Contacting Other Libraries
- Chris Lee (Unlicensed)
- Mallory DeBartolo (Unlicensed)
Communication among the CSU+ departments is encouraged in our effort to provide quality customer service for all the CSU+ patrons. Responding in a timely manner is essential and necessary for a smooth workflow. Below are some of the communication tools available:
General Messages (preferred)
Sent within a CSU+ request to and from the borrowing and lending libraries. Use a general message to ask and answer a variety of questions regarding a particular request. For example, if the request is for a multi-volume set and the borrower has not specified the needed volume, the lender can send a general message asking for clarification before shipping or cancelling the request. Since general messages are stored in the request and are viewable by any staff member processing CSU+ requests these are the preferred method of communication. The borrower and lender are able to communicate within a CSU+ request. General messages need monitoring on a daily basis.
Email messages
Sent to an individual and/or a departmental account. An email message can be helpful in detailing more complex and/or procedural questions for workflows in general. For example, books from one CSU+ library continually have random numbers appearing in the volume field. Using an email to ask if something may have changed in their request form could clarify this situation. In this case, a timely response is a professional courtesy, but the lack of a response does not impede the immediate workflow. An email chain can provide an account of the actions taken to resolve a question/problem and make follow-up to a problem easier.
Phone calls
A quick phone conversation can provide resolution for both simple and complex situations. Phone calls can provide a very quick response if the recipient of the call is available. The challenge may be in catching individuals at/near their phone to take the call. Phone messages can be harder to track than a general message and/or an email.