ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries March 1 9 9 5 /1 7 5 The W a y I See It Customer service? Not really B y I r e n e B . H o a d l e y Do we need to watch our phraseology? T h e n e w b y w o rd in library literature is cus­to m er service— n e w custom er services, im­ p ro v e d custom er services, services b a se d o n custom er needs. T he custom er has b eco m e the focal p o in t o f libraries a n d m any o th e r service organizations. F o r so m e tim e, th e w o r d c u s to m e r h as g n a w e d at m e, s o m e h o w n o t feelin g right. W hen I ch e c k e d a dictionary, I k n ew w h y I w a s b o t h e r e d b y th e term . A c u s to m e r, by Is this a case definition, is s o m e o n e w h o “p u rch ases a com ­ emperor’s n m odity o r service.” O n Is anyone in the o th e r han d , a u se r is willing to qu so m e o n e w h o “carries ou t a p u rp o s e o r action new termin a v a il in g o n e s e l f o f som ething as a m eans o r instrum ent to an e n d .” W ithout q u estio n , libraries p ro v id e som e services th at are p u rch ased by patrons. But, to th e b e st o f m y k n o w led g e, th e large majority o f library services are p ro v id ed w ith o u t a di­ rect cost to th e user. Libraries ordinarily d o not charge for an sw erin g reference q u estio n s or checking o u t b o o k s o r for using reference m a­ terials o r g o v ernm ent docum ents. So h o w can these individuals b e called custo m ers if they are n o t p u rchasing som ething? Is this a case o f th e e m p e ro r’s n e w clothes? Is a n y o n e in libraryland willing to q u estio n this n e w term inology? It w as in 1990 th at library users b e g a n to b e referred to as custom ers, a term b o rr o w e d from th e q u ality m o v e m e n t w hich w as b u rg eo n in g in th e co rp o rate w orld. “C ustom er satisfaction,” “quality services,” an d “total quality m an ag e m en t” w ere th e phrases o f th e day. A few libraries w anting to b e o n th e cutting e d g e o f m an ag em en t innovations b e ­ gan to discuss custom er satisfaction a n d how libraries could address th e issue. Yet, in som e libraries, th e m ain consideration is n o t th e user. Public, special, a n d school libraries h av e al­ w ays p lace d m ore em phasis o n m eeting the n eed s o f users th an have academ ic libraries, w h e re collections have b e e n th e prim ary fo­ cus. T he m ove to focus o n service is g o o d an d long o verdue. T he em phasis o n quality service is also good. T h e recognition that th o se w h o u se libraries have o p in ­ of the ions ab o u t th e quality o f w clothes? th e service they receive is a step forw ard. Every ibraryland library could im prove its stion this services, a n d n o t only ogy? r e f e r e n c e s e rv ic e b u t also circulation, reserve, a n d in te rlib ra ry lo an . Putting th e n eed s o f users before th e prefer­ e n ces o f staff has to b e a first step. A nother issue w hich d o es n o t get m uch attention is the n e e d to take services to u sers rath er th an e x ­ pecting everyone to com e to o n e place to ful­ fill th eir needs. Libraries hav e traditionally had hierarchies o f users rather th an providing eq u i­ table service to all. T here is still plenty o f room for im provem ent. In a recen t article, Allen V eanor discusses th e im pact o f v o g u e m an ag em en t te ch n iq u es:1 I am very critical of all b u sin ess m an ag e­ m en t derivatives— they te n d to b e determ in­ istic, highly reductive, an d transient. But I d o n o t suggest w e can n o t learn from b u si­ ness a n d industry o r sh o u ld n o t apply a p ­ p ro p riate b usiness tech n iq u es to m anaging e l e ol Irene B. Hoadley is fo rm e r director o f the Evans Library Capital Campaign a t Texas A&M University; e-mail: ihoadley@tamu.edu mailto:ihoadley@tamu.edu 1 7 6 /C&RL News academ ic libraries. T h e k ey is in the w ords a p p ro p ria te a n d pro p er, (p. 398) T his is o n e m o re ex am p le o f libraries jum p­ ing o n a b an d w ag o n , taking off so m e o f the item s, a n d p u ttin g th em in libraries w ith o u t thinking a b o u t w h a t’s b ein g d o n e. H ow ever, term inology th at is b o th correct a n d a p p ro p ri­ ate in o u r e n v iro n m en t is preferab le to a d a p t­ in g th e term inology o f a n o th e r discipline. It is n o t to o late. Librarians can a ck n o w led g e the m ean in g o f th e w o rd cu sto m er a n d sto