Customer Service
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. Explore here the resources on communication, creating patron-focused spaces, customer service practices and dealing with difficult patrons.
Self-paced courses and webinar recordings on this topic are freely available in the WebJunction Course Catalog.
Most Recently Added
August 5, Exploring the SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results) Model
Publish Date: News / 5 August 2021
Explore strategies for connecting with community assets in-person and online as a step toward developing a more community-centered library.
July 8, On Implicit Bias and Communication
Publish Date: News / 8 July 2021
Reflect on how life experiences, traditions, and beliefs impact communication and explore strategies for facilitating deeper discussions and stronger connections as steps toward developing a more community-centered library.
Eliminating Library Fines: Improving Community Access, Equity and Usage
Publish Date: Webinar / 15 June 2021
This webinar shares how going fine-free eliminates barriers and improves access to your library’s materials and services.
Building Connections with Community Assets
Publish Date: Webinar / 3 June 2021
Explore strategies for connecting with community assets in-person and online as a step toward developing a more community-centered library.
Mental Health First Aid and Trauma-Informed Approaches for Libraries
Publish Date: Webinar / 13 April 2021
This webinar explores how the principles of trauma-informed care and Mental Health First Aid can equip staff with the knowledge and confidence to communicate with compassion.
Envisioning Future Library Experiences: Service Design Techniques for Responsive Libraries
Publish Date: Webinar / 18 February 2021
The second in a two-part webinar series, this session will expand on design principles applied by case study libraries, who have been working with the design teams.
Resources for Wellbeing: Toolkit Tour for Rural & Small Libraries
Publish Date: Webinar / 5 February 2021
This webinar will introduce tools for helping libraries improve social wellbeing in their communities, created from the Rural Library Service & Social Wellbeing Project.
Who Are We Designing for and Why? Service Design Techniques for Responsive Libraries
Publish Date: Webinar / 19 November 2020
The first in a two-part webinar series, this session will introduce design principles that can be used to enhance and improve future library services.
Cultivating Protective Factors for Safe Libraries and Resilient Communities
Publish Date: Webinar / 5 March 2020
Join this webinar to explore the ways the library functions as a "protective factor" and how to build community resilience through more compassionate and inclusive policies and practices.
Library as a Social Assistance Office
Publish Date: News / 20 February 2020
With a determined stride and a big smile, Ida Abolins walks over to the writing desk at the window of the library in San Francisco and asks a young man bending over a pile of paper, "How are you doing?"
Overlooking the lavish City...
