Successful Enquiry Answering Every Time is designed to guide information professionals through all the stages of research, from finding out what the enquirer really wants, to providing a polished, value-added answer.
When people want to satisfy their immediate curiosity they’re much more likely to use a search engine on their mobile device than ask their local library. But while the days of personal intervention in this kind of enquiry are inevitably numbered, the professional skills that underpin them are not. This book uses technology as the enabler of the thought processes that information professionals need to engage in when answering enquiries, and makes the case that new technology, far from making them irrelevant, raises the skill stakes for all.
Now in its 7th edition, this book is fully updated to cover new skills, such as:
employing critical thinking to manipulate, categorise and prioritise raw search results using strategic reading and abstracting techniques to identify and summarise the essential information the enquirer needs from the retrieved documents drawing on established story-telling practice to present research results effectively – whether orally or in writing working to the POWER model: plan, organise, write, edit, review.
This book is ideal for anyone who has to answer enquiries from users in any information role; those working in contact centres who are dealing with information enquiries, processing transactions or trouble-shooting technical issues; and information professionals working on enquiry desks in large or small academic, public, school or special libraries.
By:
Tim Buckley Owen
Imprint: Facet Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 7th edition
Dimensions:
Height: 238mm,
Width: 160mm,
Spine: 16mm
Weight: 200g
ISBN: 9781783301942
ISBN 10: 1783301945
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 30 September 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction: Why thinking skills matter Eight essential thinking skills for successful enquiry answering 1. What do they really want? Using your analytical thinking skills to understand the question Avoiding misunderstandings Asking the right questions Does all this really work? Agreeing the task Finding out how long you’ve got Coming next – when the enquirer’s not there 2. Why remote enquiry handling is different Anticipating problems by thinking emphathetically Can’t see, can’t hear – the risk of misunderstanding, even offence Keeping your remote enquirer on-side Keeping good records Coming next – avoiding panic, thinking on your feet 3. Getting started Dealing with the panic by thinking imaginatively Imagining the final answer Choosing the best type of source and delivery medium Does all this really work? Identifying actual sources Coming next – smarter searching 4. Smarter searching Developing efficient search strategies by thinking systematically Who needs to be able to search smarter? Working out your search strategy Searching systematically Making the most of indexes Electronic search tools Reading strategically Making sure that what you find is reliable Coming next – even more things that can go wrong 5. Help! Everything’s going wrong Using lateral thinking to get out of difficulties Vital versus urgent tasks Your working timetable Managing expectations Plan B Referrals Coming next – adding value 6. Success! Now let’s add some value Using your creative thinking skills to present your answer well Quality-checking your answer Presenting your answer – orally Presenting your answer – in writing Copyright, licensing, ethics Has the answer arrived – and does the enquirer like it? Sign-off: what can we learn from this enquiry? Coming next – adding even more value 7. Don’t just give me another reading list! Using critical thinking skills to add further value to your answer POWER and KISS Making your search results manipulable Selecting, rejecting, prioritizing 140 Strategic reading – finding the best bits of each document Capturing the content for your report Now you’re ready to write! Making sure your work gets read and valued Coming next – choosing your toolkit 8. Choosing your toolkit Using your predictive thinking skills to determine the resources you’ll need Making best use of your Time, Intellect and Money Keeping track of your enquiries Discovering information in your own resources (and beyond) Choosing and using the right search engine Adding value to your search results Starter Sources Your goal: successful enquiry answering – every time
Tim Buckley Owen BA DipLib MCLIP is an independent writer and trainer with over 40 years' experience of information work - at Westminster Central Reference Library, the City Business Library, and as Principal Information Officer at the London Research Centre. He has also held strategic media and communications posts at CILIP, the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council and the Library & Information Commission.
Reviews for Successful Enquiry Answering Every Time: Thinking your way from problem to solution
'Overall, Owen succeeds in providing a valuable and informative guide to answering enquiries, written in a lively and accessible style which archive practitioners could constructively use either as a source of directly relevant advice or perhaps as a prompt to think about how aspects of this area of work might be carried out differently.' -- Matti Watton * Taylor & Francis Online * Owen is incredibly thorough in this exhaustive presentation of strategies and different outlets for research, which is what makes this text a strong pick for any information professional, but particularly for students developing their search strategies and those in academic, medical and special library fields -- Audrey Hopkins * VOYA * 'In this book, now in its seventh edition and originally titled Success at the Enquiry Desk, experienced enquiry answerer and trainer Tim Buckley Owen provides a well-written instruction manual covering such skills, principally in the context of library services. Although each new edition has taken account of technological developments, the book is not technology led. Its focus is on the thinking skills which information professionals need, irrespective of the nature of the enquiries they receive. Owen succeeds in providing a valuable and informative guide to answering enquiries, written in a lively and accessible style which archive practitioners could constructively use either as a source of directly relevant advice or perhaps as a prompt to think about how aspects of this area of work might be carried out differently.'- Matti Watton, The British Library, Archives and Records * Archives and Records *
