The LibAnswers queue is currently monitored by members of the Virtual Research Services Team, but each library is responsible to manage their assigned questions in a timely manner. Here are some general best practices to keep in mind when you are reviewing your assigned tickets in the LibAnswers queue:
- Tickets should be acknowledged within 24 hours (1 business day). If a ticket is received after 5:00 PM on Friday, you have until the following Monday to respond.
- Tickets should be responded to within the LibAnswers platform (instead of via the notification email) whenever possible.
- If you are not the best person to answer a question, you can reassign the ticket to another library or staff member. If you are not sure who the ticket should be reassigned to, please refer to the "Who do you call?" page in this guide.
- If a ticket has been referred to a you and you feel the question is potentially spam, respond to the patron stating that you received the question and ask them for clarification.
- When you are ready to close a ticket, record the "Reference Analytics" portion of the ticket prior to clicking "submit as closed." This will help us maintain a more robust set of usage statistics. Refer to the "Recording Statistics" page for additional details.
Recording Reference Analytics when responding to a LibAnswers ticket:
- When you transfer a ticket to a new owner or are working through the question and have a back/forth conversation with the patron - Choose the option : Do Not Add to Reference Analytics
- Once you complete and close the ticket – Choose the option Add to Reference Analytics and enter your stats
