ALN Frontline Forum - Handling Frontline Queries

Helen Shaddock (Library Aide at the Walton Library) has written the following about a recent Academic Libraries North (ALN) Frontline Forum:

As a Library Aide at the Walton Library, excellent customer service is of paramount importance to me and I strive to provide the best service I can to our library users. I am eager to hear about ways to improve the service we offer our users, and share best practice with other libraries. With that in mind, I signed up to attend a Frontline Forum event run by ALN which I had seen advertised on Teams.

ALN is a network of academic libraries in the North of England and a sub-group of SCONUL. ALN provides opportunities for members to exchange knowledge and experience and aims to support its members through future challenges in higher education and the library environment.

The theme of the event that I attended was Handling Frontline Enquiries. Here is an overview of what was covered:

How do different libraries offer services?

- Libraries use a range of enquiry management systems - face to face delivery, live chat, email/ticketing system and phone calls.

- Some libraries are standalone whereas other library services are housed in the same building as Student Services and/or IT. When libraries and student services are in the same location, library staff need to be able to provide student advice as well as library information. One University are consciously uncoupling library services with student support services.

How have services changed?

- Communicating by chat has become more popular. Users assume that they might be communicating with AI. Some libraries are starting to use chatbot and AI, but when given a choice, users prefer person contact to AI.

- There has been a reduction in people asking library staff questions in person, but when users have to come into the library to collect smartcards they become familiar with the library staff which consequently encourages them to ask library staff questions. One University found that students are more likely to approach library wardens on patrol around the library with library queries e.g. referencing as opposed to staff at a desk.

- There was some discussion about whether libraries should try to encourage face to face communication if students prefer other means e.g. chat?

- Staff reported that more general questions are now being asked e.g. building access, IT questions, (non library specific).

Overall I did find the event to be of interest, and reports from the other libraries seemed to be in line with what we are experiencing here at the Walton Library.