WebJunction

Guides to Personal/Interpersonal Resources

According to library trainer Lori Reed, a tenet of the Disney Institute approach to customer service is “The front-line is the bottom line.” Libraries are in the people business every bit as much as Disneyland. As our profession contemplates the future of libraries, a recurring theme surfaces: that the public trust and faith in the institution is not so much about information retrieval or document management as it is about the intangibles—the relationships, the place, the environment for learning. It is top-notch customer service that will sustain and grow libraries.

You'll find a healthy selection of customer service courses in the Course Catalog under the Customer Service & Interpersonal Skills category—courses such as:

• Customers, Confrontation and Conflict
• Identifying Your Customers' Expectations

Guides to Personal/Interpersonal Resources

Overview

• Pierce County Library System's 'Skills & Qualities': a short, universal list of personal skills or qualities every employee needs to be successful

Guides by topic

• Communication and Interpersonal
• Customer Service
• Ethics and Values
• Learning and Personal Growth

Guide to Customer Service Resources

Patron-focused spaces

• Lessons for Libraries from Retail Space Planners
• Library Design Tips for the 21st Century

Customer service practices

• Customer Service in the Library: M&M's: Making Customer Service Meaningful and Memorable
• Customer Service Models for the Special Library: Exploring three customer service models for the special library
• The Customer Focused Library (webinar archive): the Metropolitan Library System (Chicago) study of the customer experience from a retail perspective

Diversity and cultural difference

• Customer Service for the Multicultural Community (webinar archive): how cultural differences impact customer service
• Reaching out to learn about the Spanish-speaking population at Columbus Met: One librarian’s efforts to learn more about the needs of the Spanish-speaking population in her community
• Walking the Talk - Diversity Workshops
• : Three sessions with streaming video and handouts on fostering an inclusive environment
• Welcome, Stranger: Public Libraries Build the Global Village (PPT): slides from the webinar on the 2008 report from the Urban Libraries Council

Difficult situations

• Difficult Patron Behavior: Success Stories from the WebJunction Community: from chicken soup and comic relief: how WebJunction members handle difficult patron situations

Guide to Ethics and Values Resources

Library ethics

• ALA Code of Ethics: the ethical principles that guide the work of librarians from the American Library Association
• Understanding the First Amendment: Educating Library Users about the Freedom to Read: A brief history and current state of first amendment rights and the right to read
• Equity of Access: Igniting a Passion for Change: the social and ethical ramifications of providing equal access

Privacy in reference services

• Layers of Privacy in Reference Service: explores privacy as it relates to library reference service is explored
• Privacy and Confidentiality in a Digital Reference Age: new services such as chat reference affect privacy concerns
• Virtual Reference and Patron Privacy: What Do Patrons Really Want?: does digital reference jeopardize patron privacy?

Ethics policies

• Code of Ethics and Behavior Policies from Georgia libraries for:
  
  • Small Libraries
  • Medium Libraries
  • Large Libraries
• Westport Public Library (CT) Confidentiality Policy