Public Services in Special Collections · 77
Pennsylvania State University
Place the incoming call on hold. Press the “intercom voice” button and dial
the staff person’s 3-digit intercom number. It will not ring. Just start
speaking. (If it does ring, this means they are already on their line and we
can just take a message.) Otherwise, tell them they have a call on 1793 or
7931 and you can then hang up the receiver. You do not have to wait for
the staff person to pick up and acknowledge our call. If they do not pick up
the call within a few seconds (the line will stop flashing when they pick up
the call), pick up the phone and press the blinking line button and ask the
caller if they would like to leave a message or if they would like transferred
to the staff person’s voice mail. *transferring to voice mail is outlined below.
If a call comes in on any other line than those listed above:
Most of the other lines have voice mail attached to them and these are
indicated beside the number on the phone at the Reception Desk. So, it is
not necessary to answer incoming calls for those lines because they will
go directly into the staff person’s voice mail after a set number of rings.
However, there are three other lines that do not have voice mail. Should a
call come in on those lines and it rings more than three times, answer the
call.
Then intercom the person by dialing their 3-digit number and let them
know they have a call on Line ****.From the Reception Desk, we can
transfer the call to them wherever they are or they can move to a phone
that has that line on it.
If the Staff person prefers that you transfer the call to wherever they
are:
Go back on the blinking line and press the TRANSFER button, dial the
person’s 3-digit intercom number (where they are) and hang up.
Note: Every phone has 1793, 7931 and on it. The rollover number is 5-
2067. Any line that rings at the Reception Desk should be answered. This
will usually be 5-2067 and any line that does not have voice mail attached
to it.
What’s the difference between the Transfer button and the Recall
Button and when do I use them?
The Transfer button is used to transfer calls within the department. The
Recall button is used to put an outside call into someone’s voice mail or
transfer a call out of Special Collections to another location in the library or
on campus.
Press Dial
Within Department Transfer
3 Digit Number
(example:719)
Immediately Hang Up
Out of Special Collections
Dept.
or to Voice Mail
Recall
5 Digit Number
(example 5-2123)
Press Recall Again and Hang Up
If you dial a wrong number, receive a busy signal or get no answer, press
RECALL TWICE to get your original caller back.
When a person is not available to take the call:
If someone receives a call and they are in a meeting or out of the office,
there is no need to volunteer to the caller where they are exactly. Simply
say, “They are out of the office at the moment. May I take a message or
can someone else help you?”
A good guideline to follow is –
Do not divulge any more information than necessary to an unknown caller,
including any personal telephone number information!
Taking a message:
This is perhaps the most important part of manning the Reception Desk.
Yet it is the most neglected and can also be the most frustrating to the
message recipient. We cannot stress the following guidelines enough:
1. Always ask the caller if there is a message.
2. Always confirm the spelling of the name. If it is a difficult name,
indicate the correct pronunciation for the message recipient so
staff can ask for the person correctly when returning the call. If it is
Pennsylvania State University
Place the incoming call on hold. Press the “intercom voice” button and dial
the staff person’s 3-digit intercom number. It will not ring. Just start
speaking. (If it does ring, this means they are already on their line and we
can just take a message.) Otherwise, tell them they have a call on 1793 or
7931 and you can then hang up the receiver. You do not have to wait for
the staff person to pick up and acknowledge our call. If they do not pick up
the call within a few seconds (the line will stop flashing when they pick up
the call), pick up the phone and press the blinking line button and ask the
caller if they would like to leave a message or if they would like transferred
to the staff person’s voice mail. *transferring to voice mail is outlined below.
If a call comes in on any other line than those listed above:
Most of the other lines have voice mail attached to them and these are
indicated beside the number on the phone at the Reception Desk. So, it is
not necessary to answer incoming calls for those lines because they will
go directly into the staff person’s voice mail after a set number of rings.
However, there are three other lines that do not have voice mail. Should a
call come in on those lines and it rings more than three times, answer the
call.
Then intercom the person by dialing their 3-digit number and let them
know they have a call on Line ****.From the Reception Desk, we can
transfer the call to them wherever they are or they can move to a phone
that has that line on it.
If the Staff person prefers that you transfer the call to wherever they
are:
Go back on the blinking line and press the TRANSFER button, dial the
person’s 3-digit intercom number (where they are) and hang up.
Note: Every phone has 1793, 7931 and on it. The rollover number is 5-
2067. Any line that rings at the Reception Desk should be answered. This
will usually be 5-2067 and any line that does not have voice mail attached
to it.
What’s the difference between the Transfer button and the Recall
Button and when do I use them?
The Transfer button is used to transfer calls within the department. The
Recall button is used to put an outside call into someone’s voice mail or
transfer a call out of Special Collections to another location in the library or
on campus.
Press Dial
Within Department Transfer
3 Digit Number
(example:719)
Immediately Hang Up
Out of Special Collections
Dept.
or to Voice Mail
Recall
5 Digit Number
(example 5-2123)
Press Recall Again and Hang Up
If you dial a wrong number, receive a busy signal or get no answer, press
RECALL TWICE to get your original caller back.
When a person is not available to take the call:
If someone receives a call and they are in a meeting or out of the office,
there is no need to volunteer to the caller where they are exactly. Simply
say, “They are out of the office at the moment. May I take a message or
can someone else help you?”
A good guideline to follow is –
Do not divulge any more information than necessary to an unknown caller,
including any personal telephone number information!
Taking a message:
This is perhaps the most important part of manning the Reception Desk.
Yet it is the most neglected and can also be the most frustrating to the
message recipient. We cannot stress the following guidelines enough:
1. Always ask the caller if there is a message.
2. Always confirm the spelling of the name. If it is a difficult name,
indicate the correct pronunciation for the message recipient so
staff can ask for the person correctly when returning the call. If it is
