Required Training

Our basic customer service philosophy is simple:

Greet - make sure to greet the user as they approach you - you should see them before they reach the desk, and be ready to say hello and offer help

Listen - listen carefully to what the user asks, and make sure to follow up to confirm you understand what they are looking for, or what their problem is.

Answer - answer their question! Get them their book! Basically, provide what they are looking for.

Offer - don't leave the user with just the answer to their question, make an offer! Whether this is "is there anything else we can help you with?" or "let me get your contact info - I'll pass your problem along to my supervisor and they will check in with you," make sure that the user leaves, if not happy, at least assured that we did everything we could to help.

Procedures

Firstly, make sure you can log into your LibApps account. If you do not have an account or don't know how to log in, talk to your manager.

You can add transactions to Reference Analytics directly from LibAnswers by clicking on the Ref. Analytics dropdown and selecting "Add Transaction."

You will need to manually enter the question field. You can put in a brief explanation of the question in the "type in a question box"- you can write "directions for bathroom", "room reservation". You do not need to write complete sentences. You do not need to fill out the answer field.

Use your best judgement to choose a field for the "topic" (what kind of question was asked), "origin" (how the patron contacted you), and "your location" (which desk you were sitting at) fields. When you have filled out the question field, and the drop down categories, you may click "Submit and Clear" at the bottom of the page.

   

You should fill out a ref analytics transaction whenever someone comes to the desk and asks you a question. Any question, EXCEPT for Alma related questions, can be put into reference analytics. The purpose of analytics is to capture any interactions with patrons that are not recorded elsewhere (like book check outs in Alma or card reader taps in CSGold).

Examples:

Submit a Ref Analytics Transaction: Do Not Submit a Ref Analytics Transaction:
Where is the bathroom? Checking out a book on the hold shelf using Alma.
Can you help me reserve a study room? Checking out a reserve book using Alma.
How do I access an ebook?
Can you help me search for a reserve book?

Why are analytics important?

Analytics help us make important decisions!  

  • What time to open and close for holidays and other special occasions
  • How many people we need to staff the desks
  • What projects to prioritize or how much money is needed for supplies

Analytics also help us show administration and others how much work we do! Logging transactions is evidence of your important hard work :) 

There are four bins in the lost and found at the Help & Information desk. The top shelf is for items found in the current week, the second shelf for the previous week, and so on. Items are kept for a total of four weeks before being donated. Items of high value (purse, phone, laptop) are routinely picked up by NUPD, so a patrons looking for these items should be directed to that lost and found.

When you receive a lost and found item: 

  • Put it in this week's bin. 
  • Mark item on Lost and Found Log including where it was found.

When you receive a Husky ID: 

  • Give to Access Point Proctors. 
  • Access Point proctors mark the date and name of the ID on the log and place the ID in the black container.

When you return a lost and found item to its owner: 

  • Cross it out on the Lost and Found Log.

Exceptions: 

  • Items like a purse, wallet, or wristlet containing a Husky ID and other items should not be split up. Put the entire item in the “Recent” bin. 
  • Items that are hazardous, such as vaping devices or food, will not be accepted in the Lost and Found and must be immediately discarded.  

Use the following script (or something similar) when answering the phone: "Hello, Snell Library (Help and Information Desk/Access Point), this is (your name), how may I help you?"

Communicate with the patron as you work to find them an answer. Remember that they can't see you, so if you need to look something up, ask if you can place them on a brief hold while you look up the answer, confer with a supervisor, etc. You can also transfer the call to another phone line if the question is best handled by an individual staff member at their personal desk, or another university department like ITS. 

Holds/Transfers

To either place a call on hold or transfer the call, you need to select the three dot menu button from the phone's touch screen, which appears when you have a live call:   

A photo of the desk phone screen with a yellow box highlighting the menu button

You will then be given the choices of placing the call on hold, transferring the call, or parking it (which we don't use, so you don't need to worry about it). To place the call on hold, simply select the "place call on hold" option. Select the "resume" option when you're ready to talk to the patron again. Make sure to say "thank you for holding" when you resume, so they know you're back. 

A photo of the desk phone screen with two red arrows pointing at the "put call on hold" and "transfer" buttons.

If you select "Transfer" to transfer a call, you will be prompted to search for the call recipient by name, but you can also type in the four-digit extension. You can use the library's staff directory or the university website to look up their 4 digit extension (the last four digits of their phone number). Remember that you can only transfer to numbers on campus. 

A photo of the desk phone screen with the showing the "search for people" transfer pagePhoto of phone screen showing search results for an extension number "2830"

If you need to transfer the patron, tell them that you are transferring them and what number they can call back in case the number gets dropped

  • H&I desk: 617.373.8778
  • Access Point desk: 617.373.8343

Once the transfer goes through you may hang up the call. 

If you aren't able to answer the question or transfer the call to a staff member, a Lead or Supervisor can create a ticket for the patron in LibAnswers. 

Ending a Call 

Whenever you're getting ready to end a call, make sure that you: