Browse and search frequently asked questions.
2795 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jun 14, 2022 Accounts
Note: These instructions are to create accounts using the current version (as of May 2022) of the Users Management page.
Edit an Existing Account
Login to the LibraryH3lp Dashboard with your institution's admin account (e.g. kpu-admin)
In the left-hand navigation menu, click Users:
Use the search function to look up the user you wish to edit.
Here you can do the following:
To change account settings, select the gear beside the username:
Change the email address associated with the account
Change Queue Assignments
Change the Canned Message pool assignments
To change account the password, click the key beside the username:
Reset Service Provider Passwords
Delete Service Provider Accounts
2623 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jul 20, 2022 Accounts
New service providers at your library will require an account on the AskAway staff website. This account will:
Create a new account
Edit existing account
Note: To change the service provider's mailing list subscriptions or to delete an account, see the sections below.
Request a new password
To request a new password, visit the request new password page.
Temporarily unsubscribe from mailing list(s)
If you'd like to temporarily unsubscribe a service provider from a mailing list, follow these steps:
When the service provider returns to AskAway, simply resubscribe them to the mailing lists.
Delete an account
Please keep your list of service providers up to date.
To delete a service provider account, follow these steps (Note: Do NOT delete local coordinator accounts or accounts that may have belonged to a local coordinator. Instead, contact the Admin Centre and we will remove this account):
1956 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Feb 25, 2021 Widgets
The LibraryH3lp chat snippet is the code that you use to embed an AskAway chat box, button, or tab on your library's website, in databases, etc.
Follow these steps to retrieve your library's chat snippet:
Note: The snippet embed code is identical for all libraries except for the unique snippet ID number. In the example below, the unique snippet ID number for this library's embedded chat box is 806 (in bold).
<!-- Place this div in your web page where you want your chat widget to appear. --> <div class="needs-js">Chat loading...</div> <!-- Place this script as near to the end of your BODY as possible. --> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var x = document.createElement("script"); x.type = "text/javascript"; x.async = true; x.src = (document.location.protocol === "https:" ? "https://" : "http://") + "ca.libraryh3lp.com/js/libraryh3lp.js?806"; var y = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; y.parentNode.insertBefore(x, y); })(); </script>
If you would like assistance customizing your library's AskAway entry point, please contact the Admin Centre and we'll be happy to help!
1776 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jan 30, 2024 Statistics
This FAQ walks through the steps to view and download usage statistics for your library.
For session data, see the FAQ View and download session data for your library.
View and download usage statistics
1. Login to the LibraryH3lp dashboard with your LibraryH3lp admin account
2. Navigate to Chat Reports in the left-hand menu. You'll be directed to the Report Options screen
3. There are a number of different reports you can run, view, and download:
4. The results will generate:
5. To download the data, click the button at the bottom right
1594 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jul 30, 2021 EBSCO Widgets
Embedding your library's chat boxes in EBSCO is a great way to increase AskAway's visibility at your library and allows students to access chat support when they need it most: while researching.
Steps to add LibraryH3lp chat box to EBSCO sidebar:
1. Login to your library's EBSCO Admin
2. Click the Viewing Results tab
3. Beside Widgets click Modify
4. From the Custom Widgets for: drop-down, select where you'd like the widget to display (Result List or Detailed Record)
5. To add a new widget, click Add Item and then select or enter the following:
Note: The example above uses code for the AskAway practice chat box
6. Click Submit to save your changes
7. Select the following:
8. Click Submit again to save your changes
9. Wait approx. 5 minutes for changes to take effect
10. Test the widget to make sure chats are coming through and to see how the chat box displays when the service is both open and closed
See also EBSCO's documentation for adding widgets
~ ~ ~
Steps to add LibraryH3lp chat tab to EBSCO footer:
This document from LibraryH3lp has steps (with screenshots) for adding the chat tab to EBSCO. Steps are also shared below.
