Time to go home? Time for your FAQ to go work!

<p>It's time to call it a day and your virtual reference service has gone offline. But alas, it isn't the end of the day for your website. The poor thing works 24/7 including holidays, never taking a vacation. Might as well get that work-a-holic answering virtual reference questions!<br /><br />One simple and effective recipe for after hours virtual reference combines two ingredients - a populated FAQ and a customized offline chat appearance. Fill your FAQ with answers to commonly asked questions and the built-in search will handle the rest. Be sure to configure the <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-integrations">FAQ's e-mail integration</a> to point to your library's e-mail or contact page in case patrons can't find what they need.<br /><br />Then head over to the <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/create-code-services">Services tab in the admin site</a>^* and update your service's offline appearance to include an image that links to your FAQ or even an <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/10/your-libraryh3lp-faq-anywhere.html">embedded search box</a>. Since you can plug in any code you'd like for offline appearance, it can be as simple or as fancy as you'd like.  Or if you happen to use a <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/create-code-diy">DIY code snippet</a> instead of a service, you'll need to update the offline <i>div</i> element.<br />^{<br />}Now head home and enjoy the rest of the day knowing your website and your FAQ are hard at work, providing after hours virtual reference self-help for patrons. And if a patron can't find what they need while you're away, an e-mail will be waiting in the morning.<br /><br />Haven't created a FAQ site? Your <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/08/faq-management-you-can-haz-unlimited.html">LibraryH3lp subscription includes unlimited FAQ sites</a>.  To get going, head over to the Faqs tab in the admin site, create a FAQ, and start adding questions.<br /><br />And if you'd prefer to have your patrons continue to receive great live assistance from real librarians when your own staff aren't available, check out <a href="http://chatstaff.us/">ChatStaff</a>!<br /><br /><hr /><span style="font-size: x-small;">^* If you are using an <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/create-code-iframe">iframe to embed a LibraryH3lp widget</a> in your web pages, you'll want to switch to a service. You'll keep your current embedded widget look while adding the ability to point to your FAQ when offline.</span></p>

It's time to call it a day and your virtual reference service has gone offline. But alas, it isn't the end of the day for your website. The poor thing works 24/7 including holidays, never taking a vacation. Might as well get that work-a-holic answeri…

LibraryH3lp is for more than just libraries!

<p>LibraryH3lp is receiving growing interest from academic departments beyond the library thanks to our loyal and vocal user base. (We appreciate it!) Academic advising, admissions, student services, IT, and peer counseling are all getting on board. Since every LibraryH3lp subscription comes with unlimited users, queues, widgets, and FAQs, <b>once one department has a subscription, every department is covered</b>. No additional charges. No kidding.<br /><br />Adding new departments is easy! Set up as many new users, queues, widgets, and FAQs as you need via the admin site. All users and queues will be available for transfers. So if you are interested in chat collaborations with other departments, you're already set! And with a bit of <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/manage-contacts.html">Manage Contacts</a> magic, you can buddy users across departments to create your own private IM network.<br /><br /><h3>Add some isolation with mini-admins</h3><br />LibraryH3lp also supports mini-admin permissions for departments that wish to be semi-autonomous. All users and queues across the account still appear for transfers. However, mini-admins can manage their own queues, users, widgets, transcripts, FAQs, etc, without seeing any data (including transcripts) for the rest of the account. Full admins in the main (owning) account <b>will </b>be able to see all of the data managed by the mini-admin.<br /><br />To create a mini-admin under your account, create the user initially and then <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">contact us</a> to add the necessary permissions.<br /><br /><h3>Discounted independent subscriptions</h3><br />Sometimes departments need to operate completely separate from the main account due to privacy or other concerns. In such cases, additional subscriptions can be added at a discounted rate. To get started, the department should <a href="https://libraryh3lp.com/registration/register" target="_blank">register a trial account</a> and then <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">contact us</a> for details.<br /><br /><h3>Questions?</h3><div><br /></div>If you're interested but still have some questions about the various scenarios, take a look at our <i><a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/add-dept.html">Adding additional departments within your organization</a> </i>doc.  And of course, feel free to contact us.  We're happy to help!<br /><br /><br /></p>

LibraryH3lp is receiving growing interest from academic departments beyond the library thanks to our loyal and vocal user base. (We appreciate it!) Academic advising, admissions, student services, IT, and peer counseling are all getting on board. Sin…

Looking for FAQspiration? Check out these customizations!

<p>Looking to migrate your existing FAQ into <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-intro">LibraryH3lp</a>? Starting from scratch? Having a hard time getting started? We've compiled some super neat FAQspirations just for you! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; background-color: white; border: 1px solid #eee; padding: 5px;"><b>Check out these super neat FAQ customizations on Pinterest... </b><br/><br/><a data-pin-do="embedBoard" target="_blank" href="http://www.pinterest.com/libraryh3lp/super-neat-faq-customizations/"></a></div><br /><br />And if aren't a web guru, we have 19 pre-made themes that will make your colleagues think you are! <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; background-color: white; border: 1px solid #eee; padding: 5px;"><b>See all the available FAQ themes on Pinterest... </b><br/><br/><a data-pin-do="embedBoard" href="http://www.pinterest.com/libraryh3lp/faq-themes/"></a></div><br /><br/>Add in a <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-reuse-header">custom header</a> and a <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-custom-footer">custom footer</a> and a <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-styling">touch of styling</a> and voilà! You're set. <br /><br />Got a super neat FAQ customization? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">Let us know.</a> We'll be sure to add it to our Pinterest board. You'll be helping other libraries find their FAQspiration! <br /><br />And if you have an existing FAQ that you'd like to import, e-mail us at <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">support@libraryh3lp.com</a>. <br /><br /><script async="" src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js" type="text/javascript"></script></p>

Looking to migrate your existing FAQ into LibraryH3lp? Starting from scratch? Having a hard time getting started? We've compiled some super neat FAQspirations just for you! Check out these super neat FAQ customizations on Pinterest... And if aren't a…

Don't fence me in: LibraryH3lp staffing options

<p>Recently, we announced <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/10/new-chat-management-features-in-your.html" target="_blank">a whole gaggle of new features for those staffing their LibraryH3lp-powered virtual reference service with Jabber (XMPP) clients</a>.  If you staff exclusively from our native webchat client, that post might have you wondering why anyone would choose something else. So we wanted to talk a bit about some of the available staffing options. Ultimately, the right choice depends on your environment, workflows, and personal preference.<br /><br />Staffing options for LibraryH3lp come in three basic flavors: <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/clients-web" target="_blank">web</a>, <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/clients-external.html" target="_blank">desktop</a>, and <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/clients-mobile.html" target="_blank">mobile</a>. In a nutshell, web clients are convenient because there is nothing to install and they run in your browser. Desktop clients are the most robust and configurable option. And mobile clients help you stay available when you're on the go using smartphones and tablets.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Staffing from a web client (like our own simple and powerful webchat client) is a fine option in many cases, especially for those who staff in shifts for a few hours here and there.  And it is a great place to begin when first starting out with LibraryH3lp.<br /><br />But you might find that a desktop client better fits your workflow.</div><div><ul><li>It's separate from your web browser, which means less clutter when chatting.</li><li>Automatic start up and sign in option, no need to remember to visit a web page to login.</li><li>Many clients automatically set your status to "away" or "offline" based on keyboard/mouse idle time.</li><li>Highly customizable sound and visual message alerts.</li></ul></div><div><br />Plus desktop clients best handle network instabilities since they have direct, specialized operating system access.  The most popular desktop clients for staffing LibraryH3lp include <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/pidgin-config.html" target="_blank">Pidgin</a>, Adium, Digsby, Jitsi, and Trillian. <br /><br />An increasing number of librarians are staffing from tablets and smartphones. For the mobile librarian, Jabber/XMPP chat apps are a great way to go.  Beyond staffing your virtual reference service from a mobile device, you could simply be available for your colleagues via the LibraryH3lp buddy list when you're on the move.  Push (background) notifications notify you of incoming messages even if your device is locked, or the app is not on top.<br /><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgctW-Qhcq3hlVu_keKX_R2z8a9UHj3NAbMBm-jdT9kyFN6pCoYVTtnIeATbosl8Kshe6hlLpUhexWYDJcEpnMjsP3OxQhoiAXALFQnfySJSAWD7ZAmqGvDY7gt81rSZIktsHybRJ1gpA/s1600/one-team-landscape.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgctW-Qhcq3hlVu_keKX_R2z8a9UHj3NAbMBm-jdT9kyFN6pCoYVTtnIeATbosl8Kshe6hlLpUhexWYDJcEpnMjsP3OxQhoiAXALFQnfySJSAWD7ZAmqGvDY7gt81rSZIktsHybRJ1gpA/s400/one-team-landscape.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Answering a chat in the One Team client for iPad.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Bottom line: with LibraryH3lp, you are <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/suitable-jabber-clients.html" target="_blank">not hemmed into any one staffing interface</a>. You can mix and match on a librarian-by-librarian basis or switch between clients as part of your normal workday. And no matter which chat client you choose, you have full access to all chat management features.</p>

Recently, we announced a whole gaggle of new features for those staffing their LibraryH3lp-powered virtual reference service with Jabber (XMPP) clients.  If you staff exclusively from our native webchat client, that post might have you wondering why …

New chat management features in your favorite Jabber client!

