Switching over to libraryh3lp

[DerikB]

I'm planning a switchover to libraryh3lp for our IM reference service
and am trying to come up with a action plan, so to speak. A listing of
all the "todos" for the switch. I though others might be interested or
have ideas I forgot. So far I have:

*create queues
*create accounts for librarians
*assign librarians to queues
*make widgets (design and code)
*train librarians (and encourage practice of new features)
*set-up IM clients on librarian computers (some can do themselves,
some not)
*new stat collection procedure
*add IM gateways
*replace old widgets on webpages // add new widgets

That's all I'm coming up with. We already have an IM service, so we
don't need to promote IM reference. And we already have widgets up
that would just need to replaced (so no worries too much about where
the widgets would go).

Any ideas from anyone out there who has done this or is thinking of
doing it?

Cheers,
Derik A Badman
Digital Services Librarian
Temple University Libraries

[ellenh]

Derik,

We switched over to Libraryh3lp earlier this spring, and if it helps,
we've been doing it in stages.

-- We first switched out our Meebo widget for a Libraryh3lp one and
worked with that for a while.
-- Then we created our gateways and worked with that configuration for
a while (this was a nice step, because now ALL the IMs that come to
the ref desk show up the same way - AIM chats can be "won" like lh3lp
chats. This helps our staff as consistency is a good thing)
-- Now, we are planning on setting up the librarians with individual
accounts and training the staff on how to do transfers - this stage
will go live for the fall semester.

Just wanted to let you know that it doesn't all have to be done at
once.

Ellen Hampton
E-Learning Librarian
Baylor University Libraries
Ellen_M...@baylor.edu

[Pam Sessoms]

Derik,

Your plan looks great to me!

One thing that can really help with later use of transfer and send
file to patron features is to do everything you can to get the
librarian's libraryh3lp login to "stick" in their web browser. So, if
you're doing desk-side visits to setup Pidgin and teach folks how to
login, go ahead and visit libraryh3lp.com at that time and login with
the operator's credentials. Have the browser remember it, and use the
"remember me" ticky box on libh3lp.com. This way, when the user later
first tries to transfer a chat, and they follow that link from Pidgin,
there will (hopefully) be less confusion about getting authenticated
on libraryh3lp.com. Also, it is best to use Firefox as the browser of
choice with libraryh3lp's admin interface. IE7 is also typically
fine; IE6 is just not very sophisticated and may not handle everything
properly (I need to take time to really go through IE6 and verify
this).

Also be sure the users understand about away status and exiting Pidgin
(that is, is it set to go to the system tray when the user clicks the
X, or does that close the application).

Best wishes,
-Pam.

[DerikB]

Thanks, Pam. That's good advice. -Derik.

On Aug 6, 11:33 am, Pam Sessoms <psess...@gmail.com> wrote:

> One thing that can really help with later use of transfer and send
> file to patron features is to do everything you can to get the
> librarian's libraryh3lp login to "stick" in their web browser.
>