Skip to Main Content
Please note: Off-campus access to many library resources is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Hope Library Guides

Peer Assisted Learning: Hope College Sample Training Exercises: February 1st

This is a sample of the training exercises designed for the first year of our new training scheme. The first semester the exercises were housed almost exclusively within the LibGuide. The second semester we began migrating content into our Content Manag

Chat Transcript Evaluation

For this exercise, you will be evaluating chat transcripts.  The goals of this assignment are to think about how to interact professionally via chat, and more broadly, consider how to answer questions well, regardless of whether they are digital or in person.

There are 3 fake chat transcripts posted in Moodle. Please post a comment on at least two of these transcripts evaluating the interaction.  This can be positive or negative.  You can comment on either something that you think was done well in the chat or something that you thought was missed or that could have been improved in the interaction.

See below for a reminder of our tips for good chat reference.

HEADS UP - since you all share a computer, there may be an issue of Moodle staying logged in under a different student's name after they have left.  Make sure that you are correctly logged into Moodle under your name.

DUE February 15th

Chat Reference Tips

Be more formal with your chat language

  • remember, this is a stranger you are talking to, not a friend

  • you are representing the library, and those on the other end may assume they are talking to a staff member

 

Remember to give a greeting and “sign off”

  • avoid jumping right into answering the question without some kind of acknowledgement

  • Phrases to try:

    • Best Practice! Give your name: “Hi this is Jessica.” (just first name is fine)

    • “Hi XX” (if they give their name)

    • “Thank you for your question”

    • “I’m happy to help you with this.”

    • “Just a moment while I look up the answer to your question”   

    • “I’m happy to help you with this.  Can you tell me a little more about your topic/the assignment/what you’re looking for?”

  • If it’s a really short question (like “what are the hours tonight?”), it can be tough to give a greeting.  However, immediately follow up with a sign off, like;

    • “Is there any other question I can help you with?”

  • Other sign off phrases to try

    • “Let us know if there is anything else we can help you with”

    • “Feel free to follow up on chat, askalibrarian@hope.edu, or in person if you have more questions”

    • “You’re welcome!” (if they thank you)

 

Important!  Avoid leaving a question unanswered.

  • It’s OK to not know the answer yourself!  We don’t expect you to know everything, but you should be able to point the patron towards additional help

  • Examples:

    • “I’m going to transfer you to a librarian for more help with your question. Just a moment.”

    • “I don’t have the answer to your question, and there is not a staff available right now.  If you give me your email address, I’ll have a librarian follow up with the answer shortly.” (then email the transcript to askalibrarian)

    • “Hmm, it looks like we have the article, but I’m not able to access it either.  Could you give me your email address?  I’ll have a librarian double check this citation and get back to you.”

    • This sounds like an interesting and complex research question.  I’m happy to try to get you started, but we could help you even more if you scheduled a research appointment with a librarian (https://link.hope.edu/research-consultation) or emailed your question to askalibrarian@hope.edu for more follow-up.