<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>One of the best features of LibraryH3lp is that we do not lock you into a single software solution when chatting with patrons. Thanks to <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2012/06/use-standards-luke.html">the flexibility offered by the XMPP chat protocol</a>, you have <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/suitable-jabber-clients" target="_blank">tons of choices</a> for your computer and mobile device when it comes to staffing your virtual reference service. And with our updated chat management dashboard, you can use your favorite Jabber (XMPP) client to access some features previously only available within our native webchat client.<br /><br />Here's a peek at the updated dashboard along with highlights of newly available features:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N1HeR0DOqUK-dwRZRkeH-ZnmUdZAkF2I91GlzCFXhtRPIkP0InreRiZ82owFpZMxPi4Rm1h6Nbz3LXwYI7vJCK4BX82bmReDzhmRAk3VT6Gtad7kDB4JE_UyVgCHVKXEVfNusuWBpT0/s1600/external-clients.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N1HeR0DOqUK-dwRZRkeH-ZnmUdZAkF2I91GlzCFXhtRPIkP0InreRiZ82owFpZMxPi4Rm1h6Nbz3LXwYI7vJCK4BX82bmReDzhmRAk3VT6Gtad7kDB4JE_UyVgCHVKXEVfNusuWBpT0/s1600/external-clients.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A text message has arrived and the operator is looking <br />at the profile information for the libh3lp-txt queue.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><ul><li><b><a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/profile-pages">Profiles</a></b> provide free-form metadata for librarians staffing your service. You might include service tips, hard-to-find URLs, shared passwords, or canned responses.</li><li>Use <b><a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/email-integrations" target="_blank"><span id="goog_173434822"></span>Tag for Followu<span id="goog_173434823"></span>p</a></b> when you need to follow up with a patron after the chat has ended. Followups are sent to pre-configured email addresses, which staff can see at a glance, along with an optional free-form note. </li><li><b>Block</b> unruly patrons for 24 hours.</li><li><a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/avatar.html">Avatars</a> (e.g. the cell phone icon in the above screenshot) give queues a visual identity which helps librarians put a chat into context.</li><li>Easily view the <b>guest IP</b> address and <b>referrer</b> URL from which the chat originated.</li></ul><br />Of course, <b>Transfer Chat</b>, <b>Email Transcript</b>, <b>Send File</b> (up to 20 megabytes), and the full transcript are still available as with the previous incarnation of the chat management dashboard.<br /><br /></div><div><div>When staffing with your favorite Jabber client, all incoming chats for queues include a link to the chat management dashboard. Click that link and you're off and running! In Pidgin, it looks like this:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lF1VzvarurS1yhHS5_xo4BciTDvqUlAolWO0GX2HMgaaGTk3I5xocAcItYDoX1NStfnwcSXHyLbCUwe9FcZ6EJ0WQCLacCcE2iyrfBIANfe_7_Y1t6opBB1K_6dswP9nkQeGadcZM5A/s1600/chat-management-link.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lF1VzvarurS1yhHS5_xo4BciTDvqUlAolWO0GX2HMgaaGTk3I5xocAcItYDoX1NStfnwcSXHyLbCUwe9FcZ6EJ0WQCLacCcE2iyrfBIANfe_7_Y1t6opBB1K_6dswP9nkQeGadcZM5A/s1600/chat-management-link.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Note: You won't see this link in our webchat client since it already includes <br />all of the features available on the chat management page for external clients.</td></tr></tbody></table><h4></h4><br />If you already staff your LibraryH3lp-powered service with a Jabber client, we hope you'll enjoy the enhancements. <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">Let us know what you think!</a> Or maybe you currently use our native webchat client and are wondering why you'd ever want to staff from something else.  If so, stay tuned...</div></p>

One of the best features of LibraryH3lp is that we do not lock you into a single software solution when chatting with patrons. Thanks to the flexibility offered by the XMPP chat protocol, you have tons of choices for your computer and mobile device w…

Your LibraryH3lp FAQ. Anywhere.

<p>Ever wanted to embed content from your LibraryH3lp FAQ in other pages?  Now you can! <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-embed" target="_blank">LibraryH3lp's FAQ module just got embeddable</a>.<br /><br />Combine your creativity with our FAQ API and the possibilities for embedded content are endless...<br /><div><ul><li>Is your building under renovation and in a state of rapid change?  List your 5 most recently-updated questions tagged with your "renovations" topic on your project page.</li><li>Update your RefWorks support pages with FAQ search results for the word "RefWorks."  </li><li>Add search boxes for your FAQ content throughout your website.</li><li>Embed the 5 most-viewed items tagged with your "ILL" or "Document Delivery" topic in your ILL request system, or in research guides targeted towards new graduate students.</li><li>Include parking information anywhere needed, e.g. advertising upcoming events.</li></ul></div><div><br />Use your FAQ to centralize management of shared content across all your sites and pages.  And embedded FAQ content is especially handy when an individual has control of specific content but cannot edit the website directly.  Once embedded, the FAQ content shown on the website can be updated via LibraryH3lp's <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-in-place-faq-editing.html">in-place editing</a> or <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/08/faq-management-you-can-haz-unlimited.html">FAQ dashboard</a>.<br /><br />Visit our <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-embed" target="_blank">embedded FAQ API documentation</a> to get started.  We'll show you how to build an embeddable code snippet with examples.  </div><div><br /></div><div>Once embedded, FAQ content will generally inherit the styling of the parent page. However you can use the <i>question-fragment.html</i> template to make further customizations like applying styling to a question separately from an answer.  Templates are most easily edited via the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/08/faq-management-you-can-haz-unlimited.html">FAQ dashboard</a> in the admin site, which provides revision history and control.</div><div><br /></div></p>

Ever wanted to embed content from your LibraryH3lp FAQ in other pages?  Now you can! LibraryH3lp's FAQ module just got embeddable.Combine your creativity with our FAQ API and the possibilities for embedded content are endless...Is your building under…

6 new FAQ features. You Asked. We Listened.

<p>Last month, we unveiled the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/08/faq-management-you-can-haz-unlimited.html" target="_blank">FAQ tab for the admin site</a> which provides advanced configuration and management functionality for your LibraryH3lp-powered knowledge bases. This week we've rolled out 6 new patron-facing features.<br /><br /><ul><li>Patrons can sort questions by # views, likes, dislikes, time last updated, or even alphabetically.  Read more below to find out how to include sort within your FAQ.</li><li>A FAQ site's e-mail integration can be either an e-mail address or a URL. The URL allows you to link any existing e-mail contact form you already provide for patrons.  The e-mail address hooks into our <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-integrations" target="_blank">built-in, customizable e-mail contact form</a> which gathers patron information and e-mails you the patron's question. </li><li>The 'Chat with Us' link in the right sidebar disappears when your chat service is offline.</li><li>There is a new 'Contact Us' link at the bottom of each question page.</li><li>HTTPS support.</li><li>New theme! Flatly. <a href="http://ask.libraryh3lp.com/?theme=flatly" target="_blank">See it in the wild</a>.</li></ul><br />A big thank you to everyone who has provided feedback and comments about the FAQ module so far! The ideas for all these new features come directly from you - our user community.<br /><br /><h3>How to add question sorting to your FAQ</h3><div><br />In your browse.html template, add the following HTML just <i>above</i> the questions div element and then customize to suit.</div><code></code><br /><div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div class="clearfix"></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">  <div class="span7"></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">    <div id="question-orderby" class="btn-group pull-right"></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">      <a class="btn btn-small dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown" href="#"></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        re-order results</span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <span class="caret"></span></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">      </a></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">      <ul class="dropdown-menu"></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li><a tabindex="-1" orderBy="views" direction="desc">most views</a></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li><a tabindex="-1" orderBy="views" direction="asc">fewest views</a></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li class="divider"></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li><a tabindex="-1" orderBy="last-updated" direction="desc">recently updated</a></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li class="divider"></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li><a tabindex="-1" orderBy="likes" direction="desc">most useful</a></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li><a tabindex="-1" orderBy="dislikes" direction="desc">least useful</a></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li class="divider"></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li><a tabindex="-1" orderBy="question" direction="asc">A to Z</a></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">        <li><a tabindex="-1" orderBy="question" direction="desc">Z to A</a></li></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">      </ul></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">    </div></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;">  </div></span></code></div><div><code><span style="font-size: x-small;"></div></span></code><br /><br />Or if you prefer, <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">e-mail support</a> and we'll make the necessary changes for you.</div></div><code></code></p>

Last month, we unveiled the FAQ tab for the admin site which provides advanced configuration and management functionality for your LibraryH3lp-powered knowledge bases. This week we've rolled out 6 new patron-facing features.Patrons can sort questions…

Library à la Carte Phoenix Edition source now available!

<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyWVwcq_TzV7op3bWXSJPPiWAxF-rUckAT6fmqNKNB9zRoUnkqOKN4wrkLlSaA6HZWgmOW3Ke6sKG4grujLZFDCisjPVErYBe3vs5vEPv0du76RfWUcRl6_2cmCSuyFlbgidwUwhFjwcB/s1600/phoenix-100-wide.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyWVwcq_TzV7op3bWXSJPPiWAxF-rUckAT6fmqNKNB9zRoUnkqOKN4wrkLlSaA6HZWgmOW3Ke6sKG4grujLZFDCisjPVErYBe3vs5vEPv0du76RfWUcRl6_2cmCSuyFlbgidwUwhFjwcB/s200/phoenix-100-wide.png" width="136" /></a></div>Update: As of April 9, 2015 we have discontinued development of Library à la Carte Phoenix Edition.<br /><br />We've finalized our first round of updates to Library à la Carte and have <a href="https://github.com/nubgames/alacarte" target="">released the code under the AGPL license through GitHub</a>.  Phoenix Edition continues the great work by the Oregon State University Library & Press to provide an open source content management system specifically for libraries. It is free as in speech and free as in beer. <br /><br />Like <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/9-FAQ-module" target="_blank">LibraryH3lp's FAQ module</a>, Phoenix Edition has a fresh look and feel thanks to <a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/" target="_blank">Bootstrap</a>. One of the key new features is scrolled guides/pages with affixed left sidebar for easy navigation. Interested in seeing it in action? Check out <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/4-Chat-widgets-for-patrons" target="_blank">LibraryH3lp's documentation site in Phoenix Edition</a>.<br /><br />As <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/06/library-la-carte-resurrected-open.html" target="_blank">announced previously</a>, Phoenix Edition runs Ruby on Rails 3. There are no database schema changes to simplify migration and we plan to maintain this release for a few years. There are a few remaining items to migrate before the release is considered complete. These include anything tutorial-related and searching/sorting of guides, page, and modules. We also plan to improve author workflows.<br /><br />Once the upgrade to Ruby on Rails 3 is complete, we will focus on Rails 4 for future releases and begin to introduce database schema changes. We'd like to introduce virtual hosting and access controls, which allows a single instance of Library à la Carte to serve up multiple independent sites.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Interested in contributing to Phoenix Edition? Send us your pull request!</div><div><br /></div><div>And finally if there is interest, we can offer a hosted version for those who would like to use Library à la Carte but can't host it themselves. Please <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">contact us</a> if you are interested.</div></p>

Update: As of April 9, 2015 we have discontinued development of Library à la Carte Phoenix Edition.We've finalized our first round of updates to Library à la Carte and have released the code under the AGPL license through GitHub.  Phoenix Edition con…

FAQ Management: You can haz unlimited knowledge bases!

