ALIA 12th National Library Technicians Conference 2003

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12th ALIA National Library Technicians Conference
9-12 September 2003
Bridging services - embracing reality

Online clients: Getting to where they are. Evolution of service methods to support online clients.

Kerry Warman, senior library technician, lending services co-coordinator Southbank Institute of TAFE Libraries

Abstract

The information industry moves forward, expands laterally, and doesn't stop. Libraries, in all our different guises, apply considerable resources to keep abreast of what our clients want, use, need and expect. We endeavour to show them how to most effectively locate, utilise and combine what is available to them in the online environment.

As increasingly our client interactions move online, there is required of us significantly different and new aspects to even the basics services we provide. What do we need to do to not only maintain and develop existing client service, but to also meet the challenge to provide service delivery for this emerging group of information users?

Great customer service comprises of great attitude, product knowledge, service, satisfaction and results. What new challenges for libraries does delivery of these elements in online environments create? With this expanding environment and in our role as information specialists, we need to assess our technology and communication skills, consider information resources and their supply, equity issues and marketing strategies.

Introduction - customer focus

Customer, or client focus comprises understanding who customers are, who they may be, and what their needs are, and is crucial in the planning, revising and delivering of library services.

Online clients - how are they the same and how do they differ to other clients? What can we do for them? How to make sure we find them all? And what is the range of differences in this user group?

Do you see them as a new or an evolved client (another consideration in this evaluation, is the migration of clients to online as opposed to those who start that way.)

Within my organisation, Southbank TAFE, clients range from on site, blended, fully online, and now also some of the traditional external students are also 'crossing over' into the online realm. There is no one description. These variables make devising, targeting and delivering a library service to all library users a challenge.

As a strategic concept, customer-driven quality and service - directed toward customer retention and market share growth - can effectively provide competitive advantage. This advantage can be achieved only when processes are systematically aligned with customer expectations and company-wide business goals and when meaningful performance measures are used to drive improvement actions. Customer focus is one of the most critical factors essential for success in today's business marketplace. (Langevin, 1998 : Ix)

What outcomes do you want from your interactions with online clients and what outcomes may they want from their interactions with you? What relationship do they want with a library? Have you checked to see if they are getting what they needed and expected?

Why any of this? A major role of libraries is assistance in the learning process; the access to knowledge resources, and this is on many different levels to many different types of people.

Each day libraries provide services that have the potential to improve an individual's capacity to learn. Assisting someone with an approach to research, and the retrieval of an information resource is a core customer service of libraries. Libraries have facilitated this type of learning for a long time and are justly recognised as specialists. This is our focus.

Technology

Technology potentially allows clients to access the library in a number of new ways.

Information Technology and its application requires both money and skills to optimise service delivery potential. Much is at stake when setting up the infrastructure to support an online environment, and much will hinge on the design and usability of your site and the selection of services and resources.

Library staff, continue to need an increasing array of information technology skills. As library workers we may have 'inherent' search skills and knowledge but it takes considerable application on anyone's part to build from generalist to specialist. This is another challenge facing libraries in the development of online services - commitment to professional staff development in information technology to realise maximum benefits from infrastructure investments.

Communication skills

New challenges lie in how to give assistance to individuals in an electronic environment.

Supported by research in the NCVER report 'Guide to online learning' is the need for prompt responses and frequent feedback to online clients. This adds human touch to a potentially faceless relationship.

There is, a growing number of online communities devoted to developing and improving the skills of people who instruct in a digital environment. This change in thinking for teaching, delivery and learner focus is equally applicable to libraries and the evolution of our services.

Information resources and information literacy.

Strategies are needed to migrate the delivery of library information literacy services to an online community.

Time and expertise need to be spent on developing sites and services for your clients.

Services and resources need to be proactively developed taking advice and input from all users of the library. Online clients are by nature often remote or time poor and will require a variety of alternative services and resources available to them. As well as resources suitable for the online community, it is worth investigating reciprocal schemes for these clients to utilise.

Supply

What methodologies and technologies can you use to get your resources and services to online clients? What existing infrastructure is there that you can use? What staff skills can you use to create products or adapt services?

At Southbank Institute (and I'm sure many other places) we have a task group, which has been formed to address the need to adapt our external student policy to one, which will encompass the online client and ensure their access to library services. With both Librarian and Technician members, it has the full representation of library services. A major library initiative that we will be able to promote is the Online Information Literacy Program that has been developed by a team of Southbank Institute Librarians to address the information literacy needs of online students. The program will assist teaching staff in preparing their students with research skills. By aligning the program with the Institute's training packages, teachers can easily recognise the benefits of including this program in their delivery.

Good liaison practice is called for when introducing new services. Whether by newsletters, joining team meetings or presenting new services to your internal clients, you should in your presentation link outcomes in library products to their own delivery outcomes to maximise acceptance and uptake of new products.

