LibraryH3lp Blog

Proactive texting from within the webclient for staffing

2025-10-02T15:17:00.000-04:00

For quite a while now, we've offered proactive texting within 3mail. Now we're excited to announce that we're also offering the same feature directly within chat if you're using the webclient for staffing.

If you have opted to include the SMS add-on with your subscription, operators can hover over the texting queue in the webclient for staffing to find the "SEND SMS" button.

Hover over your queue in the webclient for staffing

The "SEND SMS" button launches a window that asks for a phone number for the guest and a message.

Add a phone number for your guest and a message to send

Finally, click "SEND" and you're all set. You'll see a chat with that guest appear. You can then close the chat window by clicking the X in the top, left corner or send additional messages if desired.

IMPORTANT for US customers: In order to comply with US regulations related to proactively initiating text messages to guests, you are required (if you haven't already) to email us information and supporting evidence which describes how guests will opt into receiving text messages from your organization. Typical SMS use that is already covered under your agreement with us is for responding to texts initiated by guests.

Don't have the add-on? Our text messaging add-on module is backed by Bandwidth and Twilio, two robust providers of SMS infrastructure for applications. With the add-on, you receive a standard 10-digit phone number or you can port an existing number into LibraryH3lp. Incoming text messages are handled like all other chats within the webclient interface and can be transferred, transcripts saved if desired, along with many other great features.

The add-on is available in the US and Canada. For countries outside the US and Canada, email us for availability. If texting sounds like something you might want to add to your subscription, let us know by email. We're happy to set you up with a no risk trial.

New! Wait time indicator for unanswered guest chats

2025-08-11T12:31:00.000-04:00

We've added a handy new indicator to each guests's chat window that lets you know at a glance how long a guest has been waiting. The indicator appears at the bottom of chats when an operator has yet to answer.

Guest wait time indicator

And no worries if you aren't a fan. You can turn the guest wait time indicator off within the webclient's preferences page. You'll find the setting for this under "Chat Window Settings."

Webclient Preferences -> Chat Window Settings

Don't see this new feature? To make sure you have the latest version, please clear browser cache.

What (if any) impact have entry forms had on guest engagement?

2025-04-28T15:43:00.003-04:00

An interesting question popped up recently while corresponding with a customer about entry forms and we thought it'd be interesting to reach out to the LibraryH3lp community for comment. The question is this -- how has the addition of entry forms impacted your guest engagement? Are stats up, down, or unchanged?

To be clear, we know that most LibraryH3lp customers are not using entry forms at all. Entry forms are 100% optional in the 2nd generation chat skins. This question is focused on those folks who have opted to add entry forms to their chat skins.

Our question is one that has it's roots in a shake-up that happened almost 20 years ago. WAY back when we started LibraryH3lp in 2008, the library chat world underwent a huge shake-up because libraries started offering embedded chat boxes powered by Meebo. (Blast from the past, right?) For those of you not familiar with the chat scene of 2008, Meebo was the first popular chat box that totally lacked any kind of barrier to entry. Guests would just start typing to start a chat just as today's entry-form-less LibraryH3lp chat box works. Meebo was intended for personal use but libraries readily adopted it because the price was right (a.k.a. free). Now, the super interesting result from the switch was that many libraries who used entry forms prior to Meebo were having orders of magnitude upticks in their chat stats after migrating to Meebo.

As an example, UNC Chapel Hill started using Meebo (Pam was still a librarian there at that time), the library saw their chat stats immediately more than double nearly when they dropped their old, entry-form-based chat for a formless Meebo box. The librarians there found that patrons liked the anonymity and the way they could start a conversation easily, but yet could still provide personal details later on if needed for the actual question at hand. However UNC quickly realized that Meebo didn't work well when there was more than one person staffing, and so LibraryH3lp was born.

Now fast forward to today, it would be interesting to hear from y'all. If you have adopted entry forms for your LibraryH3lp chat box after having provided service without entry forms, have you crunched the numbers on your chat stats before and after adding the entry form? Let us know in the comments so folks can follow along. Or, if you'd rather not share publicly but open to sharing with us, email us at LibraryH3lp support instead.

Forcing a webclient user to log out

2025-03-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of the year, we blogged about how you can opt folks out of their staffing assignments in order to effectively remove them from chat should they forget to log out. And now we've made it even easier to force a webclient user to log out if they've forgotten to do so!

On the users management page of the admin dashboard (US, CA, EU, SG), local LibraryH3lp administrators can use the "Force Logout" button for a webclient user. That's it! Easy peasy.

One recommended follow-up after using "force logout" is meet with the user later and see if enabling the auto-logout feature in the webclient for staffing would be beneficial.

However if a user does not use the webclient for staffing and instead uses an external chat client like (like Pidgin, Adium, or a mobile app) then "force logout" will do no good because those chat clients have built-in reconnect logic which is difficult to overcome. In this case, the thing to do is go to the administrative dashboard and opt that user out of their staffing assignments on the users management page like we covered in that blog post earlier this year. That way, even though the user remains online, their availability does not affect the queue's overall availability for chat.

Sharing Chat on Social Media

2025-03-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

Social media is where lots of folks spend an increasing amount of time every day—so reaching out to guests there with great customer service isn’t just smart; it’s essential. Did you know that you can share a link that takes guests directly to your chat widget as part of that outreach in social media posts?

It is simple to craft a URL to whisk your guests directly to your chat box with a single click. You just need three bits of information - the LibraryH3lp server for your subscription, your queue's name, and the ID for your chat skin. The format for the direct URL that uses these three bits of information looks like this:

https://{server}/chat/{queue}@chat.{server}?skin={id}

where {server} is the LibraryH3lp server for your subscription, {queue} is your queue's name, and {id} is the ID for your chat skin.

For example, below is the URL we use for LibraryH3lp support crafted using the formula above. Our server is the main, US server, libraryh3lp.com. Our queue name is libraryh3lp-support. And our chat skin ID is 29566.

https://libraryh3lp.com/chat/libraryh3lp-support@chat.libraryh3lp.com?skin=29566

For help crafting your chat URL, check out our docs.

** An extra bit of integration for Facebook

If you have a Facebook Page, not only can you include your chat URL in posts, you can also include it as a "Contact us" call to action button on the Page. Pretty slick, right? You can see this integration in action on our Facebook Page.

Group Chat Makes Work Easier (and More Fun!)

2025-02-17T12:17:00.003-05:00

We're betting that you are not a fan of long email chains or waiting hours for a simple answer. If you are into those things, then this post definitely isn't for you. But if you aren't, read on! Whether you are working in the office, remotely, or somewhere in between, having a shared space to talk, collaborate, and stay on the same page with your coworkers makes everything run smoother. That’s where group chat come in.