<p>Today we reintroduced the FAQ tab within the admin site. That's right. It's back and better than ever!  And <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-in-place-faq-editing.html" target="_blank">in-place editing</a> still works. So now, you can work on your FAQ in-place or via the admin site.<br /><div><br /></div>The FAQ tab, like the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/07/today-we-released-major-overhaul-of-our.html">recently updated Services designer</a>, is another step on the road toward an improved and easier to use admin site that incorporates the helpful feedback you've provided. As with the patron-facing side of FAQs and our <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/06/library-la-carte-resurrected-open.html">modernization of the open source Library a la Carte CMS</a>, we're using Bootstrap. <br /><h3><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Highlights</span></h3><ul><li><b>Unlimited FAQ sites.</b> Create as many sites as you'd like. Maybe per different departments or area. You are only limited by your own imagination. Unlimited knowledge bases are included with every subscription at no additional cost. </li><li><b>No charge for custom URLs.</b> Plug in your own CNAME (local URL).</li><li><b>Optional password protection.</b>  Great for creating internal FAQ sites.</li><li><b>Context-sensitive help. </b>Click the green "Show me how this works" button at the top of the page to activate.</li><li><b>Full revision history for answers and template code.</b>  Make an editing error in one of your answers or templates? Easily revert back to your prior version. You can even reset templates back to their original defaults.  You can also see when each change was made, and by which user.</li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93unfvE00SmajtSQVrOd0cMbcz6QjCpNrTsnVNhCQzlXY2RSgCeW7P6jJF37npWInIoilUTbikyVdVnvGyll5bAEGGEE2Wf61iyuTGQ2A4EAR6SPOEL5pUAOiJqEv2X1Sds3GiZUleiU/s1600/answer-revision-history.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93unfvE00SmajtSQVrOd0cMbcz6QjCpNrTsnVNhCQzlXY2RSgCeW7P6jJF37npWInIoilUTbikyVdVnvGyll5bAEGGEE2Wf61iyuTGQ2A4EAR6SPOEL5pUAOiJqEv2X1Sds3GiZUleiU/s1600/answer-revision-history.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Revision history lets you easily step through all changes to answer text (and template code). <br />You can also see which user made each change, and when they did so.</td></tr></tbody></table></ul><div><div><br />You can learn more about the FAQ, and especially customization, in our <a href="http://dev.libraryh3lp.com/subject-guide/9-FAQ-module#topic_54">Library a la Carte-backed docs</a>.<br /><br /><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Nitty-gritty: permissions</span></h3><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>By default, admins and admin-level users can edit FAQ questions and templates.  And, any user who creates their own FAQ can edit it.<br /><br />But we have a flexible permissions system available.  Until it is fully exposed in the user interface, you can email our support account to tweak the default permissions.  For example, you can extend FAQ editing permissions to any or all users.  You can even have some users able to edit only questions but not templates.<br /><br />And of course, each FAQ site can have different permissions.<br /><br />Bottom line: Need permissions tweaked? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">Ask us</a>.<br /><br /><h3><span style="font-size: large;">Known gotchas</span></h3></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><strike>The Ad Block Plus browser extension can cause the FAQ (and Services) tabs to appear blank.  We hope to develop a workaround for that.</strike><br /><br /><strike>Revision history for answers and templates is populated at page load. To see all available versions, including those from the current editing session, reload (right-click, reload frame).</strike> Fixed!</div></div></p>

Today we reintroduced the FAQ tab within the admin site. That's right. It's back and better than ever!  And in-place editing still works. So now, you can work on your FAQ in-place or via the admin site.The FAQ tab, like the recently updated Services …

The amazing, multilingual LibraryH3lp chat widget

<p>Did you know that the LibraryH3lp chat widget is <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/4-Chat-widgets-for-patrons#topic_26" target="_blank">available in 12 different languages</a>? All of these translations were graciously provided by librarians for librarians. Our widgets auto-detect the patron's browser settings and display the appropriate translation, if available.<br /><br />But what if you have a web page written in a specific language or other need for a specific translation? LibraryH3lp makes it easy to override the chat widget's auto-detect and specify your desired language.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The short version</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/01/did-you-know-that-your-libraryh3lp.html">Every LibraryH3lp chat widget has its own URL</a>, which accepts a <i>lang</i> argument:</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; text-align: start;">https://libraryh3lp.com/chat/my-queue@chat.libraryh3lp.com?skin=20328&sounds=true&<b>lang=fr-ca</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPqhvLdFVCn07h2oUT633RTCxeQw7LgUlfiZo9mdSHfm5FGOYWiXRgY5Depl_TS4YMS_xn9btLiJTl2jEL6gLD-G6ZfDti46jn-dUzQrn-xuDEZsq93HCQ1ZgDzXwg_0ldq9qoQO6ajI/s1600/gradient.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPqhvLdFVCn07h2oUT633RTCxeQw7LgUlfiZo9mdSHfm5FGOYWiXRgY5Depl_TS4YMS_xn9btLiJTl2jEL6gLD-G6ZfDti46jn-dUzQrn-xuDEZsq93HCQ1ZgDzXwg_0ldq9qoQO6ajI/s200/gradient.png" width="166" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Widget showing Canadian French translation and<br />simpletext, the default English language presence theme.<br /><div><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br />If you've deployed <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/14-Installation-types#topic_86" target="_blank">iframe widgets</a> or <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/14-Installation-types#topic_88" target="_blank">DIY code</a>, you'll see where the <i>lang</i> argument goes since <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/4-Chat-widgets-for-patrons#topic_22">your widget URLs</a> are plainly visible. Or if you're using code snippets from the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/07/today-we-released-major-overhaul-of-our.html">Services designer</a>, we'll walk you through a small tweak needed to override the widget language later in this post. <br /><br /><br /><b>Translating presence themes</b><br /><br />Now, how about changing that English presence theme in the top left corner, too?  If you wanted a text-based theme (like simpletext, shown above) and nothing was available for your desired language, <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/5-Advanced-widgetry#topic_32">we will work with you to create one</a>. Or you could opt for a <a href="http://libraryh3lp.com/presence/themes" target="_blank">language-neutral theme</a>. And of course widgets can be dressed up with <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/5-Advanced-widgetry#topic_31" target="_blank">background images</a>, colors, or other custom CSS to compliment your website and branding.<br /><br />Take a look at the custom presence theme provided by the Austrian National Library!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7sJLmsVB8QrA9enNJz488Km22LeJrddVqhw6lmQxpFBODy9daZKLJ_f-v105HGWr6PaLEyu16oo_Gs_jJjAyuJvQCCbB-DABgfUJ61tp9NVs2le_7yEKJjg5l4_C_K5RXhHkLt2x9l8/s1600/austrian-theme.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7sJLmsVB8QrA9enNJz488Km22LeJrddVqhw6lmQxpFBODy9daZKLJ_f-v105HGWr6PaLEyu16oo_Gs_jJjAyuJvQCCbB-DABgfUJ61tp9NVs2le_7yEKJjg5l4_C_K5RXhHkLt2x9l8/s640/austrian-theme.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Austrian National Library custom presence theme designed by Michaela Mayr.  Widget shown in German language.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><b><br /></b><b>Updated Services Designer</b><br /><br />Specifying a language for your chat widget using the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/07/today-we-released-major-overhaul-of-our.html">updated Services Designer</a> is straight-forward. To provide that language override, you need to made one Advanced Code Edit in your Service code snippet.  So head over to the admin site and go to the Services tab to find/add your service.<br /><br />First, you'll want to make sure that you are using the correct widget skin. In the edit page for your service, select the desired widget skin by clicking the chat widget thumbnail. <br /><br />Next, you'll need to make that advanced code edit we mentioned earlier. See that code edit icon just to the left of the widget thumbnail? Click that to enter the advanced service level code editor.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgri4w_oqrcfBYBzFhyBYyCNJAueQ0tYC2DUGuGe-wHfkXsGL97Gb_7YqgaavbqOjF1cAn5-LTfrutHUJJN8sS546VHbDo3tp82aZ-QpE0nr5FEhxY_MRUjiwFy-xjJth2gTrB5NBRN-Ro/s1600/advanced-code-edit.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgri4w_oqrcfBYBzFhyBYyCNJAueQ0tYC2DUGuGe-wHfkXsGL97Gb_7YqgaavbqOjF1cAn5-LTfrutHUJJN8sS546VHbDo3tp82aZ-QpE0nr5FEhxY_MRUjiwFy-xjJth2gTrB5NBRN-Ro/s320/advanced-code-edit.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advanced code edit option</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Once you're in the advanced service level code editor, look for your widget URL, and place the <i>lang </i>variable (for example, lang=de) at the end, after an &. Then save your changes.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg9qyDvtVjkW1bifnAuDeMdoZH39lKaXkmcc7ZKPZZBB5q22N72PGzKAFwQJMkQJoJnj0RfNpG105KiKTGks6Wqslq71TCY9f1xG_n_hgGdkYl6YLuSdfY8GAAjzZyZGS61quNtR_eTE/s1600/advanced-lang.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlg9qyDvtVjkW1bifnAuDeMdoZH39lKaXkmcc7ZKPZZBB5q22N72PGzKAFwQJMkQJoJnj0RfNpG105KiKTGks6Wqslq71TCY9f1xG_n_hgGdkYl6YLuSdfY8GAAjzZyZGS61quNtR_eTE/s640/advanced-lang.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting the lang variable (lang=de for German) at the end of the widget URL.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />If the code snippet for your service is already deployed on your web page, your updates will <i>automatically</i> take effect! If you've created a new service, don't forget to install the code snippet for your service on your web page.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div></p>

Did you know that the LibraryH3lp chat widget is available in 12 different languages? All of these translations were graciously provided by librarians for librarians. Our widgets auto-detect the patron's browser settings and display the appropriate t…

Updated Services designer released!