Questions?
If you have any questions or would like help embedding widgets in EBSCO, contact the Admin Centre and we'll be happy to help.
1556 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Mar 26, 2024 Transcripts Statistics Session Data
This FAQ covers session data. Session data provides data on each chat session and includes the following:
To learn how to gather usage statistics, see the FAQ View and download usage statistics for your library.
View session data
1. Login to the LibraryH3lp dashboard with your LibraryH3lp admin account
2. Navigate to Chat History in the left-hand menu
3. To narrow down results for your library, you will need to conduct an Advanced Search of session data and transcripts by clicking the drop-down arrow to the right of the search bar
4. There are many options for limiting your search, but here are some ways to narrow your results that you may find helpful:
5. Most fields can be searched with the following wildcards and boolean:
6. Once you've set your search parameters, click the blue search button to retrieve results
Download session data and transcripts
1. To download session data and transcripts (after you've narrowed the list of results), click the blue "download all chats" button
2. Decide if you would like to download metadata only or the transcripts too
3. Select which data you would like to include or exclude
4. If you have chosen to download transcripts, at this step you will need to select a file type for the download. The default file type for metadata download is CSV.
5. Click and this will download a file to your local computer
6. Once downloaded, you may wish to delete any questions with the "practice" and/or "test" tags
7. You may also wish to add meaningful headings in your downloaded spreadsheet, for example:
1539 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on May 26, 2021 ProQuest Widgets
Embedding your library's chat boxes in ProQuest is a great way to increase AskAway's visibility at your library and allows students to access chat support when they need it most: while researching.
Steps to add LibraryH3lp widgets to ProQuest
1. Login to your library's ProQuest Admin Module
2. Navigate to User Interface / Branding
3. Click the Widgets tab and then Add widget
4. Fill out the widget fields:
5. Click Save Changes
6. Test the widget to make sure chats are coming through and to see how it displays when the service is open and closed (see this LibraryH3lp FAQ for ProQuest testing tips)
1451 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Mar 18, 2025 Policy Page
If your library has a new link to its Policy Page, you'll need to update it in two places:
Library Policy Pages page on the AskAway website:
LibraryH3lp Policy Pages link:
Your library's policy page will now be correctly linked from two places:
1400 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Sep 16, 2019 Guest Logins
Guest logins for all participating AskAway libraries are available on the guest logins page (login required to view).
If you need to update the guest logins and/or the notes for your library, follow these steps:
1375 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jun 21, 2022 Scripts
If you'd like to create institutional scripts for your library's service providers to access, follow these steps:
Note: Institutional scripts will only be available to service providers at your institution and not all AskAway service providers.
1300 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Mar 18, 2025 Widgets
Note: This FAQ is currently being updated. If you need help, contact the Admin Centre.
What this FAQ covers
This FAQ covers how you can make changes to the appearance of your library's chat box when the service is online.
In the LibraryH3lp dashboard, this is done using what's called the chat skins tool.
Some context...
Your library's chat service in LibraryH3lp has two major elements - a queue and a chat box skin. The queue is tied to your institution and determines how chats are routed. The chat box skin determines what the chat box looks like.
The chat snippet combines a queue and a chat box skin and gives you the embed code you need to add chat to your library's website, in databases, etc. To learn how to access your library's chat snippet, see the FAQ Access your library's chat snippet. To learn how to edit an existing chat snippet or create a new chat snippet for your library, see the FAQ Edit or create a new embedded chat box for your library.
The chat skins tool is where you can change the appearance of the chat box that displays to students when the service is online.
Note: The chat skins tool will only change the appearance of the chat box and NOT the chat tab, button, or proactive chat invitation. If you want to customize these widgets, contact the Admin Centre.
Before making any changes to your library's chat skin, it's highly recommended that you first create a copy of your library's current skin so that you're not making changes to the chat box that is live and up on your websites. Creating a copy will also give you all of the customizations for the default AskAway widget, which is a highly customized version of the default LibraryH3lp chat box.
