Lane Libraries Staff Site

I. Introduction

The mission of Lane Public Library’s Reference Services is to provide accurate, prompt and courteous information and reference assistance in response to requests from all persons. This service is given impartially to all.

II. Categories of Reference Service

A. Reference questions: requests for information that can be located quickly from source materials, including the online public access catalog.

B. Specific Search: bibliographic inquiry (this includes placing holds), or helping patrons locate information they can use themselves in their research.

C. Research questions: requests for in-depth information which require the use of numerous specialized sources, and usually take more staff time than specific search questions.

D. Instructional questions: these require the library staff to teach patrons the use of bibliographic tools, library catalog, the Internet, computer software and the organization of Library materials.

E. Bibliographic services: bibliographies and material lists compiled by library staff to enable patrons to become more familiar with available materials on a specific topic.

F. Reader's advisory: requests to provide reader/listener/viewer guidance. The staff member acts as a consultant, offering informed judgments and guiding the patron's selection of materials to satisfy a wide variety of recreational and/or educational needs.

“Other” Services

G. Mechanical services: setting up or fixing library equipment. i.e. fixing paper jams and re-booting computers.

H. Directional questions: requests for information regarding location of facilities, materials or services.

I. Policies and rules: any questions about library policies or rules. i.e. “how much are fines?”

III. General Instructions for Reference Staff

A. It is expected that all reference staff will serve the public and fellow staff members with courtesy and consideration. Reference staff are expected to be proactive by approaching patrons and offering assistance. When assisting patrons, the staff member should accompany them to the computer terminal or shelf.

B. The needs of each library patron should always be taken seriously and treated with the utmost respect and confidentiality. All questions, whether asked by adult or a child, will be answered with the same speed and courtesy. Discussion of any individual or group of individuals, or their inquiries, outside the professional context is inappropriate.

C. When answering the phone, staff are to identify the library or the department, and then add "May I help you?"

D. The patron's question should be clarified before proceeding.

E. In order to give the most accurate and authoritative answers, staff members should always quote from published sources without personal recommendations, evaluations, or interpretations. The title and date of the source should always be cited. Where an unfamiliar Internet site is used, the patron must be cautioned as to the level of authority.
Reader’s Advisory necessarily involves personal recommendations and evaluations. In these cases, opinions should be clearly stated as such.

F. Attending to the needs of in-house and telephone patrons simultaneously requires consideration, good judgment, and practice. Patrons should be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis with common sense modifications. Acknowledging an individual's presence with eye contact and a smile can be very helpful. Calls from another branch or agency may be on behalf of patrons who are waiting, and should be integrated into the staff member’s list of priorities.

G. When returning a patron's call about a title or subject, and not reaching that patron directly, the requested information is not to be disclosed unless permission has been granted. The staff member should politely explain that due to the library confidentiality policy, this information cannot be disclosed.

H. Before sending a patron to another branch to pick up an item, staff should call to verify that the item is available. Patrons who refuse staff’s offer to call another branch should be advised to call before making the trip.

I. When placing holds for a patron over the telephone or in person, staff should request the patron's library barcode number. If the patron does not have their library barcode # with them, staff should request the patron's name, address and telephone number. Patrons should be reminded at this time that they will need their library card when checking out the material.

J. The Interlibrary loan service and M.O.R.E. are to be explained to the patron when the item requested is not owned by Lane Public Library. Interlibrary loan and M.O.R.E. are just another step in helping a patron, not an “extra”.

K. Reference items do not circulate except under unusual circumstances. Permission for a short-term loan of a reference item may be given at the discretion of the agency or department head or designee. Reference items will be loaned to other Lane agencies only if the patron is unable to go to the owning agency and then only with permission of the branch or department head. (If permission is granted to check out a reference item, it must be processed through regular circulation by a supervisor with appropriate password.)

L. Whenever a staff person leaves a public service desk for more than a few minutes, incomplete reference duties (returning phone calls or unfinished reference questions) are to be communicated to the staff person on duty. As a courtesy to co-workers, staff members should always inform them when they are leaving the service area.

M. Personal telephone calls should not be made or received at any public service desk.

N. While at a public service desk, staff should limit personal conversation with other staff or with friends.

O. Work done at a public service desk should be limited to library related materials and staff should be open to patron inquiries at all times. The staff member is to be aware of patrons, and to be interruptible. Part of reference desk duty is the responsibility to observe the general area and patron flow, including making regular rounds through the stacks to check on patrons who may require help.

IV. Reference Tips

A. The goal of Lane Public Library is to assist each patron in finding the material that will answer the patron's question. To achieve this goal, certain guidelines are necessary.

1. When questions require extensive research, patrons should be informed that the process may be interrupted to assist other waiting patrons.
2. The reference staff should not make value judgments as to the importance of the inquiry.
3. Patrons who express an interest in learning to use library resources should be provided instruction in the use of the online catalog and other resources.
4. All questions are to be answered with authoritative sources, and the source is to be quoted to the patron. Reference staff should not depend on personal knowledge or memory.
5. Reference staff should connect the patron to relevant resources, such as books, pamphlets, documents, periodicals, fellow staff members, other libraries or community resources.