Group chats help teams move fast. Instead of scheduling yet another meeting or digging through emails, you can drop a quick question in chat and get an answer in seconds. Need feedback on a guest's question? Want to share an update? It’s all right there in one place, keeping work flowing without unnecessary delays.

But it’s not just about efficiency—group chats can help you feel more connected. When folks can easily share ideas, troubleshoot problems together, and celebrate wins, work feels more like a team effort. And let’s not forget the little things—like sharing funny memes, weekend plans, or just checking in with coworkers. Those moments help build real relationships, even if you’re not in the same physical space.

In LibraryH3lp-land we call the place where you can internally chat with coworkers "conference rooms." Each subscription includes unlimited conference rooms which can be created and configured by local account admins.

Conference rooms are accessed through chat clients. The LibraryH3lp webclient provides a user's conference rooms automatically at the bottom of the main chat screen. Users in external chat clients such as Adium or Pidgin can also join these rooms using special credentials; your local admin can give you the needed credentials for your conference room.

Of course, it’s good to set some boundaries (no one wants to be glued to chat 24/7, or maybe you do!). But when used right, group chats make work easier, more collaborative, and yes, even a little more fun.

Updated and Expanded Queues Management Page

2025-02-05T16:42:00.001-05:00

We've expanded the features available in the queues management page of the admin dashboard and given it a fresh new look! We invite you to give it a whirl (US, CA, EU, SG) and let us know of any suggestions you might have to improve it for everyone.

Note: If you have administrative access to your LibraryH3lp subscription, then this post is crafted just for you! If not, alas you won't be able to see any queue details in the dashboard.

Let's take a quick tour and touch on the high points...

List of Queues

When you visit the queues management page, you'll see a table which lists all of your queues. For those of you with many queues and/or folders, there's filtering available under the column headings to help you whittle the list and find whatever queue you may be looking for. You can also uncheck the "Include offline" checkbox to whittle the list to only queues which have at least one operator logged in and staffing.

List of Queues

Managing a Queue's Settings

To see a particular queue's settings, click the queue row in the list. At the top of the queue's management page, you'll be able to update the queue's name, the email address associated with the queue, and optionally file the queue under a particular folder.

Individual Queue Page with Assignments Tab Selected

Assignments

By default, you'll first see the staffing assignments for your queue. As in the old queue management page, you'll see everyone assigned to staff the queue, which staff are opted into the queue, and which staff are logged into chat.

(New) Chat settings

In the chat settings tab, you'll find some new features that were not previously available in the old queue management page. The chat settings for a queue which are new include:

Guest privacy controls: Control Guest IP metadata saved with chats. You can save the full IP, only the subnet, or disable saving of IP metadata.
Chat transcript emails: Customize the email subject line used when chat transcripts are emailed to guests. The default subject line is "Your Chat Transcript."
Concierge auto-responses: Previously concierge auto-responses were managed by support request to LibraryH3lp staff. In the new page, you can now manage all aspects of concierge auto-responses for your queue.
Closing message: Add a message which is sent to the guest when an operator ends a chat. This is commonly used to offer a survey option to guests.
Simple rollover: Service rollover allows you to define priority order for queues when routing chats. This means you can do things like send guests to experts first and then a more general queue when experts aren't available. Or if you are part of a collaborative service, you can direct guests to a local librarian first and then to partners otherwise.

A note on rollover: If you want guests to see a customized appearance based upon which queue is active in service rollover, you'll want to use the custom service rollover available in the chat snippet instead of simple rollover.

(New) Texting

If you use the SMS add-on module, you'll be able to manage your offline auto-reply and configure how offline messages sent by guests are handled (held Vs. emailed via the 3mail module).

(New) Mailbox & Tickets

If you use the 3mail module, you'll be able to configure your mailbox settings within this tab.

Tickets is currently an invite-only feature under active development. More on this to come!

Can I still use the old page?

Yes! The old page is no longer supported but should continue to work for a quite a while. You can get to the old page by visiting the "Miss the old queues management page? Click here to access it." link at the top, right of the page. Just be aware that the new features mentioned above are only accessible in the new page.

Got FAQ?

2025-02-03T10:58:00.000-05:00

Example: The LibraryH3lp FAQ

Guests want quick, easy answers to questions and access to information around the clock. After all, we're living in the information age right? The LibraryH3lp FAQ module is a great way to provide those answers and information. This handy module has what you need to provide help any time -- structured articles paired with search functionality, all optionally organized by help topic.

When you create a FAQ, you are creating a powerful resource that delivers 24/7 support and makes for happier guests. Why happier? Your FAQ is a huge time saver. By providing instant answers to all the most commonly asked questions, you'll be saving guests a heap of time. And by the way, your FAQ also lightens the load on staff, improving efficiency and service quality.

If you don’t have a FAQ yet, now is a fine time to start. And you don't have to start big. Start small with a few key commonly asked questions and then build over time. If you find you're getting a certain question asked frequently in chat, then add it to your FAQ. Over time, you'll build up an extensive and solid knowledgebase. The LibraryH3lp documentation has a section dedicated to navigating the FAQ module in the left sidebar with all you need to know about starting a FAQ. And unlimited use of the FAQ module is included with every LibraryH3lp subscription so it won't cost you an extra cent.

Whether you already have a FAQ or not, the LibraryH3lp support team offers free template design and import services. You don't have to be a web guru to have a great looking FAQ. Just shoot us an email and we'll be happy to customize your FAQ's templates to coordinate with your website and/or import existing questions and answers from an existing resource. Turn around time is quick -- usually just one or two business days.

Hello? Is anyone there?

2025-01-27T11:55:00.002-05:00

We've all done it. Left the office in a rush and forgot to log out of chat. Doh! Now what? You don't want to leave guests hanging. The good news is that you can straighten this out pretty quickly if you have access to a computer or mobile device.

If you realize you've left yourself logged in on a computer that you cannot physically access, you can opt yourself out of your queue(s). What does opting out of a queue mean? When you are opted out of a queue, you won't receive incoming chats from guests. So it doesn't matter if you forgot to log out of chat since no chats are coming your way. Just log into the webclient from any computer or mobile device and opt yourself out of all queues. This opts you out of your queues from all locations no matter what software client you are using.

Remember the "Review staffing assignments before connecting" screen you see each time you log into the webclient? There's a "No" button you can click for each of your queues which will opt you out of that queue. For a one-click solution, uncheck the "Receive chats on ALL queues" checkbox at the bottom of the queue list and that will automatically select "No" for all of your queue assignments.

