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User Services Intern and Fieldwork Training: Creating FAQs

This guide is meant to act as a training experience for User Services Interns and Fieldworkers.

What Makes a Good FAQ?

What Makes a Good FAQ?

  • Asked persistently: multiple, different users ask about a topic across different days/weeks/semester. This information comes from recorded experiences in LibChat and at the Research Help Desk.
  • Searched for persistently: LibAnswers query data shows many searches related to the topic across multiple browser sessions

FAQs are sometimes created to:

  • Directing traffic: There's a need to direct users to a page, tool, or resource that's been moved or discontinued
  • Communicating library information: FAQs are often used to consolidate building and service information from various library webpages

LibAnswers Resources

Draft an FAQ Entry

Login to LibAnswers

This video demonstrates how to sign-in to the LibAnswers App and LibChat service.

Create an FAQ Entry in LibAnswers

This video demonstrates how to draft an FAQ in the Draft FAQ group.

Edit an Existing FAQ Entry or Draft

This video demonstrates how to navigate to existing FAQ entries and drafts for the purpose of editing.

 

FAQ Entry Workflow

FAQ Creation Workflow

FAQ stands for frequently asked question. The User Services Division maintains the database of FAQ entries using LibAnswers (referred to as the "knowledgebase"), and these short articles address common questions and concerns users have about the library. These are the steps involved with creating and publishing FAQs to the LibAnswers FAQ Knowledgebase:

  1. Need: Library staff identify a need for an FAQ entry (usually with search and LibChat data)
  2. First Draft: Librarians or Interns draft the FAQ entry using the Create an FAQ worksheet
  3. Peer Review: Find someone to review your FAQ entry draft for accuracy and clarity. This can be another intern or subject librarian.
    1. User Services Interns should use the LibAnswers Teams chat to ask for peer reviewers.
    2. Librarians should approve their drafts with the LibAnswers Admin, (hanoszko@uwm.edu)
  4. Second Draft: Create a new FAQ entry in LibAnswers saved to the Draft FAQs Group (this should be the only group interns have access to)
  5. Final Review: Notify Heidi, the instructional design librarian, when your FAQ draft is ready for final review (email: hanoszko@uwm.edu)
  6. Publication: Heidi moves the draft FAQ to the General FAQ Group, assigns it a topic and keywords
  7. Maintenance: The FAQ is then reviewed for accuracy and broken links 2x annually (managed and overseen by the instructional design librarian)

Create an FAQ Entry Worksheet