There have been several comments posted to the QuestionPoint-L listserv recently regarding best practices for coding questions for Follow Up by Patron Library. Here are some tips relating to Follow Up:
DO code for Follow Up by Patron Library if:
- the patron indicates that more information is needed AND you have an email address
- the question is very local and you can’t find sufficient information on the library’s policy page or website
DON’T code for Follow Up by Patron Library if:
- the patron did not provide an email address
- the patron indicates that enough information has been provided
Tips for Chatting Librarians:
- The best way to determine whether the patron needs more information is to ask. Before closing the session, ask the patron if the question has been answered (“Does this completely answer your question?”) or if additional information is needed.
- Always be sure you have an email from the patron before coding for Follow Up.
- If you are unsure that your answer is adequate, ask the patron. If the patron is satisfied, go ahead and code it Answered. The patron library can always review the session and provide additional information if appropriate (assuming there is an email address).
- If the patron disconnects without leaving an email address, code it as ANSWERED. There is no way to follow up if there is no email address. Exception: if the patron disconnects without sending any chat at all, then you can use the “Lost Call” resolution code.
- If the patron disconnects before an answer can be given, and the patron has left an email address, then do code for follow up. The patron’s library can decide whether to send additional information or not in such cases.
Tips for Patron Libraries:
- Each library is responsible for reviewing all sessions to be sure their patrons received good service. If a chatting librarian codes a session as Follow Up but you feel no additional information is needed, be sure to respond to the patron if, upon review of the session, it appears the patron is expecting a response (even if just to confirm that no additional information is available).
- Check to make sure that an email address is provided before you spend time researching and responding to a question. If the patron came in as anonymous but the chatting librarian obtained an email address during the session, be sure to change the patron email address before sending the response.
- If you feel more information can be provided to the patron, do send the additional information even if the chatting librarian coded the session as “answered”. Patrons usually appreciate the extra information even if they are not expecting it.
Hopefully these tips will clarify the 24/7 Cooperative best practices related to follow up. However, follow up is often a judgment call: the chatting librarian may be unsure of an answer, think there is a better answer (if only there were more time to research it), and want the patron’s library to provide more information, all in the interests of better service to the users. The patron library may feel frustrated because a busy service may generate hundreds of follow up requests: after plowing through a daunting number of sessions in the question list, the patron library may feel frustrated that a good percentage of sessions marked for Follow Up (some say 35%) are adequately answered and need no additional information.
Reasonable librarians may disagree on whether a complete answer has been provided during a session: a chatting librarian may be sure there is better information out there, while the reviewing patron library may feel that the answer provided was adequate. Please recognize that inevitably there will be differences of opinion regarding whether follow up is needed. Do feel free to send any sessions coded incorrectly to Quality, so that we may continue to monitor the situation and provide guidance to Cooperative librarians.
If you have questions or comments, please post to the blog or email me, [email protected]
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