After clicking "connect now", logout as usual. Phew! All fixed. Later when you're ready for your next chat shift, you'll click "Yes" (or recheck "Receive chats on ALL queues") to opt yourself back in.

Now if you realize that you've forgotten to logout and you don't have access to a computer or mobile device, your local administrator can also opt you out of your queues so you'll want to get in touch with that admin.

Setting autologout in the webclient

Take another peek at the screenshot above. There's a section at the bottom of the screen you can use to set up autologout to avoid a forgotten login. The autologout timer will help you out if you forget to logout by automatically logging you out after a period of time (timer) or at a specific time (clock).

When autologout triggers, you will be presented with a box that both lets you know of the impending logout and lets you extend the time if needed. If you don't respond to that auto-logout prompt, you will be completely signed out within a minute.

Enhancing the Guest Experience with Proactive Chat Invitations

2025-01-21T08:47:00.001-05:00

Have you considered adding a proactive chat invitation to your chat snippet? Adding an invitation to your existing chat entry points can be a game-changer for maximizing visibility of chat on your web pages. We touched briefly on proactive chat invitations a bit in our 2025 New Year's resolutions post but the feature is so important we thought it deserved its own post.

Let's say that you are a library offering chat in a research environment like your catalog search results page. Patrons might miss the in-page chat entry point if they are feeling overwhelmed. There's tons of search results staring them in the face and maybe they're struggling in their research. Adding a timer-based offer of help in the form of a proactive chat invitation can be a welcome life preserver -- especially if the patron knows there's a human librarian on the other side offering immediate assistance.

When LibraryH3p first offered proactive chat invitations about 10 years ago, we had several libraries do pilots to gauge effectiveness. Though many years old now, we wanted to again share the results of those pilots here because our customers found proactive chat to positively impact engagement. We invite you to follow that link and take some time read through what other LibraryH3lp customers have experienced with proactive chat invitations with real guests.

You can turn on proactive chat invitations on any of your existing chat snippets. We recommend keeping the messaging of your invitations concise, friendly, and, well, inviting. For example, "Welcome! Have questions? Get real-time help from real librarians."

We recommend setting the timer for your invitation anywhere between 15 to 45 seconds. By waiting at least 15 seconds, a guest has had some time to scan the content of the page. But you don't want to wait too long before offering up help because guests tend to move quickly through pages rather than sitting on a particular page for minutes at a time.

Let us know how it goes! We're always eager to hear feedback on features and are happy to help if any questions pop up or if you hit any snags.

Customizing Your Chat Widgets for Better Engagement - Part 3

2025-01-13T11:02:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Part 3! We've been talking about New Year's resolutions and about how this is a great time to reflect on how you're using LibraryH3lp to engage with guests. We've been brainstorming some ways you might do even better for 2025. Just a few tweaks here and there could really enhance visibility and make the widget more usable for your guests.

To help you maximize engagement, we developed some questions you can ask yourself to see where you stand. In this post, we'll tackle the last two questions.

Is chat available to guests?
Do guests notice your chat widget?
Is it easy for guests to start a chat?
Do guests know they're chatting with a human?
Do guests have enough room to chat?
Do guests have to wait a long time to connect to an operator?

5) Do guests have enough room to chat?

If your guests are trying to chat with you in a cramped chat widget, they may get frustrated and give up. Cramped chat widgets are probably ok for short, quick conversations but if guests are spending even a moderate amount of time chatting with operators they'll want more room so they can easily review the conversation if needed and see any images the operator may share with them.

Use the chat widgets on your web pages as a guest would and see how it feels. Try short text, long text, and send some images. Make sure you do all of this using different devices -- desktops/laptops, tablets, and phones.

We strongly recommend using pop-out chat widgets since they generally work best for mobile and also give the guests the most room for chat. Importantly, pop-out chat widgets are NOT subject to pop-up blockers so no worries there.

If you're using embedded chat widgets, make sure you've set the width of the chat box to 100% so that it is responsive.

6) Do guests have to wait a long time to connect to an operator?

Let's face it. Everyone's attention span is short and getting shorter all the time. If guests have to wait too long before they get an initial response from an operator, they won't stick around.

We recommend taking some time to review the average wait times for your operators in 2024. The reports page of the admin dashboard includes a "Chats Per Operator" report that let's you know the number of chats answered by each operator along with average, median, minimum and maximum wait times. Analysis of this data is a great way to identify if any corrective action need to be taken with staffing either on an individual basis or communally.

That wraps up our list of questions! If you missed or need to review the first four questions, take a peek at Part 1 and Part 2. And if you have any questions or hit any snags, please contact LibraryH3lp support. We're always happy to help.

Customizing Your Chat Widgets for Better Engagement - Part 2

2025-01-06T09:08:00.003-05:00

Welcome back! In our previous post, we were talking about New Year's resolutions and how now is a great time to reflect on how you're using LibraryH3lp to engage with guests and brainstorm some ways you can do even better for 2025. A few tweaks here and there can really enhance visibility and make the widget more usable for your guests.

To help you maximize engagement, we developed some questions you can ask yourself to see where you stand. In this post, we'll tackle the next two questions.

Is chat available to guests?
Do guests notice your chat widget?
Is it easy for guests to start a chat?
Do guests know they're chatting with a human?
Do guests have enough room to chat?
Do guests have to wait a long time to connect to an operator?

3) Is it easy for guests to start a chat?

This item is important if you've opted to include an entry form in your chat widget. By default, guests can enter a question in to the chat box and they're off and running with chat -- it doesn't get much simpler than that. However entry forms add an extra hoop the guest must go through before the conversation begins. If guests have to provide too much information up front for a simple question, they won't start a chat.

Take some time to review the questions in your entry form to ensure a balance exists between the work a guest needs to do to start a chat and the importance of having that information for each and every guest that chats. Information can always be obtained from a guest during the course of the chat depending on the nature of the chat. You may find that some entry form data is better collected on per guest basis. Ad hoc collection can be made easy for operators with canned messages.

4) Do guests know they're chatting with a human?

With the rise in the popularity of bots, we've seen that more and more guests assume they'll be connected to a bot rather than a real person. You may want to touch up your chat box title or add a greeting so that you clearly set the expectation for the guest that they can expect to get quality real-time help from a live person. You just might find that guests are more apt to engage if they know there's a person on the other side.

That's it for now! Stay tuned for our next post where we'll tackle the last two questions designed to help you achieve better engagement for 2025. If you missed or need to review the first two questions, take a peek at Part 1. And if you have any questions or hit any snags, please contact LibraryH3lp support. We're always happy to help.

