I've just been reading a couple of posts on ACRLog - the Association of College and Research Libraries. In the second Finishing Strong: Manage the Ending the blogger, StevenB, discusses the impressions we leave after a skills session or dealing with an enquiry:
"When you design your next instruction session or presentation, or in giving thought to how you end reference transactions or consultations, consider giving as much if not more thought to your finish as you do to your beginning. They say you only get one chance to make a first impression. But your first impression will likely be less well remembered than the one with which you choose to end. So design and manage that last impression well."
This made me think of a few things:
- Giving/sending our enquiry records is a good close to a complex enquiry
- The last message we give in inductions and skills sessions is to come and ask us for help - I want to keep this, but maybe need to reinforce it more strongly
- I've tried a few times to get the team to ask people borrowing at the issue desks if they found everything they were looking for. It often works for me in generating a further enquiry which we can then respond to, and no-one seems to mind being asked. The team however, have revolted but I'm going to continue until hopefully they get it too!
Thanks to @cclibrarian for the recommending tweet to ACRLog. This was about the first post I read on the problem of knowing what to do while students are quietly working on their own research during information skills sessions - a discomfort I share.
Picture credit: damaradeaella
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