<p>Today we released a major overhaul of our Services designer on our US and My Customer Cloud servers.¹  You can find the updated designer in the admin site, Services tab.<br /><div><br /></div><div>You'll notice right away that the updated Services designer looks very different than the rest of the admin site. We're moving towards a modern look-and-feel and will be updating the rest of the admin site piece by piece.  As with our recent <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme.html" target="_blank">FAQ</a> and <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/06/library-la-carte-resurrected-open.html" target="_blank">Library a la Carte</a> work, we're using Bootstrap.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLTVs3wTpfTkowd5rZrxTtcaKBlhfaqmCvgC0kFFY4dG_VM-Ldhe-3c8ejcpYKZePXL3u0cbfOZmSRWcetZukwA9w9hWeUJ6N4K5e2reBK6J3Mvtaplb-SNCSEJzJGy3_DpyfW5NPR8g/s1600/filter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLTVs3wTpfTkowd5rZrxTtcaKBlhfaqmCvgC0kFFY4dG_VM-Ldhe-3c8ejcpYKZePXL3u0cbfOZmSRWcetZukwA9w9hWeUJ6N4K5e2reBK6J3Mvtaplb-SNCSEJzJGy3_DpyfW5NPR8g/s320/filter.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Services page, filtering a long list</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Noteworthy features include:</b><br /><ul><li>Filter services by keyword, ID number, or even offline content to quickly locate snippets.</li><li>Preview each service (chat routing, widget style, service rollover) and grab its code on the services listing page.</li><li>Easily edit and customize <b>all</b> aspects of your chat service.</li><li>Make advanced customizations by individually editing service levels if desired. </li></ul><br />We have a <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/create-code-services" target="_blank">basic help doc</a> available that covers the updated designer. But we highly recommend using our shiny new integrated "Show me how this works" button!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAoPNcGKwznzuBr0NISTINYIgE287y2iR6Xijcxe8-Jjso8eKtHIoKktWxD8pLm1UnK2C52bnM2y8u_qUAcTT_VTckHYW2yX846xVIiAHsS30X8OaCL3wwpVqjdohU8yNPDXPPQtIYsk/s1600/show-me-button.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAoPNcGKwznzuBr0NISTINYIgE287y2iR6Xijcxe8-Jjso8eKtHIoKktWxD8pLm1UnK2C52bnM2y8u_qUAcTT_VTckHYW2yX846xVIiAHsS30X8OaCL3wwpVqjdohU8yNPDXPPQtIYsk/s1600/show-me-button.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Show me button will give you a tour.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We hope you will enjoy the flexibility of the updated Services designer.  We'll be blogging in the coming days and highlighting the types of powerful service customizations at your fingertips!<br /><br /><hr /><div>¹ Quick reminder: the Services designer is where you create the code snippet that represents your chat service code.  <i>Your chat service code is much more than just your chat widget.</i>  Your service code also lets you direct incoming chats to the desired queue or user, what widget style you'd like (embedded, pop-up, or follow-me), and what you want to display when your chat service is offline. <br /><br />Once you have deployed your code snippet onto your site, you can change all of those chat service details from within the LibraryH3lp Service tab, without editing the code snippet on your own site again.  This is especially handy for cases where the chat administrator does not have the ability to edit the web pages on which the chat service is deployed.</div></div></p>

Today we released a major overhaul of our Services designer on our US and My Customer Cloud servers.1  You can find the updated designer in the admin site, Services tab.You'll notice right away that the updated Services designer looks very different …

Library à la Carte resurrected: An open-source CMS for libraries!

<p>Update: As of April 9, 2015 we have discontinued development of Library à la Carte Phoenix Edition.<br /><br />UPDATE: <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/09/library-la-carte-phoenix-edition-is-now.html" target="_blank">Library à la Carte Phoenix Edition source now available</a>!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tl%3Bdr">tl;dr</a> (courtesy Eric): Content management. For librarians. By librarians. Free as in speech.  Free as in beer. Hotness. <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/">See it</a>.<br /><br />With great excitement, we announce the upcoming open source release of Library à la Carte, Phoenix Edition. For those not familiar with <a href="http://alacarte.library.oregonstate.edu/home" target="_blank">Library à la Carte or its history</a>, it is a free open source content management system developed specifically for libraries by the Oregon State University Library & Press.  Library à la Carte "enables librarians to easily and quickly create dynamic web pages that integrate Web 2.0 features, such as chat and RSS feeds, with traditional library content, such as catalogs and article databases."<br /><br />At the end of last year, Oregon State University Library & Press <a href="http://alacarte.library.oregonstate.edu/node/25416" target="_blank">announced the end of life for Library à la Carte</a>. We were saddened to see the end of Library à la Carte, especially considering all the hard work and years of development on a free CMS for libraries by librarians.  So a couple weeks ago, we downloaded the source code for Library à la Carte and got to work on resuscitation and modernization.<br /><br />Once we've finalized our first round of updates (and we're very close), we'll release the code under the AGPL licence through GitHub.  It will be free as in speech and free as in beer.  Keep an eye out on this blog for updates. If there is interest, we will also offer a hosted version for those who would like to use Library à la Carte but can't host it themselves.<br /><br />We've been shaking down Phoenix Edition by migrating in LibraryH3lp's <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/" target="_blank">documentation site</a> and <a href="http://docs.nubgames.com/subject-guide/4-Chat-widgets-for-patrons" target="_blank">pages into subject guides</a> so you can see Phoenix Edition in action!<br /><br />Phoenix Edition runs Ruby on Rails 3, which we plan to maintain for a few years. New development efforts will focus on Rails 4. And like <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme.html" target="_blank">LibraryH3lp's FAQ knowledge module</a>, Phoenix Edition has a fresh look and feel thanks to <a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/" target="_blank">Twitter Bootstrap</a>.<br /><br />Finally while we're on the topic, a quick shout out for <a href="http://www.subjectsplus.com/" target="_blank">Subjects Plus</a> - another attractive, open source CMS for libraries!  While Library à la Carte is backed by Rails, Subjects Plus uses PHP.  So whether you're a Rails shop or a PHP shop, there will be good open source options available for you.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>

Update: As of April 9, 2015 we have discontinued development of Library à la Carte Phoenix Edition.UPDATE: Library à la Carte Phoenix Edition source now available!tl;dr (courtesy Eric): Content management. For librarians. By librarians. Free as in sp…

FAQs on FAQs: Fabulous Footers

<p>Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we showed how to <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/05/faqs-on-faqs-using-your-existing.html" target="_blank">reuse existing headers from your library's website</a> within your FAQ. So it is only fair that we cover custom footers in this installment!<br /><br />As with customizing headers, setting up a custom footer requires a little bit of <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-questions" target="_blank">template editing</a>.<br /><br /><b>1) Add content. </b>Place the desired content within the <i>footer.html</i> template. Or if you wish the footer to span the entire width of your page, comment out the <i>footer</i> block within the <i>base.html</i> template using HTML comments (as you did with your header in Step 1 of the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/05/faqs-on-faqs-using-your-existing.html" target="_blank">previous installment</a>) and place the desired content after the main "container" div.<br /><br /><b>2) Adjust styling.</b> As with custom headers, your strategy for including the styling for your header elements will vary since there are several ways to handle CSS. Please <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/05/faqs-on-faqs-using-your-existing.html" target="_blank">refer to Step 2 of the previous installment</a> for styling tips and tricks or <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">e-mail support</a> if you need any help sorting things out.<br /><br /><b>Advanced customization: Sticky Footers.</b> If you want to be extra fancy, you can opt to make your footer sticky. A sticky footer always remains at the bottom of a page and can be attractive on your individual question pages where content may be short and your footer appears higher on the page. If you'd like a sticky footer for your FAQ, <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-sticky-footer" target="_blank">check out the "how to" in our online docs</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhvgQRbZ_OdO0yU1lpK67_E2E9V3EpfayM_VdVyODaUSjUNG704-c-e-mk5mnZ0Z6O4SaqHcd8XOFREe5GhJyXwid0F3_1zZsPO8SeZwtVvNWyZaYqEuMoxYlNzzxMDeh07pFpz8utczz/s1600/without-sticky-footer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhvgQRbZ_OdO0yU1lpK67_E2E9V3EpfayM_VdVyODaUSjUNG704-c-e-mk5mnZ0Z6O4SaqHcd8XOFREe5GhJyXwid0F3_1zZsPO8SeZwtVvNWyZaYqEuMoxYlNzzxMDeh07pFpz8utczz/s200/without-sticky-footer.png" width="250" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkBDh0k2JyhzwdHVQZPCTwCMX-zZvxon3z7BW7QpKyxXy-v6bY42f3nV1M45TjtGqAg48pNE2WGRRclXS_rmfK3sbSfOaF_KqvKFBOPwkwolBn3TkczuPG3VjkZml8417C0Nm6sAOv-vX/s1600/sticky-footer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkBDh0k2JyhzwdHVQZPCTwCMX-zZvxon3z7BW7QpKyxXy-v6bY42f3nV1M45TjtGqAg48pNE2WGRRclXS_rmfK3sbSfOaF_KqvKFBOPwkwolBn3TkczuPG3VjkZml8417C0Nm6sAOv-vX/s200/sticky-footer.png" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" libraryh3lp.com="" mailto:support="" style="clear: both;" target="_blank"></div>Want to get your own LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ site up and running? Need to import content from an existing knowledge base into your FAQ? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">E-mail us!</a><br /><br />Missed a previous installment of FAQs on FAQs? Here are some quick links to help you catch up: <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html" target="_blank">real-time chat and e-mail contact options</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-mobile-its-in-there.html" target="_blank">mobile-specific view for patrons browsing on smartphones</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-populating-your-knowledge.html" target="_blank">adding content to your knowledge base</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-customizing-answer-previews.html" target="_blank">customizing answer previews</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-style-your-faq-with-themes.html" target="_blank">style your FAQ with themes</a>, bring your own theme <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme.html">part 1</a> and <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme_23.html">part 2</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/05/faqs-on-faqs-using-your-existing.html" target="_blank">reusing existing headers</a>. </p>

Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we showed how to reuse existing headers from your library's website within your FAQ. So it is only fair that we cover custom foot…