Customizing Your Chat Widgets for Better Engagement - Part 1

2024-12-30T11:25:00.000-05:00

As the new year is set to kick off, thoughts naturally turn to New Year's resolutions. Most resolutions are personal but maybe you have a few work-related resolutions planned too. Now is a great time to reflect on how you're using LibraryH3lp to engage with guests and brainstorm some ways you can do even better for 2025.

One awesome and simple way to increase the effectiveness of your chat widgets for 2025 is to review how you use LibraryH3lp on your web pages. Maybe with a few tweaks here and there you can enhance visibility and make the widget more usable for your guests.

We've developed some questions you can ask yourself to ensure you have your chat widgets customized to maximize engagement. In this post, we'll tackle these first two questions.

Is chat available to guests?
Do guests notice your chat widget?
Is it easy for guests to start a chat?
Do guests know they're chatting with a human?
Do guests have enough room to chat?
Do guests have to wait a long time to connect to an operator?

1) Is chat available to guests?

First and foremost, if operators aren't staffing chat then chat won't be available to guests. For example, if chat is only available for an hour a day you probably won't get many chats unless that happens to align with the busiest hour of guest traffic.

Take some time to review your chat scheduling to ensure folks are online and available to help guests as much as possible. Similarly, you'll want to review the offline options you offer guests when chat is offline to ensure no inquiry goes unanswered.

If you are a library and need help staffing chat, we recommend contacting our partner Chatstaff to see about boosting chat availability for your patrons. Chatstaff is not a co-op and is staffed by carefully vetted MLS-level librarians.

2) Do guests notice your chat widget?

Even if chat is available, you won't get chats if your guests don't notice your chat widget. Makes sense, right? You'll want your chat widget to be visually appealing and aligned with your branding. Most LibraryH3lp customers do a fantastic job with this right out of the gate. Let's take that a step further.

When designing a theme for your chat widget, we recommend selecting colors that contrast with the most common colors used on your website's to ensure the chat widget stands out. You want to draw the guest's eye to the availability of chat. And don't worry. You don't have to go outside of branding guidelines to get contrast. Just look through your branding palette and choose the colors that contrast best against the page.

Once a guest knows that chat is available, they'll naturally look for chat in the same place as they navigate around your web pages. We recommend placing the widget in a prominent, easily accessible location, such as the header, sidebar, or bottom corner of your webpage.

Proactive chat invitations are another great way to draw a guest's eye and let them know that chat is available. You can customize these so that guests are invited to chat after they've spent some time on a web page. The animation of the invitation appearing after the timer expires draws the guest's attention. And you don't have to worry about annoying your guests with proactive chat invites. There's a built-in politeness cookie so that the invitation is suppressed once a guests declines the invitation.

That's it for now! Stay tuned for our next post where we'll tackle the next two questions designed to help you achieve better engagement for 2025. If you have any questions or hit any snags, please contact LibraryH3lp support. We're always happy to help.

Introducing Entry Forms! And few 3mail updates

2024-01-02T16:09:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year! We are starting the year strong with an exciting update in LibraryH3lp-land. Ever wanted to capture guest information like name or email ahead of a chat? Now you can with entry forms. Entry forms are a new, optional feature available to all subscriptions at no additional cost.

The latest LibraryH3lp update also includes some cool new features for the 3mail module so please be sure to read over those at the end of this blog post to see what's new for 3mail.

A basic entry form collects the guest's name, email, and initial question just before a chat begins.

Example of an entry form that a guest would see to start a chat

Once the "Start chat" button is clicked, the guest sees a chat box populated with the question from the entry form as the first message in the conversation.

The guest sees the chat box after clicking the "Start chat" button

Now, let's talk about the operator's side of the entry form. From the operator's point of view, the question from the entry form pops up as the first message in the conversation just like any other chat. A big difference, however, is that the operator sees the guest's identity (name and email) during the chat instead of the usual anonymous guest ID. The guest's name and email are also saved as part of the chat metadata in Chat History.

What the operator sees after the guest submits the entry form

Maybe you don't need both a guest's name and email. No worries! It's possible to hide name and/or email, or you can make either or both optional for the guest to fill out. Only the question is required because this becomes the message that kicks off the conversation with the operator.

And if you would like to collect other sorts of information from the guest, you can do that too! For example, you can add a drop-down menu for the guest's status, such as undergrad, grad, staff, unaffiliated, etc... Just like name and email, custom metadata is shown to operators during the chat and also saved to Chat History.

Entry forms are enabled on a per chat skin basis. Administrators will find the entry form editor within the chat box skin editor of the administrative dashboard. When editing a chat box skin, administrators will see a "Require guest to complete an entry form before chat" checkbox that creates or removes the entry form for the chat box skin. Once the entry form checkbox is checked, an "Entry Form" tab appears between the "Branding" tab and the "Wicked CSS Hacks" tab.

Chat Skin Editor in Administrative Dashboard ("Entry Form" tab appears when checked)

In the "Entry Form" tab, administrators will find a visual editor where they can design an entry form. The default is a basic entry form that asks for a guest's name, email, and question. If desired, administrators can provide instructions, re-order fields, and add custom fields to the entry form.

Entry Form Editor

You'll find more details on entry forms and how to set them up in our documentation.

Please give entry forms a whirl and let us know what you think! We've been folding customer feedback into LibraryH3lp for well over a decade now and it makes all the difference in the world. Your valuable insights are what makes LibraryH3lp better for everyone.

Updates to 3mail

We've also released a few minor improvements to 3mail:

Each user may create their own signature for email drafts. Personalized signatures (if defined) will override the shared signature set for a mailbox. Personalized signatures can be configured in the user preferences area of the webclient or standalone 3mail.
You may insert private FAQ content when composing emails. Previously you were limited to public FAQ content only.
There is now a link to the admin dashboard from the standalone 3mail page for admins.

Promoting your LibraryH3lp service

2023-09-06T10:36:00.001-04:00

Did you know that LibraryH3lp provides resources to help you promote your services to guests? We sure do!

We offer both printable and social media materials that you can use as-is or as a starting point for your promotional campaign. You can find it all on the LibraryH3lp FAQ.

Printable materials are available as Microsoft® Word documents and social media images are available in PNG format.

Image for use in Meta Stories

Latest round of bug fixes

2023-08-21T14:08:00.000-04:00

Hi all! We released a small round of minor bug fixes today and wanted to share the details on those with you. To make sure you have the latest version, please clear browser cache before logging in.

