The 24/7 Reference Cooperative respects the privacy of our patrons, and we don’t want to ask for personal information (which is captured in the transcript) unless this information is required to fulfil the patron’s information need. One area where patron privacy may conflict with helping the patron is asking the patron to reveal his library card (or barcode) number. The Cooperative Policy states: "Librarians may ask patrons for patron's library card/barcode number and PIN/password during a chat session if this will assist in providing good service to the patron." See section 4.6 of the Policies, Patron Privacy: Patron Privacy
However, please be sure this is necessary before taking this step! In the example below, the librarian may not have needed this information.
Patron: Do I have a book in that I placed on hold? The Book Thief by Marcus Zuak
Librarian sends greeting
Librarian: I would need your library card and PIN number to try to look for you.
Patron provides library card number
Librarian: I am not able to log in with those numbers. Can you please verify them?
Librarian: Your library has that book, but I am unable to place a hold on it with the card number you provided.
Librarian: Thank you for using our reference chat service. Feel free to check back with us if you have additional questions later. It has been a pleasure to help you. Goodbye.
In this case, the librarian didn't really determine if the library card number was useful; there was no reference conversation. This could have played out in various ways, depending on what the issue really is. For example:
Scenario #1: Patron doesn't know how to check their online account
Patron: Do I have a book in that I placed on hold? The Book Thief by Marcus Zuak
Librarian: Have you checked your account yet? Do you know how to do that online?
Patron: How do you do that?
Then the librarian could describe how to do it/what to click on - no need to actually ask for patron’s library card information to do this.
Scenario #2: Patron can't get into the online account
Patron: Do I have a book in that I placed on hold? The Book Thief by Marcus Zuak
Librarian: Have you checked your account yet? Do you know how to do that online?
Patron: yes, but I can't get in
The librarian can try troubleshooting tips, such as assisting the patron with PIN information (based on the PIN guidelines available through the library policy page). There is no need to get the patron's actual library card number.
Scenario #3: Patron is in the online account but is confused
Patron: Do I have a book in that I placed on hold? The Book Thief by Marcus Zuak
Librarian: Have you checked your account yet? Do you know how to do that online?
Patron: Yes, I am in there but I don't know where to look, can you check for me?
Librarian: I would be happy to look at your account, but you should be aware that there is a very small chance that your card privacy could be compromised if you give your login information to me via chat. For added protection, please change your PIN number after we end the call. Would you like to continue, or would you rather contact the library directly?
Remember to use the reference conversation to ascertain what the patron needs, and what is blocking the patron from achieving his goal. The reference conversation will guide you in providing more targeted help, while respecting the patron’s online privacy to the extent possible.
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