B. Telephone Questions

1. Telephone inquiries should be kept to a reasonable time period. If the result of the inquiry appears to have a lengthy explanation, staff members should use their judgment as to whether the explanation can be covered over the telephone.
2. At busy times, or for a large number of questions or holds, staff should record the questions or title/author and call the patron back at a more appropriate time.
3. Before placing a patron on hold, the staff member should ask them if they prefer to hold or to be called back. When patrons are on hold, they should be informed at regular intervals on the progress of the search.
4. When transferring a call, the staff member should give the patron the name and extension number of the next department or person and ask her/him to hold for transfer.
5. When staff members from another agency request information, they should be called back rather than placed on hold, unless the information is readily available.

C. Mail/E-mail Requests

All mail or e-mail requests should be given the same attention as requests made in person or by telephone. Requests by mail or e-mail for genealogical, local history and local industry information are received by Main Information Services Staff and Smith History Library Staff. General inquiries for information that can be answered by our collection should be answered within seven days. Patrons with detailed research questions on family histories, local history, etc. are referred to a list of local genealogists and historians who work on a fee basis.

D. Questions asked in person in the library

1. Many questions can be answered by assisting the patron in gathering the material and showing them how to use it. Detailed research questions, within the limits of staff time and expertise, can be handled for the patron if they so request.
2. If staff cannot answer a question within a reasonable time, they should seek assistance from another staff member. Staff members are to follow up on referrals to other staff persons or agencies to improve their skills.
3. Before referring a patron to an outside agency, staff should call the referred agency to make certain the information is available.
4. As often as possible, staff should follow up with patrons, checking to see if they have found the desired information.

E. Reference Questions Requiring Special Handling

1. Ratings and Evaluations

Consumer Products: Care should be exercised in giving answers to consumer questions over the telephone. Patrons asking for product rating in such sources as Consumer Reports may be given the brand names and model number of products rated. Such limitations as the date and the context of the rating should be pointed out.

Evaluations of dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.: The library does not recommend one dictionary, encyclopedia, etc. over another. Patrons should be referred to the printed source. Staff may point out special features of an item, but should not endorse a particular title or set.

2. Foreign Language

Translations of foreign phrases and idioms are not given unless the phrase appears in the dictionary or online. Foreign language pronunciations, beyond diacritical marks, are not given unless the staff member is proficient in the language.

3. Values of Art Works, Antiques, Rare Books, Coins, etc.

Appraisals of the value of art works, rare books, coins, stamps, currency, and other collectibles are not given unless quoted from a source in which prices are given. The source and year of publication should be given to the patron.

4. Medical, Legal, Statistical and Technical Information

Staff members do not interpret material of any type related to these fields, including tables, charts, equations, conversion formulas, laws, taxation and regulatory information, or legal and medical definitions. When providing information related to the above material by telephone, staff members will read the information and indicate the source, but the patron must interpret the information. Staff members should feel free to indicate to the patron that they do not have the specialized knowledge to give positive or absolute answers. Patrons should be advised to read the materials themselves. Referral suggestions may be made if assistance is needed in interpretation.

V. Computer Software Service

A. General Guidelines

1. PCs with Office suite software will be available for use by library patrons free of charge during regular library hours. This service will be available at the Hamilton, Fairfield, and Oxford agencies.
2. The sign-up procedure differs at each location, due to the varied number of public computers available. At agencies where sign-ups are taken, patrons will be given a time limit sign to insert in the holder atop the PC monitor. At these agencies, PCs will be available on a "first come first served" basis and can be used for up to 30 minutes at a time. If no other patrons are waiting for the computer, a user may stay on until another patron comes along. If patrons are waiting, the PC must be promptly turned over to the next user.
3. There will be no charge for printing or paper. Users are asked to limit their printing to 20 pages per day.
4. Help manuals are available at each agency. If a staff member is unable to assist a patron with a specific question, the patron will be encouraged to look at these books.
5. Signage will be displayed near each computer terminal detailing the computer use guidelines.

B. Staff Responsibilities

1. Staff will be expected to assist patrons with basic functions including, but not limited to the following:
• Opening and closing programs
• Changing font size
• Use of bold/italic/underline feature
• Basic page set-up including margins and paragraph spacing
• Printing and print preview
• Saving documents to disk
• Basic Internet searching
2. Staff will be expected to assist patrons with other machine problems such as rebooting, changing toner, working through paper jams, and adding paper.

VI. Statistics

A. Statistics of reference transactions will be kept in each agency on a daily basis.
(See Section II for a definitions of the various reference transactions.)

B. Interactions with a single patron should be counted in the following way:

1. Each reference question (II A-F) should be counted, not the number of patrons asking questions. If a patron asks more than one question, each question should be counted separately.

   a) If a patron has an initial query that is eventually narrowed to another question, it should only be recorded as a single transaction (e.g. a patron inquires about where to find materials on animals. After a reference interview is conducted, it's determined that the patron wants information on wolves' feeding habits.) This should count only as a single transaction.

   b) If a patron has multiple questions on separate topics, each one should be recorded as a different transaction. (E.g. a patron inquires about what items China exports. Their next question is about the weather in Africa.) Since these questions are not related, and one is not the result of narrowing the other, they should be recorded as separate transactions.

2. Teacher and Institution Collections are automatically counted as one question. If these requests have specific topics or titles listed, then each topic or title is also counted as a separate question.
3. All reference questions should be counted, regardless of whether they are asked at the reference desk or at another location in the library.
4. Questions that fall under the definition of “Other” Services (II G-I) should not be recorded in reference question statistics.