owner'

Claiming a Ticket

 

 

 

Upon claiming a ticket, you can view user information.

 

To view more information about the questioner, click on the patron's name. The Questioner Information window will appear, listing:

The patron's name and email address.

Click on the Previous Messages link to view a list of all other questions submitted via that email address.

Responses to any custom fields added to your question form.

User agent information, including the user's browser and operating system (if submitted via your question form).

The user's IP address (if submitted via your question form).

The source of the question.

To edit the patron's name, email address, and question form responses, click on the Edit button.

Unclaim or Assign/Transfer

  1. Unclaim – To unclaim a ticket, click unclaim in the gray box at the top of the screen next to 'Owned by:'. This will return the ticket to unassigned status.

 

  1. Assign/Transfer – Alternatively, you can re-assign or transfer the ticket to another user.

Create tickets to “email” a student or faculty as a follow-up to a phone call or chat. Create tickets to email the Service Desk about issues needing attention as well. 

To add a ticket, click on Answers > Create

 

This will open up the following ticket form. Fill in the fields accordingly: 

Click on 'Create Ticket' once complete. This will create a question response where you can respond to the user accordingly. 

 

Once you have filled in the user information, a response form will appear that provides you with space to provide information to the user.

While composing the response, you have the option to select ready made Macro responses. You may use these as a template to edit accordingly or use as quick response. 

 

You have the ability to add files to the ticket response as well. Before sending the response, enter the reference analytics accordingly: 

If you are creating a response that does not need to be added to Ref Analytics, select the drop down menu for 'Add to Analytics,' and select 'Do not add to Analytics Dataset' as shown below: 

To view completed tickets, click on the 'Answers' dropdown from the Dashboard and select Tickets.

 

There are many options for filtering or searching:

 

To view more information about a question, click on the question title.

 

  1. Click on the Question Actions () button in the upper-right corner of the ticket's question.
  2. Select Merge from the dropdown menu.
  3. Locate the ticket to which you want to merge the current ticket.
    1. If this user has submitted previous questions, you can select one of those.
    2. You can also search for a ticket by keywords in the Search for a Ticket field.
    3. If you know the ticket's ID, enter it into the Type in a Ticket ID field.
  4. Click on the Merge button.
  5. A summary of the merge will appear. An internal note will be added to each ticket, which you can customize if desired.
  6. Select the status you'd like to apply to the original ticket. The new ticket will be closed once the merge is completed.
  7. Click on the Merge button to complete the merge.

Deleting Tickets

There are several reasons we may need to delete tickets:

  1. Spam can be deleted. From the original email in the Library inbox, delete and/or unsubscribe spam.
  2. ILL document delivery of articles from lending institutions. Do not delete any ILL related questions.

 

Closing Tickets

You may close a ticket when a user sends a feedback response, like “Thanks,”  to an old Ask a Librarian question. Open the ticket, scroll down to 'Add to Analytics,' and select 'Do not add to Analytics Set' as pictured below. Do not delete these responses. Deleting tickets will delete the transaction from the system. 

Additional FAQ Groups can be added to accommodate additional subjects, service areas and changes to the curriculuum.

LibAnswers Question Categories Description
About the Library Any questions relating to the Library Resources & Services, Mission, Policies & Procedures, Four Year Action Plans, Acquisitions Plan, Collection Development, statistics, etc.
Accessibility ADA Compliance, Assistive Technology, Reader Scannable, Internet Neutral, Platform Neutral, 508, etc.
Best Practice Session For the Library Staff, Tips, Suggestions, and guidance relating to the Administrative, User, and Technical Services of the Library.
Catalog/Print Books If you have any questions about the IOT Library Catalog, including the number of copies, genres, physical location, subjects, etc.
Circulation Questions concerning reserves, reference materials, circulation limits, etc/
Citation Questions Questions about how to format APA, MLA, Chicago, Turbian, etc.
Copyright Any questions relating to "Fair Use", trademarks, permissions, etc.
Default For miscellaneous, unassigned subjects and general questions.
Electronic Resources Questions & How-tos's Questions concerning the databases, Title List, Subject coverage, A-Z Database List, Teacher vs. Student Resources, etc.
General Research & Reference Questions General questions on the Reference Collections: Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Handbooks, Manuals, etc.
Homework Help Questions on specific assignments, relevant resources, currency, etc.
Library Instruction Any questions related to bookings, tours, class demonstrations, etc.
Library Policy Questions Questions on Donations, Circulation procedures, Collection Development, reserves, etc.
Library Staff Questions related to training, projects, onboarding, separation, etc.
My Library Account How do you register for a library card, circulation limits, post to community spotlight, create book bags and alerts, watch term lists, etc?
Recycling Program Questions on acceptable recyclable materials, drop off, purchases and donations.
Report a Problem Any questions about safety, access, broken links, etc?
Research for a Class for Project Questions on Multimedia, Books/ebooks, Magazines & Journals, Primary Sources, Government Resources,  Publication Indexes, etc.
Social Media Questions relating to Facebook (Meta), Twitter (X), Pinterest, etc.  Suggestions on other services to join.
Tech Help How do you find resources, develop a topic, access material types, etc?
Unable to login Blocked Account, Website Outage, etc.
Writing & Presentation Help How to write a paper/essay, tips and strategies, grammar, etc.

