SIRS minutes 4/18/01

Attending:  Gerri Foudy, Glenn Moreton, Mary Winker, Ross Laguerre,
Yahaira Norris-Gonzalez, Debbi Stefany, Eric Lindquist
Scribe: Susanna Van Sant

1.  SIRS meeting management
        We proposed that all SIRS members share responsibilities for
 meeting management.  We identified 3 roles to be filled at each
 meeting.

        Facilitator - collect agenda items, negotiate time allotments
 with the discussion leaders, publish the agenda prior to the meeting,
 introduce topics at the meeting and ensure that the discussion
 remains on track and that everyone who wants to speak gets a chance
 to do so.
        Scribe - send a draft of the minutes to SIRS soon after the
 meeting, make adjustments, and send minutes to library staff.  The
 minutes would always include (an up-to-date) list of pending agenda
 items.
        Time keeper - make sure that we limit our discussions to the
 time allotted.

        Responsibilities will rotate at each meeting, alphabetically
 by last name, through the roster of SIRS members.  If any one of us
 is unable to attend a meeting at which we have a task, we must find a
 replacement (by making a trade).

        We will clarify and ratify (we hope) this proposal at our
 meeting on May 2.  The rotation would begin with the meeting of May
 16.  

2.  Referral policy
        We reviewed the latest revision of the policy (below).

        We agreed that it is difficult to establish a common practice
 that reflects the individual preferences of everyone who works at the
 desk.  We hope that the procedures are as inclusive of varying
 opinions as possible and are thankful that our colleagues will be
 tolerant of referrals that they still feel, in spite of our best
 efforts, might be made in error.

3.  E-resources remote access page
        Laura Sowers visited to share her work on the Off-Campus
 Access to Library Resources page
 (http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ETC/remoteaccess.html).

        We offered her some suggestions for further editing of the
 page.  SIRS thanks Laura for her efforts to clarify the issues and
 instructions and for soliciting our input.

        If anyone else would like to offer constructive feedback,
 Laura can be reached at LS194@umail. 

4.  Post-TIP discussion
        Glenn transcribed the meeting charts and tallied the counts
 regarding which practices we found most important.   He will forward
 these documents to our colleagues prior to the next TIP meeting.

        We learned that the areas that present the most confusion
 regard telephone vs. onsite queries, bringing work to the desk, time
 spent with each person vs. thoroughness, and whose responsibility it
 is to alert a colleague that his or her conduct at the desk could be
 construed as inappropriate.  SIRS would like to address these
 specific questions at the next TIP meeting and attempt to reach a
 common understanding among the people who work at the desk.  Susanna
 will ask Sue if she would consider facilitating the discussion on
 these topics.

*****

Referral Policy

When a person comes to the desk asking for a specific person, by name:

        If a patron comes to the desk for an appointment with a staff
 member, the person serving the patron should telephone the staff
 member to let him or her know that the patron is there.  A patron
 should never be sent to an office unannounced.  

        If the patron does not have an appointment, the person at the
 desk should telephone the staff member and then hand the telephone to
 the patron so that the patron can leave a voice-mail message or talk
 with the staff member.  The staff member can then decide whether or
 not to a) come to the desk to meet with the patron immediately; b)
 make an appointment with the patron for a later time; or c) refer the
 patron to someone currently at the desk for assistance.  

        If the patron is not able to speak to the requested staff
 member, the person at the desk should offer to help.  

       When a person comes to the desk and wants specialized
 assistance but does not know the specialist's name:

        Staff at the desk may refer patrons by giving out business
 cards, but preferably only to students, staff and faculty of the
 University of Maryland.  UMUC students should be referred to UMUC
 librarians and non-UM patrons can be told when the appropriate
 subject specialist is scheduled to work at the desk.  

        Anyone at the desk should feel free to give out a card, but
 please first make sure that the librarians on duty (if ones are
 scheduled) are unable to help the patron and that the patron does
 indeed need to consult with the subject specialist instead.