Create a copy of your library's chat skin
You now have a copy of your library's default chat skin and you can play around with it without affecting the appearance of the chat boxes that are live on your library's website.
There are several quick and easy changes that you can make to customize your library's chat box:
Branding Basics
Additional Flair
Wicked CSS Hack
Since AskAway chat boxes are highly customized, there are some things you'll have to change here instead of in the fields above.
Here are a few simple changes you could make to the wicked CSS hack code:
***Click "Save Widget" to save any changes***
Preview changes
You can preview most of the changes you make live in the chat skins tool. However, the preview chat box won't show all of the features (e.g. the feedback link is missing). To preview your changes and to see a fully rendered version of the chat box, follow these steps:
Implement new chat skin in chat snippet
If you would like to use the new chat skin you've created in a chat snippet, please see the FAQ Edit or create a new embedded chat box for your library.
1293 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Sep 23, 2019
The offline message is the message that displays on chat boxes when the service is closed for the day or between terms.
Currently, the AskAway Admin Centre hosts a single offline message that displays for most libraries. The Admin Centre will change this message at the beginning and end of each term to reflect that the service is open or closed.
Customize your library's offline message
If your library would like the ability to customize and control the offline message, you will need to be able to host an HTML file on a secure (HTTPS) page. The URL for the offline message will then need to be updated in your library's chat snippet.
If you'd like to look into hosting your library's offline message, please contact the Admin Centre and we can work together to set this up.
1059 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Oct 27, 2021 Widgets
What this FAQ covers
This FAQ covers how you can edit an existing or create a new embedded chat box (i.e. chat snippet) for your library.
There are a few situations where you might need more than one chat box for your library:
Edit an existing snippet
Create a new embedded chat box snippet
If you want to create a new embedded chat box snippet altogether, follow these steps:
Testing
Any time you make changes to your library's chat snippets or create new ones, make sure to test them when online and offline. Here are some things to look for:
1043 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jul 25, 2019 Accounts
To perform local coordinator tasks in LibraryH3lp such as creating accounts, updating your library's policy page, customizing chat boxes, etc. login to the LibraryH3lp Dashboard:
Most local coordinators will login using their library's admin account (e.g. cotr-admin) unless your personal account has been set-up with local coordinator privileges. If you'd like to set-up your personal account with local coordinator privileges, please contact the Admin Centre.
Staffing AskAway?
When you're staffing AskAway, login to the LibraryH3lp Webclient: https://ca.libraryh3lp.com/webclient/client. Please login with your personal account (rather than the admin account) as this will help your colleagues recognize who's on shift with them and will make it easier to search and identify individual service providers in saved transcripts.
Simultaneous Sign-ins
Some libraries may have more than one local coordinator account set-up in LibraryH3lp or may share a single local coordinator account. If this is the case at your library, it's okay for more than one person to be signed into the dashboard at the same time as long as you're not trying to edit the same chat skin or chat snippet simultaneously as edits could be overwritten.
992 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jul 25, 2019 Training
Whenever possible, the AskAway Admin Centre will offer training for new service providers in-person or online.
At the beginning of every term, the Admin Centre sends a call-out to the local coordinators mailing list to find out if any training is required. Sessions are then scheduled as needed.
If your library requires training for any service providers outside of these times, please let the Admin Centre know.
AskAway training materials are available for both new and experienced service providers to further strengthen their skills.
963 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jul 25, 2019 Surveys Statistics
Exit survey results are posted each month on the AskAway website survey results page.
To limit to survey responses from students at your institution only, filter the "Which institution do you attend?" column and select your institution.
The AskAway surveys include information on how students learned about AskAway, why they chose the service, level of satisfaction, what they learned during their session, and more.
940 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 1 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Aug 24, 2021
Below are steps to customize your library's out of the box chat tab to make it more visible and inviting.
