From the Director's Desk

April 2, 2007
Beverly J. Obert, Executive Director, Rolling Prairie Library System
Beverly J. Obert, Executive Director

Creating a YES culture @your library — Part 7

If you did not attend the copyright workshops, you missed some great information! The response to Dr. Rebecca Butler’s presentations to Special, School, Public and Academic librarians was overwhelmingly positive.

But here is the good news! If you missed them, you can still view the workshops. The OPAL archive, handouts and PowerPoint of the presentations are available on our website.

By the way here is another opportunity for you and your staff to learn some new skills for good customer service. "Yes to Conflict Resolution ~ Managing the Maze", an RPLS 2007 Seminar presentation by Topper Steinmann, introduces interactions with others that occur at many varied levels in our libraries. This session will offer attendees six abilities, along with a communication process for all of us to consider, as we make efforts to resolve the inevitable conflicts that seem to come from interactions with systems and with people.

We’ve talked extensively about how to say “yes,” “maybe,” or “we can do this much” when you encounter copyright questions in your library. This issue of “From the Director’s Desk” will focus on internal customer service.

What is internal customer service? Internal customer service is to the services you provide to the people within your organization. Think about the following scenarios. What would be your response?

  • One of your staff asks you to do something for him or her
  • Someone on your staff or board is struggling with a library issue
  • There is a conflict between two departments in the library, because a procedure that seems to work for one department is having an adverse effect on another
  • You notice something in the library that needs cleaning or repair.

Each of these is an example of an internal customer service opportunity. Small changes in your reaction to these and similar situations will have a large effect on your overall internal customer service.

Internal customer service has an impact on external customer service:

  • Are you the complainer on staff?
  • Do you remember to say hello or good-bye to others when arriving or leaving?
  • Do you keep confidential information confidential?
  • Are you careful to never make derogatory remarks about your staff in front of other staff or to the public?
  • Are you equally courteous to all staff and to the staff of other libraries or library systems with whom you have contact?

These are the types of behaviors that can make or break the efficiency and effectiveness of the staff when dealing with each other and the public. Everyone in the greater library network plays an important role: custodian, page, driver, clerk, paraprofessional, professional, or director. Each has a specific skill and job to do. Often you cannot do your job if they are not doing theirs.

So, be nice to each other, courteous, kind, and helpful. Think about your actions and reactions to each other. The public can tell when there is friction within a library even if the staff does not say anything. We all have our quirky ways, but we all have one goal: To serve the people who come into our libraries the best that we can. When we practice good internal customer service, it is much easier to provide quality external customer service to the library user.

“Funding for Creating a Yes Culture grant was awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL) a Division of the Office of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)”.

Rolling Prairie Library System
A Library for Librarians
Helping Libraries Serve Illinois Citizens