Adding a Transaction

To add a reference transaction, from the LibAnswers dashboard, click on Ref.Analytics and select View/Edit Transactions.

LibAnswers Ref Analytics Menu

This will take you to the 'Add Transaction' form (as shown below). Fill the form out to the best of your ability. 

  1. Add the Question, add more detail if needed (issues about the call/student/etc.) your response
  2. Add the student’s name (if known) in Internal Note box
  3. Select the Question Type, Category, School (if known), and Time the transaction took to complete
  4. Note: You can also edit the Date/Time for the transaction (ex. you forgot to record until a later time or next day)
  5. Select the appropriate READ scale point for the transaction (For more information on the READ scale, please see the READ scale tab).
  6. Click Submit

LibWizard Add Transaction to Referance Anayltics

Editing a Transaction

To view or edit any entered phone calls or service desk transactions, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to LibAnswers & LibChat > Ref. Analytics > View/Edit Transactions
  2. This page may be browsed by category, or you may enter a search term in the Question/Answer field to locate a particular transaction. Otherwise this page will show the most recent transaction at the top. Since the internal notes are displayed in this view, this may be a good page to look at before your reference shift to see if there have been any difficult phone calls.
  3. Click the edit button to the left of the transaction in order to edit.

Note: if you want to send additional information/follow-up after a phone call, see the Create Tickets instructions above.

LibWizard Edit Transaction

Quality Check

Once a month, all RefAnalytics transactions (tickets, chats, phone calls, etc.) should be checked to ensure that analytics have been added.

1. Go to Ref.Analytics > Statistics > Click View Transactions tab

2. Filter by Category > No value set and click Filter

3.  Tickets can be edited by clicking on the paper/pencil icon under the ID#. Simply add the relevant analytics.

LibAnswers Email Signature

This has been customized to display a link to our feedback form: 

LibAnswers Email Signature

The READ Scale (Reference Effort Assessment Scale) was created by Bella Karr Gerlich, Dean of Libraries at the Elmer E. Rasmuson and BioSciences Libraries at the University of Fairbanks, Alaska. It is a six-point tool used for recording qualitative data related to the processes, activities, efforts, skills and knowledge used during reference interactions.

Please use the following examples as reference when determining which point to rate a reference interaction. '

Point 1 Lowest READ Scale      Point 2 Second Lowest Level of the READ Scale

 

Point 3 on the READ Scale    Point 4 on the READ Scale

 

Point 5 on the READ Scale      Point 6 Highest Level of Difficulty of READ Scale

  1. To add a phone call go to LibAnswers > Ref. Analytics > Add Transaction
  2. Add the Question, add more detail if needed (issues about the call/student/etc.) your response
  3. Add the student’s name (if known) in the Internal Note box
  4. Select the Question Type, Category, and Time the transaction took to complete
  5. Note: You can also edit the Date/Time for the transaction (ex. you forgot to record until a later time or next day)
  6. Click Submit

Add a Transaction

Edit Phone Transactions

To view or edit any entered phone calls or service desk transactions, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to LibAnswers & LibChat > Ref. Analytics > View/Edit Transactions
  2. This page may be browsed by category, or you may enter a search term in the Question/Answer field to locate a particular transaction. Otherwise this page will show the most recent transaction at the top. Since the internal notes are displayed in this view, this may be a good page to look at before your reference shift to see if there have been any difficult phone calls.
  3. Click the edit button to the left of the transaction in order to edit.

Note: if you want to send additional information/follow-up after a phone call, please review the instructions located within tab Tickets > Create Tickets.

