LibAnswers Best Practices

What is LibAnswers?

LibAnswers is part of the LibApps suite of software (made by Springshare) that powers the Gleeson Library website. It is an online reference and helpdesk system that we use to:

• Respond to patron inquiries via ticketing queues — Includes reference questions, access and borrowing questions, special collections questions, and report a problem.
• Record patron interaction statistics — Includes reference transactions, collections access issues, etc.
• Create and maintain frequently asked questions — Includes all FAQ entries in our searchable knowledgebase.
• Manage the status of library systems — Includes the current status and scheduled maintenance of library systems and online resources.

How to Use this Guide

This guide is a resource for all staff that work with LibAnswers. It provides best practices for the various functions of the system.

This guide is a work in progress. Anders will announce updates as they are published here.

• Ticketing Queues

  Claim, answer, and manage tickets from patrons.

• Reference Analytics

  Add a transaction to one our datasets.

• Frequently Asked Questions

  Create, edit, and submit FAQ entries for review.

• Systems Status

  Update statuses and posts on the dashboard.