Service Provider FAQs

What should I do if a patron requests a specific service provider?

On rare occasions, a patron may come onto AskAway and request to chat with a specific service provider. For example, they may have been disconnected from a previous chat or they may want to connect to a service provider from their institution.

In general, AskAway does not connect patrons with specific service providers. All AskAway service providers are qualified to help patrons and make referrals as needed. Please see below for more information about how to proceed if a patron asks to connect with a specific provider:

• If a patron requests to chat with a specific service provider, let them know that everyone on AskAway is happy and qualified to help and can make referrals to a subject or specialist librarian as needed.
  • If they insist on chatting with a specific service provider, explain that AskAway doesn't offer chats with specific providers and offer to refer them to the provider instead using their institution's publicly available contact information. If no contact information is publicly available, offer a referral to another staff member at the institution or continue to help them as best as you can via AskAway, using the scripts as appropriate (e.g., you may need to use the Problem - Rude script if the patron is being rude).
• If you refer a patron to a librarian or library staff member, make sure to only use contact information that is publicly available (e.g., a link to the librarian's contact page at their institution).

As an exception, if a patron was recently chatting on AskAway and was disconnected, use Campfire to ask if another service provider lost a chat and would like the patron transferred back to them. Only transfer the patron once you have permission from the other service provider. If the service provider is not available in Campfire (e.g., they have signed out or are staffing only their institutional queue), then please follow the general guidance above and do your best to help them and/or make a referral using information that is publicly available on the institution's website.