Webclient

The navigation sidebar on the left hand side of the webclient now remains hidden until after a user logs in.
A link to the administrative dashboard is now visible for mini-admins within the navigation sidebar. Previously this link was only visible for full administrators.
Those users with sufficient permissions will be able to delete chats within the individual chat view on the Chat History page.

3mail

The navigation sidebar on the left hand side of 3mail now remains hidden until after a user logs in.
We fixed a bug where the subject line content of a draft would disappear when adding CC or BCC recipients.

Administrative Dashboard

Those users with sufficient permissions will be able to delete chats within the individual chat view on the Chat History page.
Within the User Management page, users must be logged out before administrators can delete them.

Guest chat box

The send file and email transcript options are not available until a chat begins.

Get your LibraryH3lp status alerts here

2023-08-11T11:52:00.000-04:00

For many many years, we have used Twitter to publish LibraryH3lp system status alerts. It was handy for a number of reasons, including that no one needed to be signed in with a Twitter account to read the messages. Alas, things have changed and Twitter is not as convenient as it once was.

In the interest of simplicity and visibility, we're moving our status alerts here, to our blog. Status alerts will be located at the top of the right sidebar so you can quickly see if there is a known technical problem afoot in LibraryH3lp-land.

System status alerts are issues that impact your staff's ability or your guest's ability to use LibraryH3lp in some way... Hardware failures, widespread networking issues and data center problems are all examples. Thankfully these sorts of issues are rare. Because these problems could mean that our servers are not reachable, our blog (hosted by Blogger) is a perfect place to share them.

We will continue to use the Message of the Day feature within the LibraryH3lp admin dashboard and webclient to share news items of general interest to our customers and their staff.

For those customers that still actively engage on Twitter, don't worry. We will continue to tweet the same status alerts we post to the blog so you will see and receive those important messages in the familiar way.

New Users Management page

2022-05-27T09:09:00.004-04:00

If you have administrative rights to all or part of your LibraryH3lp subscription, this post is for you. We've updated the users management page in the administrative dashboard. The new page has been in beta testing for quite some time and we've wrapped in customer feedback as well as bug fixes during that time. Please continue to provide constructive feedback on how we can further improve this page.

Updated user management page in administrative dashboard

We'll update the administrative dashboard on each of the servers in the coming weeks. And we'll update this section as we go to note the date. Here's the release schedule:

Canada - May 27, 2022
Singapore - June 21, 2022
Europe - June 23. 2022
Main (US) - July 5, 2022

Without further ado, let's dive in to highlight some of the changes and nifty new features for user management!

Creating and updating users

There is a user creation wizard which guides you through the set-up process for new users. If you would like your new user to be set up exactly as one of your existing users, there's a copy feature that lets you do just that. In the wizard, you'll set up staffing assignments, chat contacts, canned messages (if applicable), conference room assignments (if applicable), and administrative permissions if desired.

You can use the same wizard to update existing users too! Plus each user has their own page where you can view and adjust settings as needed.

Managing chat contacts

We've completely revamped how chat contacts are managed. When staffing chat, you can see other users and queues in your chat contacts and administrators can set this up for users in the user management page.

The manage chat contacts button lets you quickly and easily buddy selected or all users with each other with just a few clicks. And if you want to fine-tune the contacts, there's a "Customize Contacts" option. For example, maybe you want to remove contacts instead of add contacts.

After setting up chat contacts and when a user is staffing chat, that user will see other users under the "Contacts" heading and queues under the "Queues" heading. Guests always appear in the "LibraryH3lp" heading. If desired, you can customize these headings. For example, you could set up headings such that contacts are organized by home department.

When users forget to logout

There is no way for an administrator to force someone offline if that user has forgotten to logout. This is because chat clients have built-in logic to reconnect users who get disconnected and, if you try to boot the user, that user's chat client simply reconnects. As an administrator, the next best thing to do is opt that user out of the queue staffing assignments. The user remains logged in but, once opted out, their availability no longer impacts queue availability and so your queues will not remain falsely online.

There is a red "Disable staffing" button that you can use to easily opt a user out queue assignments.

When the user is ready to staff again, that user can opt back into the queue staffing assignments just after logging into the webclient. Or you can use the "Enable staffing" button to opt the user back into the queue assignments.

Administrative permissions

You can have as many full administrators as you want for your subscription. Administrators have full access to all aspects of a subscription. Any user can be granted administrator privileges by adding them to the Administrators group.

You can also create "mini-admins" to give users access to a sub-portion of the overall account. Mini-admins are a great way to provide a degree of isolation to departments sharing a subscription. For example, if a campus library manages the overall subscription, the admissions department can have one or more mini-admin users that will be able to manage the chat service for the admissions department without needing to bother the library folks every time they need to make a change.

But I loved the old page

We've got you covered. There is a link to the old user management page from the new page. We're no longer maintaining the old page but do plan to keep it available for some time.

Staffing Assignments in the Webclient

2022-01-14T12:06:00.006-05:00

Hope everyone is having a great new year so far! Let's talk about an important webclient change.

When you log into the webclient for your chat shift, you are greeted by a selection window that presents a list of queues. The selections you make in this window control whether or not you will receive incoming chats from guests. Also these selections are remembered from login to login so you don't have to set them every time you log in. Nothing new so far, right? What is new is that we've replaced the checkboxes with YES/NO buttons. We received a lot of excellent feedback from folks who pointed out that the old checkboxes were confusing. Please give these new buttons a go and see what you think!

In order to receive incoming chats from guests, you need to be assigned as an operator on at least one queue AND you have to be opted into staffing the queue. Queues are how LibraryH3lp routes incoming chats from guests to multiple operators at the same time.

If you want to receive incoming chats from guests on a queue, make sure the "YES" button associated with that staffing assignment is green.

Selection window seen when logging into the webclient for staffing

If you DO NOT want to receive incoming chats from guests on a queue, make sure the "NO" button associated with that staffing assignment is red. For example, you might opt OUT of receiving chats on all of your staffing assignments when you want to log in but only chat with your colleagues.

When you are opted OUT of staffing at least one queue, you'll see a purple alert message which reminds you that you won't receive any chats from that queue while opted out.

An alert message is shown when you are opted OUT of staffing at least one queue.

In the selection window and at the bottom of your queue assignments list, there is a handy "Receive chats on ALL queues" checkbox. You can use this to ensure all staffing assignments are set to YES. Folks assigned to a lot of queues will find this checkbox especially useful. Also folks with a lot of staffing assignments may need to scroll in order to review them all before connecting.

Fast forward. Let's say you've reviewed your staffing assignments and connected. What if you wish to change those staffing assignments later? You can do that without logging out and then back in! Look for the "Staffing Assignments" tab in the Contacts sidebar. The tab heading also reflects how many queues you are staffing from your assigned queues. For example in the screenshot below, I'm assigned to 3 queues and staffing all of them -- so 3 out of 3 or 3/3

Click "Staffing Assignments" to opt in/out of queues after login.

After you click "Staffing Assignments" in the contacts sidebar, you'll see the same YES/NO buttons as you did at login.

Use the YES/NO buttons under "Staffing Assignments" to control whether or not you receive chats.

As always, we appreciate constructive feedback on this and any other aspect of LibraryH3lp. If you have ideas you'd like to share, please email us at support@libraryh3lp.com.

Why don't I see this change?

We'll be rolling the change to each of the regional servers soon. Here's the release status so far (and we'll update this section as rollouts happen):

Singapore: January 14, 2022
Europe: January 14, 2022
Canada: January 15, 2022
Main (North America): January 29, 2022

What happens if I don't use the webclient for staffing?

If you do not use the webclient for staffing, then you will not have the option to adjust staffing assignments within your chosen alternate chat client. If you need to change your staffing assignments, briefly log into the webclient to update the YES/NO button for each queue as desired. Then you can log back out of the webclient and resume staffing in your chose alternative chat client.

2nd Generation Chat Box Coming to LibraryH3lp

2021-08-29T07:02:00.007-04:00

We hope everyone had a great summer. Fall is already upon us, and we wanted to share some big news: a next generation chat box is coming to LibraryH3lp packed with features you've been asking for.

But wait. There's more! We also want to show off some neat new features in the admin dashboard and webclient for staffing.

We'll be rolling the new features described in this post to each of the regional servers soon. Here's the release status so far (and we'll update this section as rollouts happen):

Canada: August 29, 2021
Singapore: September 3, 2021
Europe: September 3, 2021
Main (North America): September 11, 2021

Easier Chat History search

It's now even easier to search chats in the Chat History page, which is common to both the admin dashboard and the webclient for staffing. As before, there's the area at the top of the page where you can search chats by date, transcript keywords, or most any bit of chat metadata either by typing you search parameters in the search box or by using the advanced search dropdown and filling out the search fields.

But now there are two new features: one-click narrowing of search parameters and easy-to-remove-search facets.

When you visit the Chat History page, you'll see all the chats which match your current search criteria (this week's chats by default) in a table. We've added hyperlinks to the guest, protocol, queue, and operator fields in that table for each chat. Clicking on any of these links for a chat will automatically add the value of that field to your search so you can quickly narrow your search to a particular guest, protocol, queue, operator, or any combination of these metadata fields. You'll also see these fields added as facets to your search.

Here's an example of the new search features in action:

Before narrowing search by clicking on an operator hyperlink

Clicking an operator name narrows the search to a particular operator and adds a facet

If you want to remove search criteria and widen your search, click the X beside a facet to remove it.

New Webclient Features

Today's chats with the guest

Each incoming guest chat over a queue now includes a history hyperlink as part of the chat metadata. Clicking that hyperlink lets you quickly view today's chats with that guest, which is especially handy for repeat guests who may have previously chatted with another operator or to refresh your memory on a prior chat with a guest.

New "History" metadata on chats within the webclient. Click to see today's chats for the guest.

Volume control for sound notifications

And there is now a volume control for notification sounds under preferences so you can control the volume of webclient notification sounds relative to other system sounds and even quickly mute webclient sound notifications by setting the volume to zero.

Volume control for webclient sound notifications

2nd Generation Chat Box (Yay!)

Without further ado, we're excited to announce the second generation LibraryH3lp chat box packed with lots of great new features. Don't worry, we haven't gone crazy with the redesign and guests who have used your chat box before will still find it familiar.

Default 2nd generation chat box with no customized skin

Upgrading your existing chat box skins is super simple in many cases and literally just takes a couple clicks. Plus upgrades are FREE. That's right, it's included with every subscription.

Here are the new things that guests will see immediately after you upgrade:

more spacious typing area that auto-sizes based upon chat box dimensions
modernized icon set for chat features such as emailing transcripts
new icon to enable/disable visual notifications of new chat messages (pop-out and follow-me chat box styles only)
new icon to review and choose emojis to insert into the conversation
new icon to clear chat history which replaces the old 'Clear Chat History' button

After you've upgraded the chat skin, you can then take advantage of some new features and customization options which include:

Add an optional, customizable greeting message that appears in the transcript area at the beginning of a conversation. This is separate and different from the concierge auto-response in that this message is NOT part of the chat transcript per se and appears to the guest before a chat starts.
Create and present a chat policy to guests and optionally require guests to acknowledge your chat policy before chatting.
Customize the 'Type here to chat. Press ENTER to send.' typing instructions for the chat box.
Disable file uploads for guests if you do not want guests sharing files with operators.

NOTE: If you have a chat skin which is highly customized though advanced customizations in Wicked CSS Hacks, those customizations will be lost if you choose to upgrade through the default upgrade process. The reason that the contents of Wicked CSS Hacks are purposefully not preserved is because much of what is valid for a Generation 1 chat box is NOT valid for a Generation 2 chat box. That is, the old Wicked CSS Hacks content will likely just make your updated chat box look strange and is no longer needed. Please contact LibraryH3lp support if you'd like assistance upgrading any chat skin or have questions.

Updated Chat Box Skin Editor

Finally, we've redesigned the Chat Skin Editor in the admin dashboard. The new editor makes it easy to search your existing chat skins and see what each skin looks like at a glance.

In the redesigned editor, you'll see an "Upgrade skin to latest generation" button when you edit any of your first generation chat skins. You can use this button to upgrade each skin.

The redesigned Chat Skin Editor comes with some new, schnazzy features:

There are color pickers with built-in WCAG color contrast checkers to help you style your chat box skin while ensuring your skin meets color contrast accessibility standards.
Rich text editors are available for parts of the chat box where there is text content, like the title.
As before, you can see your changes to the chat box skin update in real-time. But now you can also click on the visualization of your skin to highlight the settings in the editor that are relevant to that portion of the skin.

Redesigned Chat Skin Editor

With the redesign, we've broken up the chat box skin settings into two groups -- Branding Basics and Additional Flair. The Branding Basics group represents the most commonly tweaked skin settings and Additional Flair is for other customizations which are less commonly tweaked.

