This section is managed by your library so content may vary, and some libraries might not set up this area immediately. Often, you will see the library logo, news, and links.
There is a chat function within Connections and some libraries choose to enable this, if they can be sure staff will be available for online chats. Therefore, you may see a “Chat with reference desk” icon - if there isn't one, this hasn't been enabled.
If there is one, then it will appear as either active (just click the button to start a real-time online chat with a librarian) or inactive (meaning no-one is available for chatting). In the image above, you can see the button is inactive.