FAQs on FAQs: Reusing an existing website header

<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lovejoylibrary.ask.libraryh3lp.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville" border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXvqzWMZkVU8np7s_Ph05ttaCRn2ssWBQwLM-jVLyJQZ4chqzwz_Rm0MR6XVG8fMiKIS4UzujJlB64tYncmsEIt3gfWZF8gFsXqYiS3_-7FfnB28m8KD3IpqDjpBTFIpNtuU5Dtp9cIzG/s320/Screen+shot+2013-05-03+at+9.18.00+AM.png" title="" width="320" /></a></div>Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. As <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme_23.html">previously promised</a>, this installment shows you how to reuse an existing website header within your FAQ. Never fear! The process is straightforward and requires just a bit of template editing.<br /><br />Reusing a header within your FAQ is a simple yet effective way to blend the FAQ's look and feel seamlessly into your library's existing website. And the results can be very striking such as with <a href="http://lovejoylibrary.ask.libraryh3lp.com/" target="_blank">Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville</a>.<br /><br />Let's get started, shall we? After logging into your FAQ site, you'll want to <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-questions" target="_blank">edit</a> your <i>base.html</i> template. And then follow these steps:<br /><br /><b>1) Comment out the header block using <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_comment.asp" target="_blank">HTML comments</a>.</b> This will look like:<br /><br /><div><code><!--<br />  {% block header %}<br />    <div class="navbar"><br />      <div class="navbar-inner"><br />        {% include "header.html" %}<br />      </div><br />    </div><br />  {% endblock %}<br />--> </code></div><br /><b>2) Add your header.</b> Just below the commented out header block, add the HTML for your header.<br /><br />The trickiest part after adding in your header's HTML is getting the styling correct. Your strategy for including the styling for your header elements will vary since there are several ways to handle CSS.<br /><ol><li>If the CSS is already included directly within each element's style attribute, then you are done.</li><li>If the CSS is part of your website's head element, you can <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-style-your-faq-with-themes.html" target="_blank">copy those styles over to your FAQ's head element</a>.</li><li>If the CSS for the header is contained within a CSS file, then you can include that file within your FAQ like this:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><code><link rel="stylesheet" href="http://your.library.edu/header.css"/></code></div></li></ol>One note on option 3 above. If the CSS file includes styling that affects elements outside your custom header, the rest of your FAQ's styling will also be affected. If you run into this scenario, you could ask your webmaster to break up the CSS files or even fall back to option 2 cutting and pasting into your head element what you need. If you need any help straightening this out, please don't hesitate to <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">e-mail us</a>; we've already helped several libraries in this situation.<br /><br /><b>3) Plug in the FAQ edit controls.</b> Add this just below your custom header HTML:<br /><br /><code><!-- FAQ login/logout and edit controls --><br /><div class="navbar-inner" style="margin: 0; border:none; padding:0; background:none; min-height:20px; border-radius: none; box-shadow:none;"></div></code><br /><code><br /></code>That's it! You're done. And since we've covered headers in this installment, we might as well move on to footers for our next installment.<br /><br />Want to get your own LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ site up and running? Need to import existing content into your FAQ? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">E-mail us</a>.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Missed a previous installment of FAQs on FAQs? Here are some quick links to help you catch up: <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html" target="_blank">real-time chat and e-mail contact options</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-mobile-its-in-there.html" target="_blank">mobile-specific view for patrons browsing on smartphones</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-populating-your-knowledge.html" target="_blank">adding content to your knowledge base</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-customizing-answer-previews.html" target="_blank">customizing answer previews</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-style-your-faq-with-themes.html" target="_blank">style your FAQ with themes</a>, bring your own theme <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme.html">part 1</a> and <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme_23.html">part 2</a>.</div></p>

Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. As previously promised, this installment shows you how to reuse an existing website header within your FAQ. Never fear! The process is strai…

Building grassroots collaboratives with LibraryH3lp

<p><div>Dr. S. R. Ranganathan proposed in 1931 that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_laws_of_library_science">the library is a growing organism</a>.  And librarians are a collaborative bunch, frequently corresponding with colleagues and building shared collections and services.  With hundreds of libraries using LibraryH3lp every day, there is a fantastic opportunity for collaboration and leveraging cross-institutional expertise to grow your virtual reference service. <br /><br />Because LibraryH3lp was initially created to serve an after-hours cooperative chat and IM service for students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State University, the capability to collaborate has been built into LibraryH3lp from the <a href="http://journal.code4lib.org/articles/107">very beginning</a>. And because one of our <a href="http://libraryh3lp.com/why">core values</a> is flexibility, collaboration comes in many flavors.<br /><br />All options below are available <i>even though you and your partnering institution maintain completely separate LibraryH3lp subscriptions</i>. In this way, you can leverage your existing partnerships -- or forge new partnerships -- to extend your virtual reference service wherever possible while maintaining your own local service.<br /><b><br /></b><b>1) Chat with colleagues at other institutions.</b>  You can buddy and directly chat with any other LibraryH3lp user (or queue) in the world.  Actually, they don't even have to use LibraryH3lp!  If your colleagues use chat through Gmail  or other XMPP-based services, you can buddy them to your LibraryH3lp account.  This is easy to do within your chat client; please refer to <a href="http://ask.libraryh3lp.com/questions/2878">our FAQ for details</a>.<br /><b><br /></b><b>2) Transfer patrons between institutions.  </b>If your partner institution also uses LibraryH3lp and you often cross-refer patrons, we can can set up targeted cross-institution transfers for any or all of your queues.  To invoke another of Ranganathan's laws, save the time of your patrons! They won't need to start their questions over from scratch if you can immediately transfer them to the appropriate place, transcript in hand.<br /><b><br /></b><b>3) Staff a collaborative service</b> using any service model or work flow you'd like. Perhaps you want something very simple, where all participating librarians receive all incoming questions on designated queues and the first librarian to respond wins the chat. Or maybe you are looking for something more nuanced, such as a<b> </b>"home team first" <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/collaborations-service-rollover.html">service rollover model</a><b>.</b>  With service rollover, you can serve your own patrons if you're available in the interest of the best, most expedient service possible; otherwise, your patrons are assisted by your trusted colleagues at your partner institution.<br /><b><br /></b><b>How much extra does this stuff cost?</b>  Not one penny.  Everything is included in your paid annual subscription.  That's right, we'll wire up your shiny new collaborative service up for free.<br /><b><br /></b><b>How do I get started?</b>  Contact <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">support@libraryh3lp.com</a> and we'll do the necessary under-the-hood configuration needed to get your LibraryH3lp account talking to your partner institution's account.  We'll need to know your service goals (transfer only or shared, collaborative staffing), and we'll also need to hear from your partner institution(s) so that we can make sure all parties understand the new service model.<br /><b><br /></b><b>What if I'm interested in a partnership, but have no partner?</b> A good place to start your quest for like minded librarians is the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/libraryh3lp/">LibraryH3lp Google group</a>.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Quick relevant plug.</b>  Would you like to extend your virtual reference service hours, but you don't have a willing partner for staffing longer hours the grassroots way?  You can get after-hours coverage through <a href="http://chatstaff.us/">ChatStaff!</a></div></p>

Dr. S. R. Ranganathan proposed in 1931 that the library is a growing organism.  And librarians are a collaborative bunch, frequently corresponding with colleagues and building shared collections and services.  With hundreds of libraries using Library…

FAQs on FAQs: BYOT - Bring Your Own Theme (part 2)

<p>Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we revealed literally <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme.html" target="_blank">hundreds of possibilities for your FAQ site's theme</a> and also covered some of the under-the-hood goodies like icons that automatically change color based on your theme. In this installment, we'll show you how to plug in a third-party Bootstrap theme and how to harness the power of FontAwesome icons.<br /><br /><b>Plugging in a 3rd party Bootstrap theme</b> is easily accomplished with a bit of <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-questions" target="_blank">template editing</a>. You'll need to edit your <i>base.html</i> template and look for this line within the head element:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><code><link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/themes/{{ theme }}/faq.css"/><br /></code></div><br />You'll replace that line with two lines that look like this:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: monospace;"><link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/faq.css"/></span><br /><span style="font-family: monospace;"><link rel="stylesheet" href="http://your.server.edu/theme.css"/></span><br /><br />The second stylesheet's href attribute will of course need to be set to reference your custom Bootstrap theme. Easy peasy, right?<br /><br />One minor complication that you might run into surrounds <a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/base-css.html#icons" target="_blank">Bootstrap icons</a> Vs. <a href="http://fortawesome.github.io/Font-Awesome/" target="_blank">FontAwesome icons</a>. Chances are that any third-party Bootstrap theme you elect to use will automatically include Bootstrap icons. If there is an easy way to exclude those Bootstrap icons from your theme, then we recommend you do so in preference to FontAwesome. If that isn't possible, no worries, but you'll want to remove these lines in the head element of the <i>base.html</i> template:<br /><br /><code><link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/font-awesome.min.css"/><br /><!--[if IE 7]><br />  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/font-awesome-ie7.min.css"/><br /><![endif]--><br /></code><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMwpBbHM8O_wt2jn18AR9cOGVV_xR81Yw8n44X6Hb2IUewtTX1gEMr3rbi1NXcyuMSbcFZHzZ5HqSE8XuO1-I7qMpt8qNtMZU9Erf696cXADpbXgePcp28eim56LZf-eKi7ckEiz-_4bs/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-04-23+at+2.20.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMwpBbHM8O_wt2jn18AR9cOGVV_xR81Yw8n44X6Hb2IUewtTX1gEMr3rbi1NXcyuMSbcFZHzZ5HqSE8XuO1-I7qMpt8qNtMZU9Erf696cXADpbXgePcp28eim56LZf-eKi7ckEiz-_4bs/s200/Screen+shot+2013-04-23+at+2.20.01+PM.png" width="150" /></a></div><b>Using FontAwesome icons.</b> FontAwesome makes it super simple to embed <a href="http://fortawesome.github.io/Font-Awesome/" target="_blank">tons of icons</a> within your FAQ site. You can place icons anywhere you'd like by creating an <i>i</i> element with a class name which is the same as the icon's name.<br /><br />E.g. <code><i class="icon-comments-alt"></i></code><br /><br /><br />In fact, you can do all sorts of things with these icons by adding classes to any <i>i</i> element...<br /><ol><li>Control<b> size</b> with <i>icon-large</i>, <i>icon-2x</i>, <i>icon-3x</i>, or <i>icon-4x</i></li><li>Add <b>borders</b> with <i>icon-border</i></li><li><b>Replace list bullets</b>.  Looks like this...<br /><code><ul class="icons"><br />  <li><i class="icon-ok"></i> Lists</li><br /></ul></code></li><li><b>Animate</b> with <i>icon-spin</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>.</i>¹</span></li></ol><div>So, here's how you'd create a large, bordered book icon that spins:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><code><i class="icon-book icon-large icon-border icon-spin"></i></code></div></div><div><br /></div>In the next installment of FAQs on FAQs, we'll show you how make the header for your FAQ site match your library's existing website. Want to get your own LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ site up and running? Need to import existing content into your FAQ? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">E-mail us</a>.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Missed a previous installment of FAQs on FAQs? Here are some quick links to help you catch up: <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html" target="_blank">real-time chat and e-mail contact options</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-mobile-its-in-there.html" target="_blank">mobile-specific view for patrons browsing on smartphones</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-populating-your-knowledge.html" target="_blank">adding content to your knowledge base</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-customizing-answer-previews.html" target="_blank">customizing answer previews</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-style-your-faq-with-themes.html" target="_blank">style your FAQ with themes</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-byot-bring-your-own-theme.html">bring your own theme (part 1)</a>.<br /><br />¹ Works best with icon-spinner and icon-refresh.</div></p>

Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we revealed literally hundreds of possibilities for your FAQ site's theme and also covered some of the under-the-hood goodies lik…

FAQs on FAQs: BYOT - Bring Your Own Theme (part 1)

<p>Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we covered the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-style-your-faq-with-themes.html" target="_blank">17 pre-configured themes available for your FAQ</a>. In this installment, we reveal even more possibilities and some under-the-hood goodies.<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://github.com/twitter/bootstrap/blob/master/docs/assets/ico/apple-touch-icon-114-precomposed.png?raw=true" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="bootstrap" border="0" src="https://github.com/twitter/bootstrap/blob/master/docs/assets/ico/apple-touch-icon-114-precomposed.png?raw=true" title="bootstrap" /></a></div><div><b>Built with Bootstrap.</b> LibraryH3lp-powered FAQs are built on top of <a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/" target="_blank">Bootstrap</a>, which is a popular and powerful front-end framework for web development. That means that you get a lot of mileage right out of the box.</div><div><ul><li><a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/scaffolding.html" target="_blank">Scaffolding</a> supporting grids, layouts, and responsive design.</li><li>Attractive typography and styling of <a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/base-css.html" target="_blank">basic HTML elements</a> and <a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/components.html" target="_blank">components</a>.</li><li><a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/javascript.html" target="_blank">JavaScript plugins</a> for adding dynamic elements such as tooltips and popovers.</li></ul></div><div>You've already seen all this in action on your FAQ site. And you can take advantage of everything Bootstrap has to offer when customizing your FAQ.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://drupal.org/files/project-images/fontawesome_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://drupal.org/files/project-images/fontawesome_0.png" width="125" /></a></div><div><b>Icons galore.</b> Icons are one key area where we've purposely diverged from Bootstrap. Bootstrap icons are nice, but <a href="http://fortawesome.github.io/Font-Awesome/" target="_blank">Font Awesome</a> icons are awesomer. All 249 Font Awesome icons are at your disposal. You've already seen a few of these in action in the right sidebar template. And one really cool thing about font-based icons - they automatically change color with your theme unlike images. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BC5Wi7v0NV4" target="_blank">Go through the themes again</a>, notice how the icon coloring changes to match the text?<br /><br /><b>The big reveal. Even more themes.</b> Because Bootstrap is so popular, there are tons of people <a href="https://wrapbootstrap.com/" target="_blank">creating and selling themes</a> for very reasonable prices or even for free. So if one of the 17 pre-configured themes doesn't fit the bill, you have literally hundreds of other pre-made choices. Or you can even <a href="http://twitter.github.io/bootstrap/customize.html" target="_blank">create your own</a>.<br /><br />Next time we'll go into the specifics of how you can leverage Bootstrap, Font Awesome, and custom themes on your FAQ. Have suggestions or ideas for the FAQs on FAQs series? Want to get your own FAQ site up and running? Need to import existing content into your FAQ? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">E-mail us</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Missed a previous installment of FAQs on FAQs? Here are some quick links to help you catch up: <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html" target="_blank">real-time chat and e-mail contact options</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-mobile-its-in-there.html" target="_blank">mobile-specific view for patrons browsing on smartphones</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-populating-your-knowledge.html" target="_blank">adding content to your knowledge base</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-customizing-answer-previews.html" target="_blank">customizing answer previews</a>, and <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-style-your-faq-with-themes.html" target="_blank">style your FAQ with themes</a>.<br /><br /></div></p>

Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we covered the 17 pre-configured themes available for your FAQ. In this installment, we reveal even more possibilities and some u…

FAQs on FAQs: Style your FAQ with themes

<p><br />Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Previously, we highlighted some <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-customizing-answer-previews.html">template tweaks you can make to customize answer preview content</a>. This time (and in the next few installments) we dive further into FAQ appearance, covering themes and how to do a bit of custom styling.<br /><br />The easiest way to change the appearance of your FAQ is to change its <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-configuration#theme" target="_blank">theme</a>. The video below quickly shows each of the 17 available themes in action on the <a href="http://ask.libraryh3lp.com/" target="_blank">LibraryH3lp FAQ</a>.<br /><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BC5Wi7v0NV4" width="420"></iframe></center><br />To view a particular theme on your FAQ, append a theme argument to your site's URL. E.g.,<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><code>http://NAME.ask.libraryh3lp.com?theme=united</code></div><br />Chances are that one of the themes will blend nicely with your existing color scheme. Once you've selected a theme, <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">shoot us an e-mail</a> and we'll make it your default. But what if the theme is close but needs a little extra tweakage? Then perhaps a bit of CSS (cascading style sheets) will get you there.<br /><br />For those not familiar with cascading style sheets, the short version is that CSS separates the presentation from the content of a web page. You've already seen CSS in action with each of the themes above; the look and feel changes while content remains the same.<br /><br /><b>Tweaking a specific element.</b> Let's take the simplest case where there is a specific element you wish to style. Perhaps you want the font color of your answer preview text to be blue. To accomplish that, you'd <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-questions" target="_blank">edit</a> the <i>preview.html</i> template and add a style attribute to the preview paragraph like this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><code><p class="question-preview" style="color:blue;"></code></div></div><br /><b>Tweaking many elements.</b> Congrats, you've officially customized your CSS! No big deal, right? But what if you wanted all the text on all your FAQ pages to be blue? No sweat. You can edit the <i>base.html</i> template to add CSS at the bottom of the <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_head.asp" target="_blank">head element</a> that looks like this:<br /><br /><code><style type="text/css"><br />  body { color: blue; }<br /></style></code><br /><br />Now you have two CSS tools in your belt along with an awesome theme. Next time, we'll continue talking CSS and reveal even more theme options.  Because 17 isn't near enough, right? :-)<br /><br />Have suggestions or ideas for the FAQs on FAQs series? Want to get your own FAQ site up and running? Need to import existing content into your FAQ? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">E-mail us</a>.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Missed a previous installment of FAQs on FAQs? Here are some quick links to help you catch up: <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html">real-time chat and e-mail contact options</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-mobile-its-in-there.html">mobile-specific view for patrons browsing on smartphones</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-populating-your-knowledge.html">adding content to your knowledge base</a>, and <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/04/faqs-on-faqs-customizing-answer-previews.html">customizing answer previews</a>.</div></p>

Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Previously, we highlighted some template tweaks you can make to customize answer preview content. This time (and in the next few installment…

FAQs on FAQs: Customizing answer previews

<p>Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we talked about <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-populating-your-knowledge.html">populating your FAQ with content</a>. This time, we're covering a couple customizations that control how your patrons or colleagues (for internal FAQs) see the content you've just added.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicp5GDtfuIRR06CLr_uIJEtP0-1D_MPbEr2EsppAP1r35WtNbUJbU-I6hb4nFrx0gxq0yoP1ZWGWq5-3zNZ73dMRGoVRh7TkeGe1gZOvpNThPzA2BPwGEFh6uAj1842YHeghTDfIdA26j9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-31+at+7.01.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicp5GDtfuIRR06CLr_uIJEtP0-1D_MPbEr2EsppAP1r35WtNbUJbU-I6hb4nFrx0gxq0yoP1ZWGWq5-3zNZ73dMRGoVRh7TkeGe1gZOvpNThPzA2BPwGEFh6uAj1842YHeghTDfIdA26j9/s320/Screen+shot+2013-03-31+at+7.01.06+PM.png" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example list of questions with answer previews</td></tr></tbody></table>The index of your FAQ lists <i>all</i> your questions along with a preview of the answer content sorted by most viewed. Simply scroll down the page to view them all.<br /><br /><b>Shorten the preview.</b> By default, answer previews are limited to 400 characters and shown in plain text (no HTML markup).<br /><br />But say you want shorter previews of just 200 characters. You can't go longer, but you can choose anything smaller than 400.<br /><br />Previews are easily shortened with a bit of template customization. <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-questions">Edit the <i>preview.html</i> template</a> and add a filter after the <i>question.preview</i> variable so it looks like this:<br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">[updating syntax for question preview truncation as of October 7, 2013]</span><br /><code><span style="font-size: 0.9em;"><br /></span></code><code><span style="font-size: 0.9em;">{{ question.preview|<wbr></wbr>truncate(200) }}...</span></code></div><br /><b>Use HTML instead of plain text.</b> Or maybe you don't want plain text for your answer previews; maybe you want your previews to contain styled HTML content. <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/libraryh3lp/FnMqoUUMnNQ">This was a recent topic in the LibraryH3lp Google group</a> and we wanted to share the solution here. Again, this can be done with a bit of editing within the <i>preview.html</i> template. You'll want to make this:<br /><br /><code style="font-size: 0.9em;"><p class="question-preview"><br />  {{ question.preview }}...<br />  <a class="question-popover pull-right" rel="popover" data-original-title="Answer" data-load="/questions/{{ question.id }}/answer" href="/questions/{{ question.id }}">read more <i class="icon-forward"></i></a><br /></p></code><br /><br />look like this:<br /><br /><code style="font-size: 0.9em;"><p class="question-preview" style="overflow:hidden; height:75px;"><br />  {{ question.answer|safe }}<br /></p><br /><a class="question-popover pull-right" rel="popover" data-original-title="Answer" data-load="/questions/{{ question.id }}/answer" href="/questions/{{ question.id }}">read more <i class="icon-forward"></i></a></code><br /><br />The <i>safe</i> filter for the <i>question.answer</i> variable allows for HTML markup. And the style on the paragraph controls the height of the area allowed for your answer, ensuring any extra content past the specified height is hidden.<br /><span class="il"></span><br />Missed a previous installment of FAQs on FAQs? Here are some quick links to help you catch up: <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html">real-time chat and e-mail contact options</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-mobile-its-in-there.html">mobile-specific view for patrons browsing on smartphones</a>, <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-populating-your-knowledge.html">adding content to your knowledge base</a>.<br /><br />Have suggestions or ideas for the FAQs on FAQs series? Want to get your own FAQ site up and running? Need to import existing content? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">Let us know</a>!</p>

Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your LibraryH3lp-powered FAQ. Last time, we talked about populating your FAQ with content. This time, we're covering a couple customizations that control how your patrons…

FAQs on FAQs: Populating your knowledge base

<p>Welcome to the third installment of FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your FAQ. We've already covered the built-in features for your FAQ - <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html">real-time chat and e-mail contact options</a> plus the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-mobile-its-in-there.html">mobile-specific view for patrons browsing on smartphones</a>.  Let's switch gears  a bit and talk content. After all, what use is a knowledge base without content?<br /><div><br /></div><div>Questions (and associated answers) form the heart of your FAQ site. Every aspect of your FAQ site is already dedicated to helping patrons locate the best answer to their questions. So your job is simply to add content. The more content you provide, the better chance your patrons have for success.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BLeFykCiJOU-3tMAeyiTPyNwiMwON3NTrVeCWus5_PAFSVPlhKM-dbsuSpCoiF0DQNlXYoSgY5T9WpjMaN1qe_rc-cYezetYiBOcSO8ur2aGNyH7tqsMkbn4GAkLDt7qGpoGZ_oj3ttV/s1600/faq-edit.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BLeFykCiJOU-3tMAeyiTPyNwiMwON3NTrVeCWus5_PAFSVPlhKM-dbsuSpCoiF0DQNlXYoSgY5T9WpjMaN1qe_rc-cYezetYiBOcSO8ur2aGNyH7tqsMkbn4GAkLDt7qGpoGZ_oj3ttV/s320/faq-edit.png" width="320" /></a></div>Manage questions and answers directly within your FAQ site via <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-questions">in-place editing</a>.<br /><br />Add questions using the Add Question button just below your search box.<br /><br />Edit/delete existing questions using the buttons on the top-right corner of each question.<br /><br />And no worries about needing to know the nitty gritty of HTML, the question editor provides a rich text interface.<br /><br />Once your FAQ site is populated with content, your patrons will be able to:<br /><br /><div><ul><li>scroll through all questions, organized by most viewed on the main page of your FAQ</li><li>click a topic in the tag cloud to scroll through all questions tagged with a particular topic</li><li>search by keyword filtered by topic in the search box at the top of every page</li></ul></div><br />Have any suggestions or ideas for the FAQs on FAQs series? Want to get your own FAQ site set up? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com">Let us know</a>!</div></p>

Welcome to the third installment of FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your FAQ. We've already covered the built-in features for your FAQ - real-time chat and e-mail contact options plus the mobile-specific view for patro…

FAQs on FAQs: Mobile? It's in there!

<p>Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your FAQ site. Last time, we covered the <a href="http://libraryh3lp.blogspot.com/2013/03/faqs-on-faqs-chat-and-e-mail.html">automagic real-time chat and e-mail integrations</a> built into every FAQ site. In this installment, we keep the built-in feature ball rolling and talk mobile.<br /><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt3-Y8OF9dm9Ty3hnerVd6W2mbkDWBAs1hLEiTkq0i0cpnVLDKpzUJEm6UKAoUZ-_BOzUqnKmW1IcESRa16yfBsVf6APLpKo3YiJzNEbIN9DAE0LO_oCQclWvwRD_qHA6Db3ZNnhOhf83/s1600/mobile-faq.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt3-Y8OF9dm9Ty3hnerVd6W2mbkDWBAs1hLEiTkq0i0cpnVLDKpzUJEm6UKAoUZ-_BOzUqnKmW1IcESRa16yfBsVf6APLpKo3YiJzNEbIN9DAE0LO_oCQclWvwRD_qHA6Db3ZNnhOhf83/s200/mobile-faq.png" width="181" /></a></div>Mobile patrons on a smart phone automagically see a mobile-specific view of your FAQ site rather than the default desktop view. The mobile view is built-in and works out of the box. No fancy programming required. No hours wasted fiddling. It just works.<br /><br />Your mobile FAQ has four views - Search, Topics, Browse, and Ask Us. Search provides instant search results for queries. Topics provides a list of topics showing the number of questions tagged with that topic. Browse lists all your questions. Ask Us includes a mobile chat widget and e-mail form so that patrons can contact you.<br /><br /><br />You can visit your mobile FAQ directly by appending a "/m" to your FAQ's URL.<br /><br /><ul><li>LibraryH3lp's FAQ: <a href="http://ask.libraryh3lp.com/">http://ask.libraryh3lp.com</a></li><li>LibraryH3lp's mobile FAQ: <a href="http://ask.libraryh3lp.com/m">http://ask.libraryh3lp.com/m</a> </li></ul><br />Have any suggestions for FAQs on FAQs topics? Want to get your own FAQ site going? (Remember, each LibraryH3lp trial and subscription comes with unlimited FAQs at no additional charge!) E-mail <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">support</a> and we'll make it happen. :-)</div></p>

Welcome back to FAQs on FAQs, a series designed to help you get the most out of your FAQ site. Last time, we covered the automagic real-time chat and e-mail integrations built into every FAQ site. In this installment, we keep the built-in feature bal…

FAQs on FAQs: chat and e-mail integrations

<p>Hi all! Lots of you are getting <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-intro">FAQ sites</a> going. Adding questions. Customizing. Branding. We are really impressed by all the creativity!<br /><br />To help everyone get the most out of their FAQ site (or sites - plural - you get unlimited FAQs at no additional charge with every LibraryH3lp account), we'll blog regularly in the coming weeks about FAQ-related topics - including HTML, CSS, and quite possibly some JavaScript. We're calling the series FAQs on FAQs and hope you will find it a useful source of information and inspiration.<br /><br />Today's installment covers the automagic <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-integrations">chat and e-mail integrations within your FAQ site</a>. Let's go!<br /><br />Each FAQ site is <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-configuration">associated with a queue and an e-mail address</a>, making it easier for patrons to find answers using three communication methods. The FAQs cover pre-canned commonly asked questions. Chat gives patrons real-time access to librarians. E-mail lets patrons ask questions when your virtual reference service is unavailable or if they aren't interested in using chat.<br /><br />The automagicness happens in two key areas within your FAQ site - the "Ask Us" button and the "Not finding what you need? Contact us!" link at the bottom of every page  Both of these elements know when your queue is available, showing chat when virtual reference is available and an e-mail contact form otherwise. No fancy programming needed on your end. It just works.<br /><br />A third area, the right sidebar, includes separate links for "Real-time chat" and e-mail.  This way patrons can see at a glance whether or not the chat service is online. And they can always opt to email instead of chat.  The "Real-time chat" link can be customized any way you'd like, and it is not clickable when the chat service is offline.<br /><br />Want more than just a patron's name, e-mail address, and question when patrons use the e-mail form? Sure! <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-integrations#email">Edit the email.html template and add any additional HTML form field you'd like</a>.<br /><br />Have any suggestions for the FAQs on FAQs series? Want to get your own FAQ site set up? <a href="mailto:support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">E-mail support</a> and we'll make it happen. :-)</p>

Hi all! Lots of you are getting FAQ sites going. Adding questions. Customizing. Branding. We are really impressed by all the creativity!To help everyone get the most out of their FAQ site (or sites - plural - you get unlimited FAQs at no additional c…

Scheduled US server downtime morning of Wed, March 13

<p>We're planning for 15-20 minutes of downtime tomorrow morning (Wednesday, March 13) around 7am Eastern time for our main US server.  We are upgrading our database servers to address the root cause of the problem encountered today around 2:40pm Eastern.  We will <a href="https://twitter.com/libraryh3lp" target="_blank">tweet our progress</a> to keep everyone informed.  We are sorry for the interruption and thank everyone for their patience!</p>

We're planning for 15-20 minutes of downtime tomorrow morning (Wednesday, March 13) around 7am Eastern time for our main US server.  We are upgrading our database servers to address the root cause of the problem encountered today around 2:40pm Easter…

