78 · SPEC Kit 296
Pennsylvania State University
a name, which can be male or female, indicate that by Mr./Ms.,
etc.
3. Always repeat the telephone number back to the caller to verify
that they gave you the right number and that you heard the
number correctly.
4. Always ask the caller if the person will know what it is in reference
to. This serves as a reminder to the message recipient and also
lets callers know that you are serious about getting the message
to the person. If it is a private matter, they will probably tell you
that the person will know what it is in reference to or it’s a
personal matter and in this case, no further clarification is needed.
5. Always Always repeat pertinent information back to the caller
before hanging up. The caller will be more offended by the call not
being returned due to a sloppy message than by asking them to
repeat their number or name.
6. Always remember to take a message as if it were for you. You
would want to know who it was, what they wanted and where they
could be reached. (and “some lady called, I don’t know what they
wanted and no, they didn’t say where they were, does not qualify
here.)
7. Always remember:
“Who is this?”
“What did they want?”
“Did they leave a number?”
This is a definite clue that the message is not very thorough.
8. Always remember that the Reception Desk personnel are service
oriented on both sides of the telephone.
Our goal, as the person working the Reception Desk, is to never
be asked the following when we hand someone a message:
Delivering the Message to Staff:
After you’ve taken this wonderful message, now what? Since the
Reception Desk personnel are somewhat restricted in mobility the first
thing we should do is call the staff person to tell them there is a message
at the Reception Desk. If there is no answer, immediately email the person
to tell them there is a message if you are comfortable that the staff person
will be checking their email soon (email addresses are posted on the
telephone sheet at the Reception Desk) OR hand the message to the next
staff person walking by to give to the person or place on the staff person’s
desk or chair. If it is near the end of the day, place any undelivered
messages on the courtesy counter beside the sign out board. That way
any employee will see it when they check out for the day.
We should not “hold on” to messages until the person walks by or just put
it in their mailbox. We cannot be responsible in determining the urgency of
each message, so prompt notification is VERY IMPORTANT.
Now you’re a pro!
Now that you’ve mastered the art of the Reception Desk telephone, what
else could there be? Please see Reception Desk Duties and
Responsibilities and Reception Desk Opening and Closing Procedures for
further tips, guidelines and procedures of the Reception Desk.
Registration of Users
The registration form should always be completed by a patron when requesting materials.
If the patron is not on-site, a staff member should gather all relevant information and
complete the registration form.
The form is laid out into two parts. The left side (REGISTRATION FORM) is primarily
personal information about the patron, such as name, address, telephone number and
email address. Normally the staff circle the status of the patron, the purpose of their visit,
and completes the brief description of their research topic. If the patron is a PSU graduate,
the patron will normally complete this portion of the form, including the year they
graduated.
We should encourage patrons to read the rules and procedures on the reverse side of the
registration form and then sign, indicating they understand and agree with our rules to use
Special Collections materials. Optional fields include answering where you heard about our
department and would you agree to have someone working on a similar topic contact you
at a later date. The staff member conducting the reference interview will then complete the
bottom of the form naming which unit(s) the material is from, how the question came to us,
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