Serving online customers : lessons for libraries from the business world

Before the Web existed, anyone who wanted free information had to use the library. Now, a wealth of information on every possible service is accessible online. To compete in the digital age, libraries must provide outstanding customer service to their virtual users.



In Serving Online Customers: Lessons for Libraries from the Business World, Donald A. Barclay carefully examines business literature to identify the best customer service practices of online companies and shows readers how to adapt these practices to the library environment. Chapter coverage includes these critical areas:

Improving the Self-Service Experience Bringing Reference Service to the Online Customer Adding Libraries to the Distance Education Mix Designing Library Websites for Both Trust and Pleasure Implementing Recommendation Agents and Avatars into Online Services Linking Continuous Assessment to Online Service Improvement

This book will help any library greatly enhance their online users' experience and help bring new users to the library.

Living in the market : libraries and businesses -- What librarians can learn from the business literature -- Unlikely sources : what librarians can learn from the shady side of the Web -- Understanding the self-service experience in the online environment -- Services for remote users : librarians in search of a niche -- Online education : will the twenty-first century library be on board? -- Designing websites : trust and flow -- Artificial intelligence in the library : the time is some day (maybe) -- Assessment in the online environment : an unmet challenge.