Customer Service Conveyance and Convergence in M-Libraries

Notes from M-Libraries Conference
June 24, 2009

Abiodun Solanke
University of Richmond Libraries

The Now of Customer Service

• importance of customer service with mobile devices
• collaboration- across libraries and across campus
  
• feedback from across the libraries or across the university as well as from our users - pwhat is and what is not working (backend and frontend)
  
• ownership - people have invested in their mobile devices - we need to make sure that we invest in what will display on them

Devices and standards components

• Platforms, software
• management and human interactivity
• interoperability
• users, staff, developers
• quality control - in terms of what users want and how they access the Libraries - snippets of what users really want

What is customer service?

• presence and focus on providing content
• receptive to new tools and techniques
• marketing - importance of making users aware of what is available
  
• responsiveness to users
• we are all doing this together - engaging students in the mobile initiatives. Patrons are encouraged to come to/contact the library to offer suggestions
• connection, concentration and convenience - make sure that we manage the content so that it is not inconvenient to our users

Why customer service

• we need to focus on doing the best that we can
• new mobiles added every day
• retain users attention
• lavatory librarian - we should have have the info posted in the bathrooms :-)

Standards

• rapid introduction of new technology - we must always be prepared to embrace what is around the corner - how will I react when something new comes along?
• societies - developed/developing
• politics
• finance or cost
• mobile platforms incompatibility
• esubscriptions - transfet to nonregistered patrons vs ease of use
• legal issues - copyright
  

Standards

• iso
• cloud computing
• operability
• convert texts to pdf word
• shelf life
• comment on pilot products'features, screen
• open access to libraries catalog

Mobile and Customer Service

• patrons
• technology

new features for customer service

• improved capabilities in mobile devices
• complimentary audio options and images
• keyboard in mobile devices
• Physically challenged deaf, blind, learing, disabilities
• all this in the more in the midst of rapid technology

We should have a single point of contact for feedback, reference.

Share among libraries at different institutions the stats of users/service

• what drives our services
• what our users need