We’ve promoted the Himmelfarb Library Ask Us chat on our blog before. But did you know that the Ask Us chat is not automated, it’s staffed by real people? Not only are we real people, but we’re all Himmelfarb employees in the Reference and Instruction department! You might have attended webinars we’ve hosted, had us embedded in your classes, or just seen us around on campus. We thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves, so you can get to know the people on the other end of the chat, answering your questions.
Paul Levett, Reference and Instructional Librarian, has been with Himmelfarb for 15 years. He enjoys getting literature review questions, and recalled this memorable interaction he had on chat:
In July 2020 I had an IM chat that turned into an hour long telephone conversation with a Doctoral student about her dissertation research. It was good to be able to educate her on what statistical and analytical tools were available online through Himmelfarb, the School of Medicine, and GW, to support her research.
Outside of work, Paul is an avid cyclist. He commutes to Foggy Bottom on an electric bike he converted from a pedal bike! If there’s one thing he wants our chat users to know, it’s that we can help connect you with our full text subscriptions.
Stacy Brody, Reference and Instructional Librarian, is one of our newest staff members. As of 3/16/2021, she’s been with us for about 55 weeks! Her favorite kinds of questions to get are about locating references. If the patron only has part of the citation, “it’s like detective work.” Her most memorable chat interactions have offered her opportunities to learn more about GW and the resources offered: “a patron asked about data storage and sharing options, which led me to learn more about the resources Himmelfarb, SMHS, SPH, and GWU offer!” When she’s not at work, you can find Stacy hiking, wine tasting, or sourdough baking. Stacy wants our patrons to know that even if you have a challenging question you should reach out via chat. We can always escalate from chat to a WebEx, phone call, or email, depending on what the question calls for!
Elaine Sullo, Associate Director for Reference and Instruction, has been with Himmelfarb for 14.5 years. Her favorite questions to get via chat are requests for the full text of an article. It’s instant gratification for a patron when we provide the article. During the pandemic, Elaine has gotten into acrylic pour painting, and that’s become her main hobby! She wants our patrons to know our reference team is here to help you with whatever you need.
Tom Harrod, Research Support Librarian, has been at Himmelfarb for over 10 years. While he doesn’t have a favorite type of question, he enjoys being able to get people the information they’re looking for quickly and accurately. Recently, Tom and his wife welcomed their first child! It’s been a major adjustment, but being able to spend more time with their daughter in the early months of her life has been wonderful. He wants our patrons to know that it’s always a real person on the other end of the chat, and never an automated service!
My name is Susan Koenig, Reference Specialist, and I have been with Himmelfarb for about 5 years now. I really enjoy questions that challenge me in some way - to locate a hard-to-find reference, suss out the particulars of a tricky search, that kind of thing. I have a number of memorable interactions from our chat service, but my most memorable are the ones where I develop a working relationship with the patron on the other end. For instance, I had a MPH student who reached out via chat, I helped her find some statistics and articles, and from then on whenever she needed help at the library she would reach out to me. I love that our chat service can help us build those relationships with our patrons. Outside of work, I spend a lot of time these days working on my Master of Science in Library Science. If I’m not working on schoolwork, you can find me hiking or leading (DMing) a Dungeons & Dragons game for a group of friends - we’ve been going for over 2 years now! If there’s one thing I want our patrons to know, it’s that we’re here for you. We know how stressful your programs can be, and we’re here to help. If we can’t fix the problem ourselves, we’ll do our best to figure out who can and connect you with them!
If you connect with us via chat in the evenings, you might have spoken with Samrawit Sisay, our evening Reference Specialist. Samrawit usually monitors chat under the “Himmelfarb Reference Desk” account, so if you see that moniker you’re most likely chatting with her. Samrawit has been with Himmelfarb for a year. Her favorite kinds of questions to get are finding articles a patron is having trouble searching for, because it’s satisfying to find the article and help the patron out. Her most memorable chat interaction was helping a new student learn to navigate Himmelfarb’s resources. Though it took some time, they were really grateful! When she’s not working, Samrawit enjoys crocheting and playing video games. She wants our patrons to know that she’s new to the Himmelfarb team and hopes our chat users can be patient with her as she is still learning everyday!
As always, if you have any questions you can reach out to us via our Ask Us chat service Monday through Thursday 8:30AM to 8PM EST and Friday 8:30AM to 5PM EST, or email us any time at himmelfarb@gwu.edu. We monitor the chat . We look forward to hearing from you!
