Customer Service in Academic Libraries: Tales from the Front Line (Chandos Information Professional Series)

The term 'customer service' is not new to the academic library community. Academic libraries exist to serve the needs of their community, and hence customer service is essential. However, the term can be applied in a variety of ways, from a thin veneer of politeness, to an all-encompassing ethic focussing organisational and individual attention on understanding and meeting the needs of the customer. For customers, the library’s Front Line team is the ‘human face’ of the library. How well they do their job can have a massive impact on the quality of the learning experience for many students, and can directly impact upon their success. The importance of their role, and the quality of the services they offer, should not be underestimated – but in an increasingly digital world, and with potentially several thousand individuals visiting every day (whether in person or online), each with their own agendas and requirements, how can the library’s Front Line team deliver the personal service that each of these individuals need? __Customer Service in Academic Libraries__ contributes to what academic libraries, as a community, do really well - the sharing of best practice. It brings together, in one place, examples of how Front Line teams from libraries across a wide geographical area - Hong Kong, Australia, Turkey and the United Kingdom – work to ‘get it right for their customers’. Between them, they cover a range of institutions including research-intensive, mixed HE/FE, private establishments and shared campuses. All have their own tales to tell, their own emphases, their own ways of doing things – and all bring their own examples of best practice, which it is hoped readers will find useful in their own context. * Discusses ‘customer service’ in a library setting * Translates ‘management theory’ into useful practice information * Examines building relationships, meeting customer needs, and marketing and communication * Provides examples of practical experience grounded in recent, transferable experience

The term 'customer service' is not new to the academic library community. Academic libraries exist to serve the needs of their community, and hence customer service is essential. However, the term can be applied in a variety of ways, from a thin veneer of politeness, to an all-encompassing ethic focussing organisational and individual attention on understanding and meeting the needs of the customer. For customers, the library’s Front Line team is the ‘human face’ of the library. How well they do their job can have a massive impact on the quality of the learning experience for many students, and can directly impact upon their success. The importance of their role, and the quality of the services they offer, should not be underestimated – but in an increasingly digital world, and with potentially several thousand individuals visiting every day (whether in person or online), each with their own agendas and requirements, how can the library’s Front Line team deliver the personal service that each of these individuals need? Customer Service in Academic Libraries contributes to what academic libraries, as a community, do really well - the sharing of best practice. It brings together, in one place, examples of how Front Line teams from libraries across a wide geographical area - Hong Kong, Australia, Turkey and the United Kingdom – work to ‘get it right for their customers’. Between them, they cover a range of institutions including research-intensive, mixed HE/FE, private establishments and shared campuses. All have their own tales to tell, their own emphases, their own ways of doing things – and all bring their own examples of best practice, which it is hoped readers will find useful in their own context.

• Discusses ‘customer service’ in a library setting
• Translates ‘management theory’ into useful practice information
• Examines building relationships, meeting customer needs, and marketing and communication
• Provides examples of practical experience grounded in recent, transferable experience

Content: Front-matter,Copyright,Dedication,List of Figures,List of Abbreviations,About the Editor,About the Contributors,Acknowledgments,IntroductionEntitled to full textChapter 1 - “Customer Service”—What’s the Big Deal?, Pages 1-16 Chapter 2 - Staffing the Front Line, Pages 17-29 Chapter 3 - Marshalling a Century of Experience: Customizing Services for the Next Generation of Users, Pages 31-50 Chapter 4 - Customer Service in a 24/7 Environment: The Exeter Experience, Pages 51-66 Chapter 5 - Customer Service at Victoria University, St. Albans Campus Library, Pages 67-82 Chapter 6 - Innovations in User Services at Sabancı University Information Center, Pages 83-101 Chapter 7 - Library Services for Falmouth University and the University of Exeter, Penryn Campus: Listening to Our Customers in a Shared Services Environment, Pages 103-114 Chapter 8 - Where Next for the “Front Line”?, Pages 115-119 Bibliography, Pages 121-123 Index, Pages 125-129 Customer Service in Academic Libraries' draws on practical experience to explore the concept, nature, and benefits of an organizational culture based upon the principles and practices of customer service, in its fullest sense. The term 'customer service' is not new to the academic library community. Academic libraries exist to serve the needs of their community, and hence customer service is essential. However, the term can be applied in a variety of ways, from a thin veneer of politeness, to an all-encompassing ethic focusing organizational and individual attention on understanding and meeting the needs of the customer. The book begins by defining 'customer service' and related terms, then looks at building relationships, meeting customer needs, and marketing and communication. Remaining chapters concern developing people, measuring impact, maintaining quality, and a series of case studies giving practical examples from professionals This book defines the role of customer service in the academic library, focusing on how to build relationships, meet customer needs, develop people, measure impact, and more