p using it to describ e th o se w h o u se libraries. O r li­ brarians can c o n tin u e to discuss cu sto m er ser­ v ice a n d b e lik e th e e m p e r o r w ith o u t an y clothes. Note 1. Allen V eanor, “P aradigm Lost, Paradigm Regained? A Persistent P erso n n el Issue in Aca­ d em ic Librarianship, II,” College a n d Research Libraries 55 (S ep tem b er 1994): 389-402. (Serials com. fro m p age 150) editorial subm issions, a n d electronic versions o f a journal. W e co n d u cte d a survey o f th e jour­ nals received o n May 12, 1994, to determ in e h o w m an y o f th ese titles p ro v id e e-m ail a d ­ dresses. O f th e 77 p iece s receiv ed for p ro cess­ ing o n th at day, 9 (1 1 .6 % ) o f th e journals w ere fo u n d to hav e e-m ail addresses. T h o se th at d o ran g e across th e sp ectru m in term s o f disci­ plines. T hey include D esign News, E conom ics & Philosophy, J o u r n a l o f G eophysical Research; an d J o u r n a l o f Sport a n d Social Issues. W e re p e a te d th e survey o n May 16th a n d fo u n d e-m ail ad d resses fo r 18 (10%) o f th e 183 piece s received. As located, th ese In tern et a n d B itnet ad d resses can later b e a d d e d in a n o te field o n o u r check-in cards a n d u se d as n e e d e d to com m unicate p ro b lem s o r solicit inform a­ tion. A single e-m ail address is p rovided for w hole organizations like the University o f Texas, w hich pu b lish es o v er 125 journal titles, a n d M eckler w ith 33 journal titles. Similarly Internet addresses are p ro v id ed for th e Institute o f Electrical an d Electronics E ngineers a n d th e A m erican M ath­ em atical Society. C om m unicating w ith th e se organizations a b o u t any o f their publications can conceivably b e achieved by using th e single e-m ail ad d ress provided. From th e results o f o u r survey, it is clear th at In tern et access is b ein g p ro v id e d by a va­ riety o f sources su ch as C om puServ, MCI mail, a n d research a n d e d u c a tio n netw orks. O n e in­ dication o f th e g row ing interest in In tern et ac­ cess is ev id en t from O sh erk o ff’s list o f o rgani­ zations w h o se prim ary b u sin ess is pro v id in g access to th e In tern et a n d its list o f o rg an iza­ tions that p ro v id e Internet access as o n e o f their services.4 As m o re a n d m o re organizations seek to cut costs a n d im prove com m unications, th e u se o f th e In tern et will b e c o m e a co m m o n tool for co n d u ctin g daily b u sin ess an d will facilitate a n d e n h a n c e a library’s ability to pro v id e g o o d service. Conclusion A ccess to th e In tern et is like having y o u r o w n p erso n al k n o w led g e a n d inform ation n etw o rk fo r consulting o th e r library catalogs, for sh ar­ ing inform ation o n listservs, fo r com m unicat­ ing problem s, an d fo r identifying solutions. It is a p o w erfu l to o l for testing ideas, exploring o p tio n s, a n d collecting d e c isio n s u p p o rt for m aking m o re inform ed decisions. W orking o n th e In te rn e t p ro v id es a cost- effective a n d invisible to o l th at can b e u se d in serials m an ag e m en t to quickly resolve p ro b ­ lem s th a t m ight tak e a long tim e o r otherw ise n e v e r b e resolved. N ow th at serials check-in is d isp lay ed in real tim e in th e OPAC, resolving p ro b lem s quickly b eco m e s e v e n m ore im por­ tant. As w e u se th e In tern et w e hav e a g reater ap p reciatio n fo r its p o ten tial in h elp in g te c h n i­ cal services librarians e x ch an g e kn o w led g e an d expertise, solve daily pro b lem s, test n e w ideas, an d share inform ation m ore fully an d effectively th a n p rev io u sly p o ssib le. U sing th e In te rn e t offers a w ay o f en h a n c in g th e quality o f library service for all o f us. Y esterday’s vision o f the Electronic Library is to d a y ’s reality. Notes 1. G. M. M cCombs, “T h e In tern et a n d T ech ­ nical Services: A P oint B reak A p p ro ach ,” LRTS 38 (April 1994): 169-77. 2. E-mail m essag e from Steve C unningham (rsc@ altair.csustan.edu), director o f publications for SIGGRAPH. 3. E -m ail m e s s a g e fro m B rig itte L atzel (Latzel@ Springer.de), Jo u rn al P ro d u ctio n D e p artm en t, Springer-Verlag. 4. S. K. O sheroff, “C om m unications V endors a n d O rganizations Providing In tern et A ccess,” Serials Review 19 (W inter 1993): 43–62, 82-?. mailto:rsc@altair.csustan.edu mailto:Latzel@Springer.de