The Library and Learning Services department at the University of Northampton has a Help Desk in the Learning Hub where staff and students can visit us in person to ask questions and access support. We have many other ways to contact us, and our extensive Library Portal provides information about and access to our services, resources and teams. However, we know it is not always possible for everyone to visit us or find what they want quickly, which is why we have our Library Enquiry Management System - AskUs.
AskUs allows anyone to quickly find the answers to a broad range of questions about the library, our systems and other related topic areas. It allows them to search for answers themselves, or to contact us directly in multiple different ways.
At the core of the system, it is a knowledge base of the questions and answers that we are asked. This is constantly being updated based on new queries that we receive either through the system enquiry form, via our Library Help email, on the telephone, at our enquiry desk in the Learning Hub, or through our staffed chat service.
Qualified Information Specialists construct answers in an accessible format with keyword tags and related topic links. The knowledge base is continuously monitored and maintained to ensure answers are up to date, consistent and accurate. The system provides a huge range of analytics which allow us to track what is being typed into the search box, see where queries are coming from and when, as well as providing tracking data for each interaction and journey through the wider library portal. The knowledge base is also used by other teams in the University to answers queries rather than having to constantly refer them on. It allows staff at enquiry points such as University Reception, Student Information Desk, IT Services helpdesk, Security and Accommodation to be confident that the answer they find is the definitive and up to date answer. Library staff provide updates and awareness training for teams so they can be confident using the system.
The integrated online chat service is available 24/7/365 through a cooperative system. This is operated by our team of library specialists during normal working hours and is taken over by specialist Librarians based in university libraries around the world overnight and at the weekend. They use our knowledge base of previously asked questions and answers, and are provided with additional information about our specific services and systems. This allows them to provide the same level of support as UON staff.
The Enquiry Management System allows staff to track all incoming enquiries from start to finish. Queries can be routed to teams within the library, the wider frontline University teams, or individuals to gain additional information or support, and remain fully trackable on the system dashboard.
The whole AskUs system has helped to reduce email and telephone traffic to the library help team by 95% over the last 9 years, and that allows our staff to spend more time supporting our users.
If you are in the Learning Hub, you can find us at the Library Help Desk on the second floor. Members of Library Staff can be recognised by their yellow lanyard (the yellow ribbon around their neck). Our staff are friendly and supportive and love to help out, so please don't be afraid to ask us a question!
Our latest statistics show that in the 6 months from 1st August 2023 - 31st January 2024 we had:
- 96,352 visits to AskUs, with an average of 6 entries viewed per visit
- 15,368 searches entered in the query box
- 1,157 query tickets were raised
- 1,458 chats were held with our library team, with 14,100 messages exchanged in them. 74.2% chats rated excellent, and 92.4% rated ‘good’ and above
- 8,109 queries at the Library Help Desk
- 567,252 hits on the Library portal.