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Circulation employees will now be responsible for answering questions at the Circ Desk.
Circulation employees will now be responsible for answering questions at the Circ Desk.
Circ students will be responsible for answering basic questions, staff or GAs (or whomever is appropriate and around) will be answering more intermediate questions, and librarians will be handling advanced questions. Below, you can see a table that represents the READ scale with the types of reference interactions and examples. As a student worker in Circ, you will be expected to be able to handle tier 1 interactions, and with experience, tier 2 interactions. It is important that if you do NOT know the answer, that you find someone who does. Remember, the reference desk will still be in operation from 10AM to 9PM.
Circ students will be responsible for answering basic questions, staff or GAs (or whomever is appropriate and around) will be answering more intermediate questions, and librarians will be handling advanced questions. Below, you can see a table that represents the READ scale with the types of reference interactions and examples. As a student worker in Circ, you will be expected to be able to handle tier 1 interactions, and with experience, tier 2 interactions. It is important that if you do NOT know the answer, that you find someone who does. Remember, the reference desk will still be in operation from 10AM to 9PM.
The READ Scale
The READ Scale
Expected Behavior for all customer services locations
Expected Behavior for all customer services locations
Approachability
· In-Person: Smiling, looking up, making sure to not look completely engrossed in your computer screen; face in the direction from which people approach: being the first one to speak; acknowledge people waiting in line:
o Patrons can recognize when staff are effectively dealing with a heavy load, and are only upset when they feel they’ve been ignored or staff aren’t making an effort. Asking waiting patrons for their needs allows you to take their needs into consideration BEFORE you get into trouble.
· If you don’t know, say so, but stay confident that you can help find the answer.
o Two reasons 1) It establishes you are a human being, and 2) It shows that you’re willing to go beyond for the customer.
· Stay aware of your nonverbal cues -remember, language masks what we are really thinking. An obvious juxtaposition will send the wrong signals.
Anticipate needs
· Do not assume you know what a need is: establish what it is, and then anticipate the obstacles that will occur.
o Open ended questions to expand their need
o Closed questions and rephrasing to clarify your understanding
Offer alternatives
· Provide a positive transition context: “I’m going to call Adam because he worked in this field and will be able to help you more quickly than I can,” instead of a negative one, “You need to talk to a librarian, I cannot help you.”
Empathy
· We have a diverse student body with a variety of needs: we have inexperienced undergraduates, students with language barriers, and veteran researchers who are skeptical of change: each of these patron bases have unique needs.
· Deal with the problem, not the patron: “Your catalogue sucks and never works.” Most patrons don’t have time to hate library workers, and you have no idea what their situation really entails.
· Empathy is strategic: by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, you can better anticipate their needs and barriers that may come along the way
Follow through
· Make sure you answer what they need by verifying
· Always offer to assist with anything else
o Encourage them to come back again
Handing off
· Never make them go alone
· Make introductions
· Make sure the staff you are handing off to knows where you stopped in the process
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