Equity issues

It has been identified that online students need, and are entitled to have access to the same services as traditional on campus users. (Guide to developing online student services, 2003)

This gives rise to issues of developing and providing online instructional programs, to optimise access and usage of your library by clients. Clients need orientation to these tools, which makes it important for libraries ensure they are included in induction programs.

Libraries should clearly identify areas, which are part of this process and establish cooperation to ensure they are able to reach new clients. Evolving library practices, facilities and technology to encompass new groups of users is part of regularly reviewing your client focus.

What are libraries able to do in an online environment that may substitute for that personal recognition and relationship factor that is established with onsite uses when they enter the library?

Onsite users:

Visually recognise you as library staff and feel comfortable approaching you for help. You have established a role through previous contact.
They feel comfortable initiating contact when they have a question as they recognise you as a source of assistance.

How to do this for online clients?

Promote your team as helpful people. Prompt replies to online communications from clients encourage this impression.
A home page should lead users to intuitively look around your site. A site, which is well designed promotes useability and creates an impression of helpfulness.
Clear outcomes should be included in descriptions of online services.
Splash screens to promote and inform users of services and products.
Close liaison with instructors and others sectors of your organisation so they actively include and refer to libraries and library services in their online products.

In addressing equity you should start with a comparison of what on-site and online clients receive with regards to each service you offer. This will assist in identifying which areas may need adaptation or new products for the online community of users. Online surveys, response forms and suggestion boxes can contribute to a basic list of issues to address.

Marketing strategies

Libraries need to identify when online clients join the organisation. Strategies are required so libraries are automatically introduced to clients or are part of any induction program.

Communication within the organisation is a key to potentially reaching all possible library users both existing and new. This includes being updated on new courses, merges within units, changes to delivery programs and structures. This will allow the library to continually evaluate their relationships with all areas within an organisation to ensure currency and relevancy of services and resources. Strategically aligning with changes as they occur within the organisation strengthens the library relevance to stakeholders.

What is a technician's role in marketing and selling library services? As 'frontline or coalface' staff we are often the first point of contact when people enter a library seeking directions or information. Being aware of the ranges of services a library has, you can effectively inform clients and direct them to the resources they may wish to investigate. It should be part of personal professional development to build solid knowledge of the scope and application of library services and resources to successfully promote and market the library. This product knowledge equally applies to contact with online clients.

A question that needs to be addressed when appraising new marketing directions is why do we get the same questions or issues over and over? Library staff responsible for communications and enquires from online clients should use this point of contact as a way of developing a frequently asked questions file to include in and update online inductions and services.

When marketing library services for online environments it will be just as important to market to internal clients as they can be an effective source of information to external clients.

A function of marketing is to get your clients or potential clients interested in and excited about what you offer. To get online clients involved in the library, e-quizzes and online activities may be devices which regularly encourage them to access library services.

Library technician roles

While web and client management may, for the most part, fall to librarians and IT officers, I believe Library Technicians always have something to offer in the area of product and service development.

To get yourself involved in the process -communicate!! Let management know you have ideas and suggestions.

Explore what is currently in the industry - compare it to other services, take the opportunity to do online study yourself - look for best practice. Technicians often field initial contact and questions from clients, we are uniquely placed to be able to say 'clients continue to ask about this, how can we better inform them, how can we better provide this information?'

Conclusion

To return to an opening statement from the abstract:

Great service is attitude, product knowledge, service, satisfaction and results. Discovering how to improve delivery to an online community is the challenge in achieving great service over ordinary.

New technology provides new modes of interaction and can realise optimal access for clients in an online environment. We need to utilise technology and underpin it by developing new communication skills.

In business, if customers don't get what they want, they may go somewhere else. If library clients don't get what they want - they may go somewhere else. What does this mean to our libraries - that our clients choose not to use library and its' services. What are the immediate and long-term implications of this? The shift to an increased online community may mean a decrease in numbers of on site clients. It is vital for customer retention that we make this shift ourselves and enable our users to stay with us through the process of life long learning.

What benefits in developing online services is there for the library? By aligning with organisational goals and developing ourselves as part of its online community, it strengthens the library value to all stakeholders and the library's ability to push ahead with new initiatives.

Though libraries will always retain the same core intent, we will none the less, be an ever-morphing service provider.

Bibliography

Biography

2003 marks 10 years in the library industry for Kerry. A senior library technician, Kerry is the lending services co-ordinator and library systems officer for the Southbank Institute of TAFE Libraries. At the 2001 (Hobart) ALIA library technician conference, Kerry presented a paper on developing technician roles and opportunities within the library. In 2002, Kerry received a Queensland Government International Women's Day award for customer focus.

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