End to End Encryption (E2EE) for chats

2021-05-22T08:15:00.003-04:00

From the beginning, LibraryH3lp has been designed as a privacy-first application. Guests chat anonymously as there is no requirement or option for guests to enter any sort of identifying information such as email address or name to begin a chat. As a customer, you are the main custodian of your subscription data and control your internal users, queues, and transcript retention (which is an opt-in feature). In this vein, we are excited to offer a new optional feature for web-based chats -- end-to-end encryption.

Released as follows:

Canada: May 22, 2021
Europe: May 29, 2021
Singapore: May 29, 2021
Main (North America): June 20, 2021

What is end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and off the record messaging (OTR)?

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) means that only the two parties (ends) participating in a chat can read the messages. No one else (including LibraryH3lp support personnel) can read the messages because the messages are encrypted. The specific cryptographic protocol used to encrypt chat messages is Off the Record Messaging (OTR).

As a further proof against man-in-the-middle (MITM) eavesdropping, operators answering chats in the webclient for staffing can optionally provide the private key from a Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) key pair so that the guest's chat box (which has the matching public key fingerprint) can confirm that the answering operator is authorized to communicate with the guest.

Note: E2EE/OTR is not available nor planned for SMS (texting) chats.

Wait. Aren't chats encrypted by default?

Yes. Even without setting up E2EE, guest chat boxes use HTTPS by default and the operator's webclient for staffing always uses HTTPS. With HTTPS, chat messages are encrypted in transit over the network. However unlike with E2EE chats, these chat transcripts can also be read by authenticated users that have appropriate permissions in Chat History while a chat is active, and also after a chat has ended if transcript storage has been enabled. Chat transcript retention provides the ability for later access and can be useful for things like training, data assessment/analysis, and personnel review.

Even though this OTR chat is active, its transcript cannot be seen in Chat History.

If my chats are already encrypted, why would I want to set up E2EE/OTR?

Actually we anticipate that most customers will not set up E2EE/OTR, since messages are encrypted in transit via HTTPS and the ability for later transcript review is an important part of quality assurance, assessment, and training for many organizations.

However customers in countries with very strong data privacy regulations or any customer with stringent privacy requirements might be interested in E2EE. For example, if E2EE is configured, then there is no way for LibraryH3lp support staff to access chat transcripts, and that can be an important feature.

Generally how does OTR work?

The guest does not have to do anything special to initiate an OTR chat. Your local administrator sets up OTR ahead of time as part of the chat skin used for the chat box. When the guest sends a message to begin a chat, they'll see a brief "Connecting..." indicator which indicates the start of the OTR negotiation process which happens automatically and behind the scenes between the two ends of the conversation (the guest and the answering chat operator).

When the chat goes out to the operator(s) in the webclient, the operators see a note that the chat is OTR and, instead of plainly seeing the guest's initial message(s), the operator(s) must first claim the chat by clicking a button. Only after an operator claims the chat, will the operator actually see the guest's message(s). The operator can close the chat window if the operator does not want to claim the chat, leaving it open for another receiving operator to claim.

The chat operator cannot see the guest's messages until the operator claims the chat. Alternatively the operator can close the chat window, leaving the chat available for another receiving operator to claim.

How do I enable OTR for my chat box skins?

To get started, the local LibraryH3lp administrator generates a public key fingerprint / private key pairing for all chat box skins within the admin dashboard (US, CA, EU, SG) using the "Manage Off the Record Chat (E2EE)" button. We recommend regenerating the public key fingerprint and private key on a routine schedule as a best practice. Using keys for up to one month is generally considered safe, and the typical recommendation is to regenerate keys weekly.

Refer to our how-to guide that walks you through the process and has lots of extra details and screenshots.

Updates to the Chat Box for Guests

2021-01-15T13:53:00.004-05:00

We recently announced a new emoji set for the chat box that guests use on your website and teased that there were more changes to come. We've made good on that promise with even more chat box improvements.

These improvements are being rolled out progressively across our service regions.

sg.libraryh3lp.com: released January 15, 2021
ca.libraryh3lp.com: released January 29, 2021
eu.libraryh3lp.com: released January 31, 2021
libraryh3lp.com (main server): coming soon!

Simplified Mobile Experience

Previously, we offered two separate layouts for the chat box -- one layout was shown to guests chatting using a desktop or laptop and one layout that was shown to guests using smaller mobile devices like phones. Now guests will see the same chat box layout no matter what device they choose to use to chat with you.

The history behind the two layouts stems from the early days of mobile where there was spotty support for chat box features such as file upload and even reliably getting the Enter button to send a message. These days mobile devices are much more sophisticated and support for all the chat box features is commonplace.

Bug Fixes

1) The chat box should clearly identify the sender of an uploaded file or image. It used to be that the upload was always attributed to the operator. One caveat with this bug fix is that on occasion the guest may still encounter the original behavior within Chrome; we expect that Chrome will iron out that remaining wrinkle with a future update.

2) When a guest pops out the chat box on a web page (like you can do with our support chat box in the sidebar of this blog) into a separate window, the conversation will update in real time in both places. It used to be that only the operator's messages updated in real time in both places. Now the messages from the guest will also appear.

Embedded chat box screenshot showing the pop-out button

Even more to come!

One last thing... and we've saved the best for last! We are actively developing a next generation chat box. Its default view is sleek and sexy, has built-in offline contact handling, plus a whole bunch of new features that folks have been requesting. More details as well as how to upgrade (if you want to upgrade, no pressure) will follow closer to release. And don't worry, the upgrade won't cost you anything extra -- it's included as part of your base subscription.

Updates to Chat Box and Webclient for Staffing

2020-12-31T15:09:00.003-05:00

On the heels of recent updates to the webclient, 3mail, and admin dashboard, we're updating the chat box for guests too! We have more changes to the chat box in the works, but to kick things off we've modernized and expanded the emoji available to guests and operators during a chat.

The new emoji set is being rolled out progressively across our service regions.

sg.libraryh3lp.com: released December 31, 2020
eu.libraryh3lp.com: released January 8, 2021
ca.libraryh3lp.com: released January 8, 2021
libraryh3lp.com (main server): January 16, 2021

Emoji for Chat Box

On the guest's side, the new emoji (as with the old emoji) can be inserted into a chat via shortcuts typed as part of a chat message.

Emoji in Webclient

On the operator's side, the new emoji (as with the old emoji) can be inserted into a chat via shortcuts typed as part of a chat message or via the emoji selector in the webclient for staffing (screenshots below).

Screenshot of emoji button available for chats within the webclient

Screenshot of emoji selector dialog that appears when you click the emoji button

Updates to the Webclient, 3mail, and Admin Dashboard

2020-11-14T22:09:00.012-05:00

Where is this update?