Add Additional Information/Follow-Up after a Call

Creating FAQs

​There are a few ways to create an FAQ: 

1. Go to Tickets & FAQs > Create Ticket or FAQ > Select the New FAQ Entry tab

 Create a New FAQ

2. Go to Tickets & FAQs > FAQ Knowledge Base > Create FAQ

Knowledge Base Explorer Screen

3. Go to Stats > Query Analyzer; Review any queries made and select 'Add to FAQs' 

LibAnswers Query AnalyzerAdd or Modify a New Query


 

Composing an FAQ

Type the question – note that in LibAnswers FAQs should begin with a question. Ex: How do I access Grammarly, the automated grammar checker?

Click Save Question and Continue.

 Reuse Answer Screen if the answer or question similiar to another

Be sure to add as many Topics and Keywords to ensure that the FAQ is discoverable. 

Preview when finished, click on 'Save Answer Text, and then click on 'Change Status' to change the status to Published. 

Edit Status Screen

Macros are ready made replies that can be used to provide consistent information to patrons for questions on policies, services, hours, and support. 

There are a few types of macros you can create:

  • Reply macros: used when replying to question forms, widgets, or email. These are rich text macros that can also include template tokens (a token is a placeholder for information contained in a ticket, such as a patron's name).
  • Transfer macros:used when transferring a ticket to another queue and/or user.  These are also rich text macros that can include template tokens.
  • SMS macros: used when replying to SMS messages, creating verbiage better suited to the character limit and plain text format of SMS messages.

Regular-level users can create their own private macros to use when answering tickets. Admin-level users can create macros for specific queues, or share them system-wide.

Create a ticket reply or transfer macro

To create a macro you can use when replying to or transferring tickets: 

  1. Go to Admin > Macros.
  2. Click on the Create a Macro button.
  3. In the Action Type field, choose whether you want this macro to be available when replying to tickets, or when transferring tickets to another queue/user.
  4. In the Title field, give your macro a descriptive name to help users identify the macro.
  5. In the Queue field, you can choose whether to make this macro available to just a specific queue, or system-wide.
  6. In the Message field, use the rich text editor to write the text of your macro.
  7. Macros can also include tokens, which insert information from the ticket into the message. For example, the {{t.name}} token will automatically insert the name of the person who asked the question. To see a complete list of tokens, click on the Template Instructions button.
  8. In the Set Status To field, you can choose whether or not to change the ticket's status when using this macro. For example, if you are transferring a ticket to another queue, you could update the ticket's status to Open so that other users will see it on their dashboard.
  9. In the Tag Ticket With field, you can select one or more tags to apply to tickets using the macro. This makes it easy to consistently categorize certain types of questions with the same tags.
  10. If you only want to create a macro for personal use, click on the Keep this Macro Private checkbox.
  11. Click the Save button.

Instructions taken from Springshare. 

Create an SMS macro

To create a macro you can use when replying to SMS tickets: 

  1. Click on the Create SMS Macro button.
  2. In the Title field, give your macro a descriptive name to help users identify the macro.
  3. In the Queue field, you can choose whether to make this macro available to just a specific queue, or system-wide.
  4. In the Message field, write the text of your macro (up to 320 characters).
  5. In the Set Status To field, you can choose whether or not to change the ticket's status when using this macro. For example, if you are transferring a ticket to another queue, you could update the ticket's status to Open so that other users will see it on their dashboard.
  6. In the Tag Ticket With field, you can select one or more tags to apply to tickets using the macro. This makes it easy to consistently categorize certain types of questions with the same tags.
  7. If you only want to create a macro for personal use, click on the Keep this Macro Private checkbox.
  8. Click the Save button.

Instructions taken from Springshare

Managing macros

  • To edit a macro, click on its Edit () icon in the Action column.
  • To delete a macro, click on its Delete () icon in the Action column.

Example of options for managing macros 

How to use a macro

To use a macro when replying to a ticket:

  1. Under the Create a Reply tab, select the macro you wish to use from the Apply a Macro to this Ticket dropdown.
  2. Click the Apply button.
  3. The text of the macro will automatically be inserted into the body of your reply. You can then make any needed changes to the text prior to sending the reply.

Example of applying a macro

Instructions taken from Springshare. 

Chat Basics

Step 1: Accessing LibAnswers Chat

To monitor and pickup Chats:

Chat Login Page

The easiest way to sign in to Chat is from the main page, click on Sign In, to the right of LibChat.

Use LibChat Menu to Connect to LibChat

An alternative method to login is from the LibAnswers Dashboard.

  1. Click on the LibChat dropdown menu
  2. Select CONNECT 

Step 2: Choosing Local Department, Library Service Area or Settings to monitor

Only monitoring specific IOT-Campus or Library Service Area initiated Chats? 

