A new normal: telecommunication for work and study
Following the COVID-19 outbreak, many of us have adapted to working or studying from home. To facilitate online consultations, the NIE Library launched the Library Chat service in April 2020 to ensure that staff and students get timely assistance from our librarians.
The Library Chat Service can be found at the red “Chat With Us” tab that is located on the home page of the library portal. Drop us a quick enquiry by typing your question in the chat box, and our librarians will respond to you shortly.
Library Chat Service: access from the red tab on the NIE Library portal
Questions that were received during the Circuit-Breaker and Phase 1 extension mostly revolved around requests for physical items in the library collections. Our librarians were happy to assist by sourcing for open-access electronic alternatives for these physical items, which have also been compiled into an online resource guide for your convenience. Our librarians also have been hard at work sourcing for more electronic textbooks for the new semester. Additionally, we handled the reservations of physical books so that users could collect their books from the SMART Locker when the library re-opened. Loan periods were extended, fines and membership fee payments were also put on hold during this period. These enquiries were handled through the Library Chat service and responded to in a timely manner.
The Library Chat Service will remain available in the semester starting August 2020. Check it out here.