The updates outlined in this post are being rolled out progressively across our service regions.

sg.libraryh3lp.com: Update live as of November 14, 2020.
eu.libraryh3lp.com: Update live as of November 21, 2020.
ca.libraryh3lp.com: Update live as of November 28, 2020.
libraryh3lp.com (main server): Update live as of December 19, 2020.

IMPORTANT! With this kind of update, it's a great idea to clear your web browser's cache to ensure you have the latest release.

Webclient Updates

Initial Staffing Assignments dialog

When the box for a queue assignment is checked and you see the green "I'm staffing" indicator, you will receive incoming chats on that queue. Otherwise, chats on that queue will not be routed to you (red "I'm NOT staffing"). In this way, you can control on which queues you receive guest chats. This is all unchanged, but the new feature is an alert.

Now if at least one of your queue assignments is unchecked (shows a red "I'm NOT staffing"), a warning will appear letting you know that you won't receive chats on that queue.

Alert if you're not opted into staffing a queue.

Updated canned message management page.

The big win in the new canned messages page is a spacious editor for composing personal canned messages which includes a link tool along with other common formatting tools.

Updated editor for canned messages includes formatting tools

Updated preferences page

Webclient settings are now organized into groups and given headings.
We've added a play button next to sounds so you can easily preview when choosing sounds.
We've added an avatar gallery so you can easily replace the default avatar.

Updated webclient preferences page

3mail Updates

Our 3mail (shared email boxes) module gets a super handy update: integration with the FAQ module. If you have a FAQ site, you can search your FAQ site for the answer to an email question and insert either a link to it, or insert the FAQ's content and then edit further.

Plus the existing ability to use answer templates within 3mail remains. The new FAQ integration is yet another way to re-use existing content to save time and avoid re-writing the same answer over and over.

Inserting an answer from your FAQ (searchable knowledgebase module)

Instantly search your FAQ for an answer to share

Insert either a link to a FAQ OR the FAQ content directly

Admin Dashboard Updates (for full administrators or mini-admins)

User Management: Beta

We're offering a new user management page for beta testing side-by-side with the familiar user management page. You can access the new user management page via a green banner at the top of the current user management page.

Navigation to BETA users management page

The new user management page aims to streamline the process of creating new users and managing existing users. In particular, here is a list of new features available exclusively through the new user management page:

User creation wizard which includes an option to set up a new user identically to an existing user (copy).
Search function to quickly locate users by username, chat status, queue assignment, permissions group, folder, or email address (if set for a user).
Integrated management of conference rooms, canned messages, and permissions groups!
Revised contact management tool to simplify setting up buddies for users.

Copying an existing user

Conference Rooms

The conference room management page features a refreshed design but no new features or settings.

Updated interface for managing conference rooms

Shared Canned Messages (Pools)

The canned message management page also features a refreshed design.

A noteworthy improvement is the addition of a super spacious editor which supports basic formatting constructs such as links, bold, underline, etc.

Updated canned messages management with much improved editor.

NEW! RefTracker Integration

We are excited to offer a LibraryH3lp integration with Altarama's RefTracker platform. The integration connects LibraryH3lp's tag for follow-up feature with RefTracker's customizable forms so you can easily pull chat information from LibraryH3lp for later follow-up and tracking within RefTracker.

Permissions Groups

The permissions groups management also features a refreshed design, but there are no changes to the underlying permissions management options or new settings.

Subscription Management and SSO

The subscription management page has been updated and re-organized slightly.

The BIGGEST addition is a section for setting up Single Sign On (SSO) which is labeled "Authentication." Initially, LibraryH3lp is offering SSO via Shibboleth as part of a beta program.

If your organization supports SSO via Shibboleth, you would be able to use your organization's login credentials to log into LibraryH3lp. If you are interested in participating in the beta program, please contact support via email.

Once we have organizations using beta SSO via Shibboleth, you'll see two ways to login to the webclient, 3mail, or the admin dashboard.

If you opt to participate in the beta program, you and your colleagues will use the "Sign in via your institution" option.
If you do NOT to participate in the beta program, you'll use the same "Sign in" option that you've always used where you provide your LibraryH3lp username and password to login.

Contactless Assistance Ideas for Re-opening

2020-07-31T09:02:00.000-04:00

Are you and your colleagues brainstorming ideas on how to help guests while maintaining social distancing when your building re-opens? LibraryH3lp can help with that! On the heels of curbside service initiatives, we've heard from lots of customers interested using in LibraryH3lp for contactless assistance within the building. Here's what we've seen others do...

Leverage on-site public access computers

If you provide on-site public access computers or loan out laptops or similar devices, you can leverage them for contactless communication with your staff.

Draw Attention to Contactless Assistance with the Desktop Wallpaper

Advertise texting and/or regular phone numbers.
Advertise chat options.
Draw the eye to a desktop shortcut that launches your chat service.
Try to place the shortcut someplace where the user is least likely to cover it up once they have applications such as the web browser running on the computer.

Example desktop screenshot showing wallpaper for a library with contact information and a special chat shortcut.

Desktop Shortcuts that Launch a Browser

Detail of wallpaper and desktop shortcut to chat box

OK, so what web page do you send guest to with a desktop shortcut? So many possibilities...

If you'd like to keep it simple, make a shortcut that launches your chat box directly, using a simple chat box URL, with or without an offline contact overlay.

If you happen to use Chrome on your public computers, you can make a special shortcut for Chrome that adds additional variables onto the shortcut's target and opens the chat box in a small window in a specific area of the screen. If the guest has previously launched Chrome and activates the shortcut, Chrome will open the chat box the regular Chrome workspace as a new tab.

Some places opt to create a dedicated web page for use from in-building computers, and they use this dedicated page as the default home page for web browsers on the public computers. These special pages can feature contact information including the chat service.

Advertise QR Codes that Guests Scan on their Phones

Guests can chat with staff using their phones as as they wander around the building. No need for a desktop or laptop computer! Guests either text their question (if you have the LibraryH3lp SMS add-on module) or use the mobile-friendly LibraryH3lp chat box which doesn't require the SMS add-on module at all.

Now for the sprinkles on top! Make it super easy for guests to chat by providing a QR code that either launches the guest's texting app or links them to your your mobile-friendly chat box URL. You'll want to print and post the QR code in strategic spots around the building. You can even include the QR code on computer desktop wallpaper as described above.

Example QR code for the
LibraryH3lp tech support chat box

Mobile-friendly chat box for phones

Something else?

If you have other ideas for including LibraryH3lp in your contactless workflow but aren't sure how to tackle, please contact support@libraryh3lp.com. LibraryH3lp has a flexible API and chances are that we can help make your vision a reality.