LibAnswers for Libraries - Your Communication Platform

Connect With Patrons Anywhere

LibChat is the premier chat reference tool used by thousands of libraries worldwide. Comprehensive chat functionality, screensharing, file-sharing, proactive chat widgets, and integrated workflows make LibChat an easy choice.

LibChat Helps you Answer Your Patron's Questions in Real Time

Create chat departments that reflect your workflow & structure.

• Unlimited Chat Departments - Build an unlimited number of chat departments that reflect your departments, buildings, branches, etc.
• Assign Staffers to Chat Depts. - Reduce signal-to-noise ratio and assign specific staffers to monitor specific chat departments.
• Chat Departments Cascade Functionality - Depending on availability, patron chats cascade through your available online departments to reach an available librarian.

• Toggle On / Off Chat Department Monitoring - Choose which departments you're monitoring with easy on / off monitoring.
• Personal Chat Widget - Each LibChatter has the ability to create a personal chat widget, great for embedding into your LibGuides, so patrons can chat with you directly.
• Canned Messages - Use system-wide or create your own 'canned' messages to make chatting faster and easier.
• Customizable Alert Sounds - Prefer a high-pitched ping to a low-pitched sound? Customize your LibChat alert sounds.
• Desktop Notifications - If you've got your browser minimized or you're working in a application like Word or Outlook, LibChat's desktop notifications alert you right on the screen of new chats.
• Turn a Chat into a Ticket for Further Followup - If you need to do more research, turn any chat into a ticket for further follow-up.
• Transfer Chat @ Any Time - Need to move this chat exchange to another department or subject expert? You can!
• Search & Share Your FAQs - If you know the answer to a patron's question is in your FAQ Knowledge base, search and share right from the operator dashboard.

• Customizable Chat Widgets - Choose between four different widget types (In-Page, Button Style, Slide-Out Tab, or Floating Bottom-Right) and unlimited customization options.
• Proactive Chat - Specific widgets that can be set to pop/slide out after a customizable period of time to let your patron know LibChat is available.
• Automated Prompts & Login Forms - Allow patrons to chat completely anonymously OR build a login form. Built-in prompts throughout the chatting process allow enable you to get crucial information for post-chat follow-up.
• Chat Rating & Feedback Box - Empower patrons to rate their chat experience with a feedback box. Subscribers to the NPS® Tool can choose to use an NPS® rating field on their chat widgets. 
• Enable File Uploads - Choose whether patrons can upload / send files during a chat exchange.
• LibAuth Enabled - Only want registered cardholders or patrons to be able to launch a chat? Enable LibAuth which works with CAS, LDAP, AD, Shibboleth, and more!

LibChat is built with your patrons in mind.

• Screensharing - Start a real-time screensharing session with recording functionality.
• Full Transcript Email - Patrons can opt-in at any time to get the full transcript of their chat exchange via email.
• Emoji - We live in the age of emojis! Patrons, and you too, can express themselves with our built-in emoji library.

These features help your team administer and maintain their LibChat service:

• 'Who's Online' - View, in real time, all of your current chat operators.
• Force Logout - Did someone forget to logout before they went home? Force a chat operator offline from anywhere.
• Privacy Scrub - Turn on privacy scrubbing and completely remove all patron info as well as the full history of their chat exchange while still retaining all relevant statistics.
• Ban Users IP - Getting spammed on chat? Ban a user via their IP at anytime.
• LibChat for Internal Chat - Use LibChat for chatting internally with coworkers!

Filter & Search transcripts across keywords, timeframes, operators, chat departments, widget type, & more

Missed Chat stats show the chats you didn't catch in time but could turn into tickets for advanced customer service follow-up

View chat stats & transcripts by Rating, Browser Type, and Referring URL for powerful and actionable data

Chat Coverage Charts highlight the hours of chat you monitor with hourly, daily, and monthly breakdowns