FAQ | Privacy | UC Library Homepages

Who will I be chatting with?
How do I access online resources when I am not on campus?
Who may use this service?
Why is my name and email address requested?
What kinds of questions do you answer?
How do I prevent disconnects and crashes while using the service?

• Who will I be chatting with?

  You may be chatting with a librarian from a UC campus library, or from a library participating in the national 24/7 Reference Cooperative. We can answer most questions, and if not, we will refer you to specialists on your own campus.

• How do I access online resources when I am not on campus?

  Methods to access licensed electronic journals and databases from off campus vary from campus to campus. Most UC campuses use either a proxy server or virtual private network or both. To see what your campus recommends, please click on your campus link

  Berkeley  Davis  Irvine  Los Angeles  Merced  Riverside
  San Diego  San Francisco  Santa Barbara  Santa Cruz

• Who may use this service?

  This service is intended primarily for current UC students, faculty, and staff. Anyone may use the service, but we can provide only limited assistance to those outside the campus community.

• Why is my name and email address requested?

  We ask for a name so we know how to address you. You may use any name you wish. We ask for an email address in case we need to send follow-up information and to send the chat transcript to you if you request it. We may also contact you later requesting feedback on the service you received.

• What kinds of questions do you answer?

  This service is most useful for questions that require relatively short answers, for example:

  • To get information on library services and facilities
  • To verify bibliographic citation information
  • To request addresses/phone numbers/Web sites for companies, associations, or government agencies
  • For help in using library databases

  For more in-depth questions we may follow up with you through email or refer you to your own campus library for more specialized assistance.

• How do I prevent disconnects and crashes while using the service?
  • Use Internet Explorer 6 or 7, or Netscape 6.01 or older, and have "session cookies" enabled. You may use Netscape, Firefox, Opera, or Safari, but may not have full functionality.
  • Once you have clicked the Connect button to begin the chat session, do not use the Back, Forward, or Refresh buttons on your browser. There are forward, back, and refresh buttons within the software's shared Web page frame that you can use.
  • Do not try to bookmark sites or print anything during the session. At the end of the session, you will receive a list of live links, which will allow you to go back and visit all of the pages the librarian showed you. You can bookmark anything you want at that time. If you try to bookmark during the session, you may be disconnected.
  • To open a second browser while connected, use the Start menu or Taskbar shortcut on your computer, not Control “n” or File "new."

To receive a complete transcript of your chat session, including all chat and links to Web sites visited, enter your email address. While session logs may be used for education and research, all personal information will be removed.

Privacy

Our chat software vendor, QuestionPoint 24/7 Reference, retains a copy of the chat transcripts. Before saving the transactions in its service history, the vendor deletes personal information (e.g., names, addresses, phone numbers, library card or other identifying numbers, and portions of email addresses before the @ symbol) from fields designed to collect such information. The company may use transcripts only to:

• Monitor and improve the overall quality of service
• Develop aggregated statistical data for reporting (number of requests received, number of requests completed, average length of sessions)

In order to better help you, the librarian may ask for information regarding purpose (for instance, is this for a class assignment?) or class level (undergraduate? graduate?). Any information given to the librarian will become part of the session transcript.

Information collected about any person using this service is not published or shared voluntarily with any other entity.

An email address is not required to use this service. If you provide one, it will be used only to provide service from this site. No email addresses will be sold or given to any other entities. We may use the email address to:

• Send a transcript of the session to you for your reference
• Follow up on an incomplete session

Links to campus libraries’ homepages:

Berkeley  Davis  Irvine  Los Angeles  Merced  Riverside
San Diego  San Francisco  Santa Barbara  Santa Cruz

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last updated September 30, 2009