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RUSA President's Program, 2008
Quality Service in an Impersonal World
Program Description
Is service important in today’s do-it-yourself world?
Institutions as varied as banks, gas stations, grocery stores, and government agencies have all moved towards self-service models of commerce. Telephone trees, FAQ’s, and web pages have replaced human interaction in most customer service situations.
Even libraries have moved toward a self-service model for circulation and computing. Should libraries still be in the service business? Is the traditional model of reference service – where a librarian interacts one-on-one with a user – still of value? And what defines quality library service in today’s interconnected technological world?
Representatives from the business, library, and education fields will present their opinions on why service is important (or not) and what factors lead to quality service.
Speakers
Donna Bachowski, Head of Reference Central, Orange County Public Library, Orlando, Florida
Marie Radford, Associate Professor and Library Consultant, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutger University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Radford is the author of “The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library.”
There will be a third speaker from a major corporation that emphasizes service in its core business plan.
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