Answering and Referring Questions
When you are working at the desk, you may be asked a variety of questions (“Where can I find the nearest bathroom? Who can I talk to about finding historical photos of Gonzaga? Can you help me find articles for my research?”)
As the first point of contact in the building, your job is not to know the answer to all the questions, but rather where to refer patrons so that they receive the best answer.
We never tell a patron “I can’t help you.” Instead, we will find the person who can help them.
We expect you to answer basic informational and directional questions
We expect you to refer all research questions to either the Peer Research Advisor working beside you, or to a librarian via the “Make an Appointment with a Librarian” feature on our website.
We expect you to use this guide and/or ask questions of your supervisors when you don’t know where to refer a patron.
Logging questions in LibInsights
Whenever you get a question at the desk (whether it is “Can I pick up my hold?” or “Where is the bathroom?” or “I need help with research.”) you should always log the question into our statistics tracking system, LibInsights.
LibInsights is bookmarked at each service desk Chrome tab. You can find your name in the drop down menu.
Why is it so important to track this information?
The library needs to complete a number of annual reports, and we use the statistics from LibInsights for those reports.
Information from LibInsights may also be used to inform staffing decisions (i.e., how many student employees we are allowed to hire each semester).
Finally, if we notice that you are particularly good about remembering to log your questions, we may use that information to promote you to the next tier.