Old wine in a new bottle: customer orientation in librarianship

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the research on the personality trait of customer orientation (CO) and consider how it may be applicable to customer service work in libraries. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews business research literature on CO and relates it to library science literature on customer service. Findings – CO is a measurable personality trait that is shown to predict customer service behaviors in service employees. Research also shows that CO is associated with customers’ perceptions of service quality. Practical implications – Libraries should prioritize CO in their hiring, training and recognition processes. Originality/value – CO is a well-researched personality trait in the business literature. The original contribution of this paper is to report the research on customer orientation, relate it to similar concepts in librarianship and suggest ways libraries can integrate an awareness of CO in their human resources processes.

Rethinking customer service training: A curricular solution to a familiar problem

“…As other service providers resort to automated interactions such as phone trees and web sites, libraries continue to offer service with a personal touch, assisted by technology, where library workers are actively engaged in serving the customer. This approach can provide the libraries with a competitive advantage (Matteson & Boyden, 2014).…”

Take Five for Customer Service

“…Much of the literature discussing academic libraries and their customers focuses on individual parts of the library or on specific services, such as reference, distance learning (Steiner, 2013), or chat services (Kwon & Gregory, 2007). Considering the academic library holistically, Matteson and Boyden (2014) argue: "Customer service in libraries is something of a foregone conclusion in library service philosophy. Ask any librarian, and she will tell you that providing high quality customer service is an important value of the profession" (p. 433).…”

Developing ICT Competencies: New Skill Sets for Excellent Customer Service in Academic Libraries

“…Service is a concept that is essential in librarianship and excellent customer service has been the service philosophy of the profession [7]. However the introduction of ICT presents libraries with the opportunity to reach out to clients outside the confines of their physical locations (traditional library).…”