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Information Services & Resources

Best Practices - Under Construction

Service and turnaround time

Protocol

Heading:
Greet patron, include a generic notice of thanks for using the service, refer directly to subject of patron's inquiry.

Body:
Cite sources fully.

Signature:
A signature should be a part of every closure.  The librarian signature may contain librarian name or initials, title, institution and any conatct information, as is prescribed by supervisor. 
Examples:  "We hope the information we've provided will assist with your research"; "I hope you find this information helpful"; "We hope this answers your question.  If you have further questions, please contact us again and we will be glad to provide additional assistance..."  (International Federation of Library Associations, 2005)

Procedures

1. Identify status of client:

Check the “UW connection” to determine client’s status. Clients will be categorized under the following:

(a) Primary clients: UW faculty, students, staff
(b) Secondary clients: UW alumni, local area residents
(c) Other: non-UW affiliation

2. Handling questions:

Primary clients: respond to queries in similar manner as dealing with queries at Information Desk. Refer questions as appropriate.

Secondary clients: respond to queries and refer as appropriate. Depending on the nature of the question referrals may be to other Library/University Departments or Public Library.

Other (Non-UW affiliation): reply with “canned” message. Note: questions relating to unique or specific UW collections should be responded to and refer as appropriate

3. Referrals:

Often questions may need to be referred to Subject Librarians, other Library Departments or specific individuals. Below are some of the more common referrals. For specific names and aliases list, see Email Addresses & Aliases on the Home page.

* Students at a Distance and Co-op students on work term (access/service/troubleshooting)
* Barcodes, accounts and other Circulation related problems
* History of local companies (e.g. Seagram”s)
* Questions relating to specific courses
* Library complaints and/or other public relations questions

NOTE: Always respond to clients indicating their request has been referred and to whom. Do not encourage a specific time-line expectation, as referrals might not result in immediate action by the 3rd party due to availability. Always contact/check with subject librarian/individuals to see if referral is appropriate or to notify them of referral.

4. Responding to Questions:

The service provided will be similar to that given at the Information Desk. Disclaimer: medical and legal information is not provided. The types of responses may include:

* Brief factual data: always provide complete source of information in response

* Selection of resources: assist clients with selection of appropriate electronic databases/ejournals or web resources

* Search strategy instruction: suggest search terms and provide basic search strategy instruction

* Accessing and Using Electronic Services: provide instruction for placing requests/holds, Interlibrary Loans requests, accessing course reserves, use of proxy

5. Further Course of Action:

If client has complex information request and requires detailed instruction, do either:

* Recommend client come in to the Library for further assistance
* Recommend client contact appropriate subject specialist librarian

Note: When recommending the client contacts the subject specialist, always provide contact information in your response.

6. Automated Replies:

Currently, there is a single disadvantage to working with the alias: the patrons occasionally receive an automatic reply from a service member, who is out of the office. The group is addressing this issue with the Library Systems. A work-around was put in place immediately: a standard reply will be added as the 1st line of the automated reply, notifying the patron that another staff member is available to help with the query. Here is a suggested example: If you just submitted an email reference question, please be patient; another staff member will help you soon.


November 26, 2012