Notice from the UF Ask A Librarian Coordinator
In potential crisis situations, or inappropriate messages about crisis situations, look up the IP address of the user, inform me and your supervisor, contact the police and emergency services if warranted, and ban the user if inappropriate but not actual crisis. Please treat crisis situations as serious matters.
Inappropriate Use of Ask a Librarian
If you feel that a user is using Ask a Librarian inappropriately – either the original question crosses the line of acceptable or follow-up questions become personal/invasive or otherwise inappropriate – please do one of the following.
- If you believe the question and underlying user behavior are legitimate but the chat is not going well, ask another librarian staffing Ask a Librarian if you may transfer the user to him/her. Briefly inform him/her of the situation so that he/she is prepared when entering the chat.
- When you are not certain that the inappropriateness is intentional, send the Inappropriate – No Question/Purpose Customer canned message to helps to ensure that the problem is not due to miscommunication.
- If you choose to end the session, send the Inappropriate – Bad Customer canned message. You can modify the script as needed to suit the situation.
- If the patron is threatening or overtly vulgar, send the Inappropriate – Bad Customer canned message, end the session, and notify Ask a Librarian staff.
- Notify Ask a Librarian staff immediately if a user threatens physical harm of any kind, including self-inflicted harm.
- Before closing an inappropriate session, mark the interaction as “Bad Patron” using Reference Analytics.
User in Crisis Asking About Suicide, Mental Health, or Other Issues
In the event you encounter a user who is in a crisis situation, who may potentially harm him/herself or others, follow the guidelines below. It may be difficult to distinguish a prank from a real situation; assume it is real and provide professional contacts for the user. Do not attempt to counsel or advise the user.
- As quickly as possible, provide the user with online resources including phone and online contacts to professionals who can assist the patron. These are available as canned messages.
- After you send the canned message, phone number and/or the websites, do not engage with the customer. Thank the customer for using Ask a Librarian, and exit from the session so that the customer can contact the hotlines and get the help they need.
- Report incident immediately to Ask a Librarian staff. Include session time and incident number if possible.
[from TBLC's AskALibrarian.org Site Coordinator Policies and Procedures]
Hurricane Assistance
After a natural disaster such as a hurricane, you might experience an increase in the number or queries about services available for storm recovery, particularly if you are covering the Statewide desk. The following FAQ page provides some guidance for you if those questions should arise:
Hurricane Help - FAQ
[from TBLC's AskALibrarian.org Site Coordinator Policies and Procedures]
