Can Store Service Policy Fit a Library?

This article deals with the suggestion of Jane Monck, one of the trustees at the Kentport Public Library, to Frieda Pavlicek, the director of the library that she should design a questionnaire to use with the reference and circulation staff in the library. Public libraries can learn from the private sector in the areas of accountability, marketing and personal incentives. Trustee Monck is correct in noting that there are some individuals in libraries who do not give their best but libraries are under the same constraints as the government body under which they operate, making hiring, firing and salary increases based merit much more difficult than in the private sector. Reference is an art, not a science and it is more difficult to quantify than other types of customer service. Before the next board meeting, Pavlicek should be ready to present an approach to measure user satisfaction at public service points. A finished measuring instrument is not necessary yet, but a review of the literature with a summary for the board will serve her well. She must disconnect the concept of salary increases and be good or be gone from results of patron assessments of staff performance.