Default appearance
Default online appearance (note: your library's may be a different color):
Default offline appearance:
If your library would like to customize the main default color and/or wording that displays on your library's chat tab, please contact the Admin Centre and we will ask LibraryH3lp to implement this change. Additional enhancements are shared below.
Access your library's chat tab snippet
To access the code to embed your library's chat tab, see the FAQ "Access your library's chat snippet."
~ ~ ~
Below, you'll find steps for making a number of changes to your library's chat tab to customize both its offline and online appearance. Local coordinators can make these changes themselves in the LibraryH3lp Dashboard or if you'd like assistance, the AskAway Admin Centre is always happy to help!
Offline message background color
When the service is offline and a user hovers over the chat tab, it will display the AskAway offline message. Currently, the default chat tab displays a message against a transparent background, so this will need to be changed to white so that it does not overlap with text on the library website.
Follow the steps below to make this change OR contact the AskAway Admin Centre and we can make this change for you:
1. Log into the LibraryH3lp Dashboard with your library's admin account
2. Navigate to the Chat Snippets area (< > on left side) and select your library's chat tab snippet from the list
3. Click "Edit" to edit the chat tab snippet (note: the example below is for the AskAway practice tab)
4. Navigate to the section "What guests will see when your service is unavailable" to edit the Offline appearance
5. Under #lh3-askaway-hours, add the following code:
6. Click "Save" or "Apply" to save the changes
7. Test the chat tab when the service is offline to make sure the message displays as expected
Color change on hover-over
To make the chat tab appear clickable, you can change the color on hover-over.
Follow the steps below to make this change OR contact the AskAway Admin Centre and we can make this change for you:
1. Log into the LibraryH3lp Dashboard with your library's admin account
2. Navigate to the Chat Snippets area (< > on left side) and select your library's chat tab snippet from the list
3. Click "Edit" to edit the chat tab snippet (note: the example below is for the AskAway practice tab)
4. Navigate to the section "What guests will see when your service is unavailable" (the edit below will change the color for both the offline and online appearance)
5. Under #lh3-askaway-hours, add the following code:
6. You may also wish to update the color of the offline message border to match the hover-over color for consistency:
7. Click "Save" or "Apply" to save the changes
8. Test the chat tab when the service is both offline and online to make sure all the changes display as expected
Movement on hover-over
You can also add pop-up movement when a user hovers-over the tab.
Follow the steps below to make this change OR contact the AskAway Admin Centre and we can make this change for you:
1. Log into the LibraryH3lp Dashboard with your library's admin account
2. Navigate to the Chat Snippets area (< > on left side) and select your library's chat tab snippet from the list
3. Click "Edit" to edit the chat tab snippet (note: the example below is for the AskAway practice tab)
4. Under .libraryh3lp a:hover {, add the following code:
5. Click "Save" or "Apply" to save the changes
6. Test the chat tab when the service is both offline and online to make sure all the changes display as expected
Add a tooltip
You can also add a tooltip on hover-over to the chat tab (e.g. Click to chat with a research expert). Adding this requires more customized coding, so please contact the Admin Centre for support.
Example tooltip:
928 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jul 25, 2019 Promotion
Information about promoting AskAway at your library as well as templates for marketing materials can be found on the AskAway website promotion page.
If you would like to place an order for marketing materials, please contact the Admin Centre. If you have any ideas or tips for promotion, let us know!
881 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Apr 01, 2021
Email reference addresses for participating libraries are available on the AskAway website. This page is also linked to in a few of the AskAway scripts.
If you need to update the email address for your library, follow these steps:
863 views | 0 Vote this question as useful. 0 Vote this question as not useful. | Last updated on Jul 25, 2019 Training
If you'd like to view a recording of a past LibraryH3lp training session for local coordinators, please contact the AskAway Admin Centre.
We'll be happy to share a link to a recording.