Customer Service in Libraries: Best Practices

by Charles Harmon (Editor), Michael Messina (Editor)

Overview

In this book, nine librarians from across the country describe their libraries' best practices in this key area. Their contributions range from all-encompassing customer service policies and models any library can both adapt and be proud of to micro-approaches that emphasize offering excellent user-focused technology planning, picture book arrangement with patrons in mind, Web 2.0 tools to connect users with the library, establishing good service delivery chains, and making your library fantastic for homeschoolers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810887480
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/13/2013
Series:	Best Practices in Library Services
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	118
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Charles Harmon is an Executive Editor for the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. His background includes work in special, public, and school libraries.

Michael Messina is a reference librarian at the State University of New York's Maritime College. He has also worked as a researcher at The Brooklyn Academy of Music Archives. The former publisher of Applause Theatre & Cinema Books/Limelight Editions, he is a coeditor of Acts of War: Iraq and Afghanistan in Seven Plays (Northwestern University Press).

Table of Contents

• Introduction by Audra Caplan, Former President of the Public Library Association
• “STARS: Launching a Customer-Service Model in Riverside County” by Mark Smith, Riverside County, CA Library System
• “Technically Speaking” by Karen C. Knox, Orion Township Public Library, MI
• “Reader Advisory at Darien Library” by Alan Kirk Gray, Darien Library, CT
• “The Darien Library’s Picture Book Reorganization: A Collection Designed with Patrons in Mind” by Kiera Parrott, Darien Library, CT
• “Service Delivery Chains as a Strategy for Improving Library Customer Service” by John J. Huber, J. Huber & Associates, Tulsa, OK
• “The Collaborative Conversation: Connecting Libraries and Readers using Web 2.0 Tools” by Judi Repman, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro
• “Improving Customer Service by Utilizing an Existing Technology Innovatively” by Adriana Gonzalez, Texas A & M University Libraries, College Station
• “Service is Personal: The Howard County Library System Customer Service Program” by Lewis Belfont, Howard County Library System, MD
• “The Buzz on Patron Service” by Shannon Hodgens Halikias, Lisle Library District, IL
• “Make Your Library Fantastic for Homeschoolers” by Abby Johnson, New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, IN

Editorial Reviews

Ask any librarian what makes a library different from a bookstore, and some will likely respond with “Computers!” or “Programs!” The contributors to this volume would ultimately argue that “Customer service!” should be the top of the list. Although the availability of computers and free programs might draw in library users initially, it is the customer service they encounter that will bring them back. This work offers food for thought on diverse topics, such as recognizing the benefit of reorganizing collections, using technology to improve customer service, reaching out to homeschooling families, and creating and establishing new customer-service initiatives. Nine case studies are presented, and most of them end with notes or a list of resources, allowing users to delve further into the topic. Through these proven best practices, this book will help librarians revitalize customer-service policies at their own libraries and inspire them to do more.

Booklist

Ask any librarian what makes a library different from a bookstore, and some will likely respond with “Computers!” or “Programs!” The contributors to this volume would ultimately argue that “Customer service!” should be the top of the list. Although the availability of computers and free programs might draw in library users initially, it is the customer service they encounter that will bring them back. This work offers food for thought on diverse topics, such as recognizing the benefit of reorganizing collections, using technology to improve customer service, reaching out to homeschooling families, and creating and establishing new customer-service initiatives. Nine case studies are presented, and most of them end with notes or a list of resources, allowing users to delve further into the topic. Through these proven best practices, this book will help librarians revitalize customer-service policies at their own libraries and inspire them to do more.

Booklist