  1. Click on the Settings Tab
  2. Under Departments
    1. Choose the IOT Campus: Slide to ONLINE if it is OFFLINE.
    2. Choose the Library Service Area: Slide to ONLINE if it is OFFLINE.
  3. Under Queques
    1. Choose the  IOT_LibAnswers_Queque: Slide to NOTIFY if it is set to NOT NOTIFY.
  4. Notifications: 

LibChat Dashoard Settings Tab

Step 3: How to know if a Chat arrives?

When a chat arrives, a red circle appears on the Chat tab:

LibChat Red Circle Notification

Depending on the settings for Notifications in the Settings tab, you may also hear a Sound notification and/or receive a Desktop notification:

LibChat Dashboard Notifications

Step 4: Paying attention to Browser Tabs

The LibAnswers Dashboard (See Step 2) remains open in one tab. The LibAnswers: LibChat Dashboard opens in a separate tab:

LibChat Browser Tabs

Step 5: Logging Off

Don't forget to end all chats and set your status to Offline when you finish monitoring Chat.

LibChat Status Offline

Add or Edit Questions

To edit an FAQ entry: Go to Tickets & FAQs > FAQ Knowledge Base > find the FAQ entry to be edited

Add an FAQ Entry to the System

  1. Type in the question. Leave details blank. Save question and continue.
  2. Type the answer and also select a topic and add keywords. Save answer text, then preview.

 

Screen Clipping of Add Question to LibAnswers

 

Edit or find questions using the Knowledge Base Explorer: FAQ Entries

FAQs Scope and Style Guide

Scope

  • Answers should be - at a minimum - a starting point for research or information. They aren’t necessarily meant to cover every possible avenue. Some answers may be more comprehensive, even approaching the breadth of answers covered in some of our more lengthy Ask-Us responses. The discretion belongs to the Q&A author.
  • Answers should be accurate and clearly-worded.
  • Answers may include links to anything which might help users--MIT resources, external websites, suggestions for approaching their research problem, etc.
  • The length of answers is also at the discretion of the Q&A author. Length may range from very brief to very lengthy - whatever the author feels is appropriate.
  • Answers should NOT make references - directly or indirectly - to any specific library user. For example, if an Ask-Us response is cut-and-pasted and edited for use in LibAnswers, care must be taken to exclude any and all references to the original requestor. Also, indirect identifiers that could reasonably identify the person should also be removed (e.g., specific topic of the requestor’s thesis, details of a research project that are not general in nature, etc.).

Style guide

General

  • Use upper and lower case. Use proper punctuation.
  • Be as concise as possible while still conveying the level of detail necessary. Users tend not to read large blocks of text although sometimes including more information helps clarify for the user. Use your judgment.

Content

  • When using public websites consider the stability of the site. Will it remain for some time or will it quickly disappear or move?
  • Whenever possible, link directly to a web resource rather than intermediate pages with links (such as other libraries’ guides).
  • Do NOT provide location pointers that may change (ex. Go to Business Monitor Online and click on Agribusiness in the left-hand column)
  • Include Barton searches when appropriate.
  • When referring to MIT library databases link to the Get URL (found in Vera).

Questions

  • Should be in question format ending in a question mark (?).

Answers

  • Send user directly to the source - (ex. Go to ABI/Inform).
  • Hyperlink databases, websites, ebooks, and items in Barton. Mention the format if linking directly to the content is not possible.
  • Use bold for non-hyperlinked databases, keywords, and call numbers.
  • Use italics for non-hyperlinked book and journal titles.
  • Entering keywords:
    • When entering keywords, do not include words already in the question, answer, or topic.
    • Enter synonyms and variant endings. The software does not do automatic stemming. Example: for the question “Where can I find data on pharmaceutical sales and consumption by country?” include these terms (often used in place of “pharmaceutical”), in the keywords list: pharma; drug.
    • The software is unpredictable in searching for variant spellings. If in doubt, include the variant spelling. Examples: labor retrieves labor; organization does NOT retrieve organization.
    • The software automatically searches for regular singulars/plurals, but not (or not always) for irregular singulars/plurals. Irregular singulars and plurals should be added to the Keywords list when appropriate. Examples: woman does NOT retrieve women; child does NOT retrieve children.
    • Use your judgment in determining which and how many keywords to apply. When you doubt whether or not it’s necessary to include a term in the Keywords list, include it. For example, “Where can I find statistics on child labor?” might be phrased as “Where can I find statistics on children in the workforce?” Hence the Keywords list should include the terms children and workforce.

Note: Once a new Question/Answer is added, it takes about one hour before it is indexed in the system