Top 10 Customer Service Skills for Library Staff

The Learning Round Table of the American Library Association offers their top ten customer service skills for library staff:

1. Greet every customer
2. Be aware of non-verbal clues
3. Listen
4. Restate the problem or question
5. Be empathetic
6. Provide alternatives to “No”
7. Reserve judgment
8. Get (back) to them as soon as possible
9. Follow your gut instinct
10. Thank them for using the library

Go to full article for helpful details on each customer service skill.

In a time when funding is at an all-time low it can be easy to be discouraged and feel helpless, but no matter what, we always have control over how we interact with patrons.
~ Stephenie Walker

Strategies for Job-Seekers Using Public Computers

A recent thread on the Publib Discussion List for Public Librarians aired ideas for public access computers that are used heavily by job-seekers.  The issue addressed is of patrons having a difficult time completing an online job application and/or filling out an unemployment application claim on computers that have a 1-hour time limit.

These two posts from Claudia Race provide ideas you might want to try at your library:

• [Publib] Public Access Computers for Job Seekers Claudia Race
• [Publib] Public Access Computers for Job Seekers Claudia Race

Get Marketing Ideas from These PR Award-Winners

Find inspiration and marketing ideas for your library from these 2010 award-winning library public relations campaigns:

• “Return the Books” low-cost overdue fine amnesty program to help San Francisco Public Library patrons cope with the economic downturn by removing an obstacle – overdue fines – allowing them to resume using library resources. The successful campaign netted a 23.6% return on overdue materials.
• “Look to Your Library… Especially Now” campaign guides Washington state residents to free resources available from the library. Extended library hours, hands-on demonstrations, workshops, and web resources led to increased use of database resources, including a 403%  increase in use of Résumé Builder. (King County Library System, Issaquah, Washington)

Get more inspiring library marketing ideas at the 2010 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award winners page.

The John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award recognizes and honors outstanding achievement in library public relations.

Best Small Library in America 2010

The Glen Carbon Centennial Library — in a southern Illinois town of about 12,000 — is the winner of Library Journal’s Best Small Library in America Award 2010.

Here are some quotes from the announcement in Library Journal:

• [The] attitude of doing whatever it takes to encourage every patron to come back permeates GCCL and is the foundation that makes it a model small library.
• The staff came up with the GCCL motto, “More than you expect.” That motto is visible on every print and digital publication of GCCL.
  
• In addition to a “Suggestion Blog,” the GCCL staff came up with a “No to yes log.” Every time they have to say “no” to a patron request, they enter it in the wiki log, and at their regular meetings, the management team goes over the log and tries to figure out ways to turn the “no” into a “yes.” Staffers have the autonomy to make many changes on the spot, under Hughes’s mantra: “Use your best judgment in the best interest of the patron. There are never any bad consequences when the patron leaves happy.”
• Sometimes, because of these tough times, we just provide a bright, warm, friendly face. We definitely believe that we’re the best.
• Although the community has not grown much, in the past two years 2,313 new borrowers have registered, more than 35 percent of the patron total of 6430. The door count is up 33 percent from 2007.

Library Journal’s annual award, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was created in 2005 to encourage and showcase the exemplary work of libraries serving populations under 25,000.  The winning library receives a $15,000 cash prize from the Gates Foundation, and two library representatives attend the Public Library Association (PLA) conference.

See guidelines for 2011 nominations.

Ideas You Can Use in Book Discussion Groups & Bookclubs

The Programming Librarian blog (a publication of the ALA Public Programs Office) posted great ideas on the topic of  “how can I promote more interest in the book and get a discussion going?” and suggestions for keeping a book group running smoothly.

Examples of ideas in the posting include…

• starting a “Big Sister-Little Sister Reading Club”:
• pre-reading activities
• enhancing the discussion through a blog or Shelfari

Read the post to get details and more ideas.

How to Declare February as Library Lovers’ Month

Library Lovers’ Month is a month-long celebration of school, public, and private libraries of all types.

Declare February as a time for everyone, especially library support groups, to recognize the value of libraries.

Consider using some of the ideas at How to Love Your Library or these library-tested ideas to invite people to…

• Donate your time, money, and expertise to your library.
• Nominate your library as your community, school, corporate organization’s project for the year.
• Buy your library a subscription to a popular magazine.
• Honor a friend or relatives birthday with book for the library.
• Donate a book…or a whole shelf of books.

And remember to attend Library Legislative Day on February 16th!

Celebrate Teen Tech Week @ Your Library

Teen Tech Week is March 7 – 13, 2010.

It’s an American Library Association initiative encouraging teens to take advantage of libraries’ non-print resources.

The 2010 theme — Learn Create Share @ your library — is meant to foster teen creativity, and positions the library as a physical and virtual place for safe exploration of the many types of technology available at libraries (DVDs, music, audio books, etc.)

Here’s some stuff to help you celebrate at your library:

• activity & program ideas and booklists
• sample press releases

Book SLP performers in cooperation with local organizations to save $

From Mark Arend:

Talked with one of the performers this morning. He suggested cooperating with other organizations in town (nursing homes, schools, senior centers, service clubs, etc) to book performers and save money. We work with other libraries but don’t always think of these other groups.

He also said that he’d cut his fee for the offer of a back bedroom for the night, as he sleeps in a tent when he’s making the rounds of libraries for SLP performances.

Food For Fines at your library

If you’re thinking about trying a “Food For Fines” program at your library as an opportunity for the library to give back to the community, here are recent posts from the Publib discussion list that offer food for thought:

• [Publib] Food for fines revisited Melissa K. Davidson
• [Publib] Food For Fines Revisited Becky Tatar
• [Publib] Food for fines revisited Karen Mahnk
• [Publib] food for fines Elizabeth Fraser
• [Publib] Food for fines revisited Patrick Sweeney
• [Publib] Food for fines revisited Mary Soucie
• [Publib] Food for fines revisited Bonnie Mendes
• [Publib] Subject: Re: food for fines Marje Doyle

If your library has done a “Food For Fines” program and you have tips to share, please leave a comment!

September is Library Card Sign-up Month

If you haven’t already geared up for Library Card Sign-up Month, there’s still time to get the word out!  Here are ideas for how you can spread the word in your community:

• Download some graphics to add to your library’s website, blog, or signs
• Free public service announcements (PSAs) for your community’s newspaper and radio stations
• 52 Ways to Use Your Library Card (for each week of the year) (Word document)
• A Dozen Ways to Use the Giant “Smartest Card” During Library Card Sign Up Month (pdf)

Here’s a sample of great ideas you can get from A Dozen Ways to Use the Giant “Smartest Card” During Library Card Sign Up Month (pdf):

• Host a “First Library Card” event for babies. Invite new parents and their babies into
  the library for a new parent workshop with representatives from a local hospital or
  pediatrician’s office. Issue library cards to all of the babies, and take a photo of the
  parents and babies with the giant card. Send the photos to local newspapers and to
  parents.
• Ask local businesses to offer 5-10% discounts on a customer’s bill for the month of
  September if the customer shows a library card. Provide local businesses with an
  oversized card to show that they are a sponsor of the program and encourage them
  to display the card in their front windows.

[source: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/publicawareness/alainitiatives/otherinitiatives/card/librarycard.cfm]