Best Practices

This is partly because it is good for us to have a record in the software of the answer the patron receives. Also, the patron's home library has access to the question record and may want to be able to read the answer to know that its patron was well-served.

But the main reason that it's better to use the software to communicate with patrons is because it provides better privacy for our patrons.

In Oregon, email of public employees is public record. Library records are not. By sending patron information over a public employee's email account, the library records become public records. In order to protect our patrons' privacy, we try to keep our reference questions out of our email whenever possible.

Librarians sometimes tell the patron to call the library for a quick answer, especially when questions involve circulation records that many of us may not have access to.

Since the patron contacted the library through the chat or email service, the patron may be indicating a preference for electronic-based communication with the librarian. The downside of asking the patron to make a call is that it asks him to repeat his question all over again on the phone. The goal is to move the question, not the patron.