Warren Cheetham and Mei Lin Gray of the Thruingowa Library Service (Queensland, Australia) presented a paper at Information Online Australia on their use of a wireless tablet PC at the reference desk. It is a great idea—they sit next to the customer at a table, not face-to-face over a reference desk.
Also in the article were the Thuringowa Library Services’ Customer Service Standards. They include:
We will:
Allow you time to enter the library and orientate yourself before we approach you.
Make eye contact, smile, and use open body language.
Tell you our name.
Not ask you if you need help, but simply state that we are here to help you.
Be interested and curious about your requests.
Acknowledge you, even when helping someone else.
Break off conversations with other library staff, and attend to you first.
Leave you to browse and search by yourself. If you are looking lost of puzzled, we will offer our assistance.
When seated at the Information Desk, we will:
Be aware of you approaching and greet you first.
Turn in our seat to face you, not our computer screen.
Have a clean, uncluttered Information Desk.
Be ready to help you first and not be busy with other library work.
We will also:
Provide a range of written guides to help you find information.
Explain how we are conducting a search for your, so that you may also learn how to search.
Ask you, as you leave, if you found the information you were looking for, and if there is anything further we can help with.
Commit to staffing the Information Desk during advertised hours.
URL: for the entire article:
http://www.information-online.com.au/
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