Academic libraries in the 21st century must learn to adapt to ever-changing technology and user requirements. Service is the key term - if users are unhappy with service, they will go elsewhere.
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The Role Of User Services in 21 st Century Academic Libraries Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA Anthony J. Adam May 2010
Transcript
1. The Role Of User Services in 21st Century Academic
Libraries
Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA
Anthony J. Adam
May 2010
2. What Is User Services?
User anyone who has contact with the library and its personnel,
either onsite or remotely
Services the frontline of the library experienced by the user and
supported by technical services and the library
administration
3. What Makes Up User Services?
Reference Services
Circulation Services
Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery
Reserves
Stack Maintenance
Collection Development
Periodicals
Distance Services
5. The Role of User Services
The Role of User Services is to provide high quality assistance at
all service points, via all forms of dissemination, in order that
the user is satisfied.
6. To insure that our users get the best possible service, we
must both embrace the competition and improve upon it whenever
possible.
7. How Do We Do That?
Demonstrate to our users that the Internet is not necessarily the
final stopping point or the best source for their needs.
Provide service of such high quality that users will come to us
first, because they trust us to give them the help that they
need
8. Experimentation + Participation = Success
9. The Service Ideal
Library units are interconnected
if service is bad at one point, users may believe that all units
will offer bad service
10.
11. Service = User Satisfaction
The level of service correlates to the level of user satisfaction.
Users will respond positively to great service, and vice
versa.
12. How Do We Assess Ideal Service?
Establish success targets What is an acceptable level of user
satisfaction? Track over time using:
Focus Groups
In-house Created User Surveys
Secret Shoppers
Satisfaction Surveys (NSSE, FSSE, LibQual)
13. Information Literacy
14. Distance Services
15. Document Delivery
16. Reference Services
17. Circulation Services
18. Can Technology Help?
A Virtual Library Help Desk can include
Video Reference via Skype, IM, etc.
Burst Messaging via Twitter, etc.
Keeping In Touch via Facebook, etc.
But dont assume users
will embrace the technology!
19. What Does the Future Hold In Store?
All libraries will rely on cooperative collection development and
document delivery
Most reference resources will only be available
electronically
Users will demand immediate, 24/7 response to their needs
More users will request services and materials via remote
access
Librarians will be information evaluators rather than just
processors
20. In Sum.
Service takes precedence over everything we can have a huge
materials collection, but if we turn off our customers because of
bad service, they will go elsewhere
Users see the library as a single entity if one unit gives bad
service, all units are affected
Change is the only constant and is inevitable keep what is good and
toss what is bad
21. The Choice is Ours
Satisfied Users
Unsatisfied Users