GATHERING MEANINGFUL STATISTICS
Laura Connaughton
Assistant Librarian
Library Information Services
Using KnowAll Enquire at John Paul II Library NUI Maynooth
ARLG Conference June 24th 2014
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
While formally established as an autonomous university in 1997, NUI Maynooth traces its origins to the foundation of the Royal College of St. Patrick in 1795, drawing inspiration from a heritage that includes over 200 years of education and scholarship
The University community comprises over 9,000 students and 800 staff from more than 20 countries
Two Libraries
Russell Library, Special Collections and pre-1850 material
John Paul II Library
South Campus St. Patrick’s College
South Campus New Library
TODAY’S PRESENTATION
Discuss the shift in JPII Library from paper based enquiries to
online based enquiries
What KnowAll Enquire is and how it was adapted for practical
use in JPII Library
How KnowAll Enquire can improve the user experience
through the process of tracking the enquiry from origin
through each stage of the enquiry handling process
Challenges and opportunities presented by an online enquiry
management package
Advice for others considering a similar model
ENQUIRY MANAGEMENT @ NUI MAYNOOTH LIBRARY
Metrics are becoming more and more important in terms of demonstrating library work and value
NUI Maynooth Library – new building, new facilities, new resources – we want to be able to demonstrate our value and commitment to teaching, learning and research at NUI Maynooth
First academic library in Ireland to purchase KnowAll Enquire
KnowAll Enquire helps us monitor enquiries and generate meaningful statistics which means we can monitor and improve our service and prove our value
WHY INTRODUCE A ENQUIRY MANAGEMENT PACKAGE?
Opportunity to streamline all our enquiries into one central point
Ability to measure customer enquiries, for example, amount
of enquiries, time taken, busy/quiet times etc. Opportunity to improve the customer experience by having a
bank of knowledge/FAQs Provide clarity for library staff – ability to see if enquiries are
answered/resolved, what the answer is for future reference
With our new library, we expected library usage to increase and were being proactive in terms of gathering metrics
NEW LIBRARY NEW SERVICES AT NUI MAYNOOTH
NEW OPPORTUNITIES!
WHERE OUR LIBRARY ENQUIRIES COME FROM
Chat
Walk Ins
Appointment
Online form
Phone
Enquiries by Type June 2014
Pre-2014 Paper Based Information Desk Statistics Sheet
Pre-2014 Paper Based Admission Desk Statistics Sheet
Where did these statistics go? ...
EXCEL
Cons:
Data Entry
Laborious
Time Consuming
Requires knowledge & ability to manipulate figures
How do we collate these figures in one go?
KnowAll Enquire
KnowAll Enquire
KNOWALL ENQUIRE KnowAll Enquire is an enquiry tracking software package which tracks all types of enquiries right through
from initial enquiry to meaningful statistics and reports with a view to improving the customer
experience and track the enquiry from origin through each stage of the enquiry handling process.
How does it work?
It captures initial enquiries made at the Information Desk, via walk-ins, online form, email or library chat
We can assign queries to people i.e. share the workload according to location, specialist subjects and availability
By monitoring the enquiries we can ensure that questions are answered
We can search answers thus sharing knowledge and see how similar enquiries were answered previously
The software is capable of providing very accurate statistics and reports which means we will be able to improve our service
We can publish FAQ’s meaning enquirers can help themselves with straightforward queries
TIMELINE
Autumn 2012 - Enquire purchased
Autumn/Winter 2012 - New library move
Spring 2013 Visit to University of Warwick, UK
Beginning initial design of NUIM Library prototype
Working closely with Bailey Solutions in setting up the technical spec of Enquire
Summer 2013 Dedicated staff member - Edel Cosgrove, Library Assistant
Software design & testing
Autumn/Winter 2013 Staff training and launch
Spring & Summer 2014 Continuing roll-out to all library staff
Software changes and updates
LIBRARY DEPARTMENTS
1. Information Desk (11 staff)
2. Admission Desk (11 staff)
3. General Collections & Finance (12 staff)
4. Special Collections & Russell Library (7 staff)
5. Digital & Electronic Collections (3 staff)
6. Information Literacy (3 staff)
7. Subject Librarians (7 staff)
8. Library IT Development (3 staff)
LET’S TAKE A LOOK
Admission Desk
Information Desk
Subject Librarian
INTERFACE – INFORMATION DESK
INTERFACE – ADMISSION DESK
INTERFACE – SUBJECT LIBRARIAN
SAMPLE FORM FOR AN ENGLISH ENQUIRY
Reporting
CUSTOM REPORTS
REPORTING – SOME EXAMPLES NUIM INFORMATION DESK (BY HOUR) SHOWS ENQUIRIES BY HOUR OF THE DAY AND GIVES PERCENTAGE
NUIM INFORMATION DESK (BY CONTACT METHOD) SHOWS ENQUIRIES BY CONTACT METHOD AND GIVES PERCENTAGE
NUIM ADMISSION DESK SHOWS ENQUIRY COUNT FOR ADMISSION DESK
NUIM SUBJECT LIBRARIANS (WORK IN PROGRESS) SHOWS COUNT BY TIME AND SUBJECT
How we share information with our library users
We let people know what we do and how busy we are year round
Libraries need to proactively show our value and KnowAll is key to us demonstrating this in a variety of
ways
Library Infograph
Challenges
Benefits
Advice
CHALLENGES BENEFITS
Cost
Time
Set Up
Testing
Rollout and Training
Change
Time
Easy to access and see previously answered queries
Demonstration of value and time
Clarity of workflows
BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS
Self-Directed Learning
When KnowAll Enquire is 100% customised, students and library users will be able to search FAQs for self-service answering of queries with instant answers
Students can be assured that enquires will not be ‘lost’ in the process of referrals from desk to department
Online Form – students don’t need to know exactly who should get their query, less time consuming
BENEFITS FOR STAFF
One dedicated system for receiving, tracking and answering enquiries
Do away with paper-based enquiries, all in a central location
Potential to enhance our customer service through consistent answering and knowledge bank
Each library team can monitor their own enquiries
BENEFITS FOR MANAGEMENT
Reporting of metrics and statistics an excellent feature
The level of detail in the reports has the ability to dig down to both quantitative and qualitative information
Ability to improve customer service, e.g., what is the most asked question re. databases, do we need to do more training/advertising?
Gives an overview of busy/quiet time data to inform of changes to opening hours etc.
ADVICE
Having a dedicated person to work on the software set-up side is not necessary but definitely an advantage
You need the time to learn the product and how you want to use it. The capability is huge, you need to be able to harness it
Emerging body of literature about development of statistical packages – we made our decision informed by practice and met Bailey Solutions at LILAC 2012
Visited site before purchase (A&L Goodbody) and after purchase (University of Warwick)
Remember it’s not an ‘overnight’ product. We still have lots of work to do on it including student import, diversion of emails into Enquire, more training and rollout. Be patient!
THANK YOU
Laura Connaughton
John Paul II Library, NUI Maynooth
00353 (0)1 708 3429
http://library.nuim.ie
CONTACT
KnowAll Enquiry Management from Bailey Solutions
www.knowallenquire.com
CREDITS
NUI Maynooth KnowAll Enquire
http://nuim.knowallenquire.co.uk/Home.aspx
J. Gabe Gossett, Elizabeth Stephan, Rebecca Marrall,
(2012) "Implementing reference statistics collection software at multiple library service points", New Library World, Vol. 113 Iss: 5/6, pp.235 - 248
All photos by kind permission of Alan Monahan, NUI Maynooth Library