 |
Online
Help
Frequently Asked Questions
 What
is Online Help?
Who
can use this service?
What
questions are best suited for Online Help?
Who
answers the questions?
How
is my privacy or anonymity protected?
Is
any special software required to use Online Help?
When the service is not available, please stop in, call,
or send us an email.
What is Online Help?
Online Help is a reference service provided by Jesuit colleges and universities
throughout the country that enables patrons to ask questions about research,
library resources, and
library
policies
through
a realtime
instant messenging service. Following a chat session, patrons will receive
a transcript of their online discussion in their e-mail. Full 24 hour
/ 7 day a week service will begin September 13, 2004.
Back to top of page
Who can use this service?
The service is available to current students, faculty, and staff of the
participating Jesuit institutions without restrictions. Patrons accessing
the service will be asked to identify the Jesuit institution with which
they are affiliated . When a non-affiliated patron accesses the service,
the librarian may do a brief reference interview and point the patron
to freely available web based resources, or may refer the patron to a
local public institution if the question does not pertain to Georgetown's
unique collections or resources.
Back to top of page
What
types of questions are best suited for Online
Help?
|
|
Help searching the library
catalog.
|
|
Assistance selecting and searching
appropriate databases.
|
|
Information about the library and its services.
|
|
Help accessing library resources
when you are off campus.
|
|
Internet search strategies.
|
Patrons may be referred
to other resources if chat is not the most appropriate
medium for answering their question.
|
Back to top of
page
|
Who answers the questions?
Reference staff from Georgetown's Lauinger and
Blommer libraries answer questions Monday through Thursday, Noon -
9 PM and Friday, Noon - 4:30 PM. Beginning September 13, 2004, librarians
from other participating Jesuit
colleges
and universities, and contract librarians provided through a division
of Tutor.com will answer questions received outside Georgetown reference
staff's online service hours.
Back to top of page
How is my privacy
or anonymity protected?
Any identifying information provided when initiating a chat is erased
after 30 days. If you check the anonymous box on the
initial patron screen, no identifying information will be saved.
Transcripts of chats are purged of any identifying information before
being used
for training or service evaluation purposes.
Back to top of page
Is any special software
required to use Online Help?
Online Help works best with the
Internet Explorer browser (version 5 and higher), but
will also work with most other browsers. However, if
you use American Online (AOL), we recommend that after
connecting, you use Internet Explorer, Netscape or
Mozilla instead of the AOL browser.
Back to top of page
We welcome
your comments and suggestions.
Last updated: 09/01/04
|
|