Important webchat client updates

<p><div>Happy Monday! We've rolled out an updated version of our native <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/clients-web.html" target="_blank">webchat client</a>.  This release includes significant improvements that simplify staffing workflows and increase robustness.  Let's take a look!<br /><br /><b>Flexible queue selection dialog.</b>  Have a lot of queues?  We've placed a time-saving "Select All/None" checkbox near the top.  And if you happen to have a loooooong list of queues, you'll get a scrollbar to more easily navigate the list on a variety of screen sizes.</div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE8Zsy5MEnSsRFcgGHA5uRv8zziO2aMCS5VZEELFV464u1Bi9Nx5ylFJBwPXkvDvwD2g6Y-cAvrJ2DX2Qh-fIuaxJyeNeKBVAoEw87Daf9NI5c2IIO3E1wm8BUo4DZBkSb_yA8PBOrIM/s1600/queue-selection.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE8Zsy5MEnSsRFcgGHA5uRv8zziO2aMCS5VZEELFV464u1Bi9Nx5ylFJBwPXkvDvwD2g6Y-cAvrJ2DX2Qh-fIuaxJyeNeKBVAoEw87Daf9NI5c2IIO3E1wm8BUo4DZBkSb_yA8PBOrIM/s1600/queue-selection.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All/None checkbox on queue selection dialog.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="text-align: center;"><b>New questions appear behind active conversations.</b>  New chats can't "jump to the front of the line" by hijacking typing focus from a current chat. Incoming chat windows appear behind existing chat windows.</span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: start;"><br /></b></span><span style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: start;">Auto-reconnect</b><span style="text-align: start;">.  The webchat client does a better job of cleanly reconnecting after brief network dropouts. </span></span><br /><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></div><div><b>Attention-grabbing disconnect alerts.</b>   When network problems totally disconnect you from our server, we'll alert you with the familiar "sonar ping" sound on a 30 second loop.  And if you have <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/clients-web.html#desktop-notifications" target="_blank">Desktop Notifications</a> enabled in Firefox or Chrome, you'll also receive a visual alert in the same style that you would for an incoming chat, even if you have the webchat client minimized or hidden behind other applications.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxXPLqnUyaClBjNgqB7-FX7djC88xMjbbzTVuuGLXUWmcaxED3Ai3ae_wBP8Pk2hYzIYU6CGT_40c0vnD8z9CeEa9gkUzYkXROKyGNUzoae04snB4ATRgqpanOZ6trQbyGc2fpV7swH4/s1600/disconnected-desktop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxXPLqnUyaClBjNgqB7-FX7djC88xMjbbzTVuuGLXUWmcaxED3Ai3ae_wBP8Pk2hYzIYU6CGT_40c0vnD8z9CeEa9gkUzYkXROKyGNUzoae04snB4ATRgqpanOZ6trQbyGc2fpV7swH4/s1600/disconnected-desktop.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desktop alert above system tray showing disconnect.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Character counter for SMS questions appears all the time</b>, not just when composing.  It's a bright orange 140 character countdown in the top right conversation window corner that only shows up for SMS messages.  The webchat client has had it since the beginning, but until now, it only showed up when the librarian was actively typing.  Now it is there all the time, as a <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/incoming-sms-appearance.html" target="_blank">further alert that you've got someone texting</a>, in addition to an optional special queue avatar.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheROz1s92OCt84V1HnbgdSVH_M0awGEf3APYBAEb_mwDXfNAkDP2nhgclOLbgLJZTqE2qzB5aNCzHxbm_6Qtqq7w4I6pcf1DHpPuZqQYV7Q1TqwQ4ibBZtIqDMFfpyIkGx_TmmNOP6tpM/s1600/character-countdown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheROz1s92OCt84V1HnbgdSVH_M0awGEf3APYBAEb_mwDXfNAkDP2nhgclOLbgLJZTqE2qzB5aNCzHxbm_6Qtqq7w4I6pcf1DHpPuZqQYV7Q1TqwQ4ibBZtIqDMFfpyIkGx_TmmNOP6tpM/s320/character-countdown.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orange character countdown for SMS in top right corner. <br />This queue also has a special cell phone avatar for further<br />alerting that the patron is texting.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></p>

Happy Monday! We've rolled out an updated version of our native webchat client.  This release includes significant improvements that simplify staffing workflows and increase robustness.  Let's take a look!Flexible queue selection dialog.  Have a lot …

LibraryH3lp mobile widgets are Boopsie compatible

<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7B2xgjHr0wzM8ru4LwMD15HZgaQr5HwEjt7AbSLMnlb5o_hX7Hr06Ur0tcJr4UImej67hvqqgApPszbaTAcH7zmcnhoGhw-ldHX2HWW0Okk4d3Lh3rGeD4lqIQE87tvNqhMwNFLaAwMhP/s1600/boopsie_star_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7B2xgjHr0wzM8ru4LwMD15HZgaQr5HwEjt7AbSLMnlb5o_hX7Hr06Ur0tcJr4UImej67hvqqgApPszbaTAcH7zmcnhoGhw-ldHX2HWW0Okk4d3Lh3rGeD4lqIQE87tvNqhMwNFLaAwMhP/s200/boopsie_star_logo.png" width="200" /></a></div>In a recent post, we talked a bit about how widgets have URLs. Just a quick follow-up for those of you thinking of or already using <a href="http://www.boopsie.com/" target="_blank">Boopsie</a>. Our <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/mobile-widget" target="_blank">mobile widgets</a> are Boopsie compatible!<br /><br />Do you use other products you'd like to see integrated with LibraryH3lp? Send us an <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=support@libraryh3lp.com" target="_blank">e-mail</a> or leave a comment below and we'll see what we can do!</p>

In a recent post, we talked a bit about how widgets have URLs. Just a quick follow-up for those of you thinking of or already using Boopsie. Our mobile widgets are Boopsie compatible!Do you use other products you'd like to see integrated with Library…

New! In-place FAQ Editing

<p>Starting today, you can <a href="https://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-questions" target="_blank">edit your templates and FAQs directly in your FAQ site</a>. In-place editing provides good visual feedback and streamlines workflow. You can see changes instantly and make use of the powerful search feature to edit existing questions.  This update is in place on all LibraryH3lp servers and My Customer Cloud.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlXGir6ad4mL2OjmY7vkXdlE_nqqLRpGHY9KnxTMgNJMjywCDSA6Ik7uscInynOVEplhFU-zDPXznUjHCJtHoocDcKGqAU-q-SCF0fb2wys6Uj0hIyF1hL_-Ovq135vZcF-r0FAgGH7f1/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-21+at+9.21.42+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlXGir6ad4mL2OjmY7vkXdlE_nqqLRpGHY9KnxTMgNJMjywCDSA6Ik7uscInynOVEplhFU-zDPXznUjHCJtHoocDcKGqAU-q-SCF0fb2wys6Uj0hIyF1hL_-Ovq135vZcF-r0FAgGH7f1/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-21+at+9.21.42+AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">login icon</td></tr></tbody></table>To get started editing your <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/faq-intro" target="_blank">FAQ</a>, you'll need to login. Your FAQ site will pick up any existing login from the admin site or the webchat client. There is also a very small, subtle icon at the top right corner of your FAQ page that you can use to login. We went with subtle since you probably won't want your patrons to notice it.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IYR2VQvjMGAuKOZQBRNkaVIpEbwz5-ZS-akJj7DkaxoT7gdCpnLKb919ktxuhjjpzMdvKw7AcJjxcpARzEnkLHxG1kb9lQQeiSAkMO33OwGn-wTdgPdn0N_g-pCf8g-QmB6ey6LK-rUY/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-21+at+9.27.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IYR2VQvjMGAuKOZQBRNkaVIpEbwz5-ZS-akJj7DkaxoT7gdCpnLKb919ktxuhjjpzMdvKw7AcJjxcpARzEnkLHxG1kb9lQQeiSAkMO33OwGn-wTdgPdn0N_g-pCf8g-QmB6ey6LK-rUY/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-01-21+at+9.27.24+AM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">edit & logout icons</td></tr></tbody></table>Once you're logged in, you'll see a small pencil icon in the top right corner, along with a logout icon. The pencil icon lets you turn on editing mode. From there, you hover over portions of your FAQ site to see the edit controls for editing templates and content.<br /><br />There is more to come.  Soon, you'll have tools that will let you create additional FAQ sites within a single account.  You'll be able to have a mix of public-facing and authentication-required FAQs. And, you'll be able to fully manage user permissions.<br /><br />If you have any troubles editing your FAQ, want to create a new (or additional) FAQ, or want to change FAQ-wide settings (CNAME, theme, queue, e-mail, authentication required), please e-mail support.<br /><br /></p>

Starting today, you can edit your templates and FAQs directly in your FAQ site. In-place editing provides good visual feedback and streamlines workflow. You can see changes instantly and make use of the powerful search feature to edit existing questi…

Did you know that your LibraryH3lp widget has its own URL?

<p>The most common ways of <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/putting-widget-on-page" target="_blank">embedding LibraryH3lp chat widgets on a web page</a> is via code snippets or iframes. But if you strip back all the HTML and JavaScript, a widget boils down to a simple URL.<br /><br /><a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/customizing-widgets-by-hand" target="_blank">Widget URLs</a> take patrons to your Ask a Librarian service with a single click and may be more effective in boosting engagement than only advertising links to your Ask a Librarian page.<br /><br />Widget URLs follow this format on the main US server:<br /><ul><li>widget attached to a queue:<br />https://libraryh3lp.com/chat/<i>QUEUE-NAME</i>@chat.libraryh3lp.com</li><li>widget attached to a user*:<br />https://libraryh3lp.com/chat/<i>USERNAME</i>@libraryh3lp.com</li></ul><div><br />We auto-detect mobile devices and send them a <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/mobile-widget" target="_blank">mobile-friendly widget</a>, so you can tweet regular widget URLs to your patrons who are more likely to be on a smart device.  But, here are what our mobile widget URLs look like, in case you'd like to see them on a regular computer:</div><div><ul><li>mobile widget attached to a queue:<br />https://libraryh3lp.com/mobile/<i>QUEUE-NAME</i>@chat.libraryh3lp.com</li><li>mobile widget attached to a user*:<br />https://libraryh3lp.com/mobile/<i>USERNAME</i>@libraryh3lp.com</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>Widget URLs for regionals are very similar. Prepend the regional abbreviation (ca, eu, sg) to libraryh3lp.com in two places. An example for the Canadian regional server:<br /><br />https://ca.libraryh3lp.com/chat/<i>QUEUE-NAME</i>@chat.ca.libraryh3lp.com.</div><div><br /></div><div>And if you want to pimp out your widget, <a href="http://docs.libraryh3lp.com/customizing-widgets-by-hand" target="_blank">add some arguments</a> to your URL.<br /><br />*<span style="font-size: 85%;">Note: chats for specific users are treated as private conversations and are not logged, so they will not show up in Activity or Reports. They also can't be transferred. To provide logging and transfer capabilities for an individual, create a queue and assign only that one user to it.</span></div><div><br /></div></p>

The most common ways of embedding LibraryH3lp chat widgets on a web page is via code snippets or iframes. But if you strip back all the HTML and JavaScript, a widget boils down to a simple URL.Widget URLs take patrons to your Ask a Librarian service …