December 5, 2007
MeeboMe when search fails in library catalog
I found this via the LibrarianInBlack's FeedBlitz (which is the only reason I manage to keep up with her postings) and it is so cool, I had to pass it along. She says:
David Lee King wrote about adding the MeeboMe Widget to his library's catalog. It shows up whenever there is an unsuccessful keyword search. This way your users have on-screen access to live help from library staff when and where they often need it--while using our confusing and multi-layered catalogs.
LiB points out that the the catalog is the primary point of contact for our customers/users so this little widget ensures that they have access to a real human being whenever they need it. I love it.
The only glitch I found with how it has been implemented at Topeka & Shawnee is that very few searches result in 0 hits because they convert your query to a browse query and display titles that are maybe close to what you were going for. I had a hard time coming up with a search that gave me nada so I could see the MeeboMe widget pop up. With such a resource at the ready, maybe it isn't necessary to convert all the searches to browse mode....
Posted by Lori at 1:07 PM | Permalink