From librarians to volunteer workers, staff to student workers, all library personnel need to deliver great customer service. This book presents innovative instructional methods that will inspire you to take a fresh approach to customer service training.Customer service is one of the most critical staff development training areas in the library world. Every member of a library's staff who interacts with the public needs the specialized skills and tools to work with a diverse clientele. This book addresses the need for staff training for various kinds of libraries, covering public and academic libraries of various sizes, medical libraries, law libraries, and state organization and joint-use libraries.Each chapter of Stellar Customer Service: Training Library Staff to Exceed provides practical advice and creative solutions for showing staff how to handle customer service issues. The book identifies the essential skills and tools staff at all levels-from librarians and staff to student workers and volunteers-must have to contribute to your library's success. Readers will learn innovative training methods, see how a wide range of libraries have approached this perennial staff issue, and get excited about approaching their own customer service training in fresh new ways.

Includes guidelines on re-training and evaluation of customer service training needs

IntroductionMou Chakraborty1. Customer Service Training: Advice from the Business WorldAlice Bahr2. Creating a Comprehensive Training Plan for Better Customer Service Experiences in Your LibraryKaren Glover3. Cultivating an "Always Say Yes" Attitude without Causing Chaos and ConfusionCheryl McGrath and Paul Bellenoit4. Instilling a Service Focus in Student WorkersJordan Jefferson and Mike VanderHeijden5. Secret Shopping and Training Mini DetectivesSarah Hammill6. Using Volunteers to Expand the Walls of the Library: Books for Wider Horizons at Oakland Public LibraryLaurie Willhalm7. Customer Service Training in an Academic Technical LibraryAnne Marie Casey and Kathleen Citro8. A Prescription for Creating a Culture of Customer ServiceValerie S. Gordon and Lee Vucovich9. More Libraries, More Opportunities for Customer Service TrainingLois Albertson and Jeannette Smithee10. Designing the Customer-Centric Library Culture: MPL's Customer Service Revolution as a Case Study in Design ThinkingAndrea Cecchetto11. Library Reality TV: Using Improv Techniques to Transform Your Approach to Customer ServiceJennifer Laredo, Melissa Maglio, and Heidi Murphy12. Providing Stellar Interlibrary Loan Service to Borrowing Libraries and Your Own Local Patrons: It's All About SharingSue Kaler13. Providing Remarkable Customer Service and Resources across a Healthcare SystemDonna J. McCloskey14. Values-Based Customer Service: 21st-Century Customer Service for Public Libraries?Lewis Belfont15. Give a Pickle, Get a Smile! Sweet, Isn't It?Mou ChakrabortyAbout the Editor and Contributors199Index