Customer Service Operations and Excellence Essay

Customer Service Operations and Excellence - Essay Example The same can be achieved through effective customer service operations. The concept of achieving excellence in service through effective customer service has now transcended to various fields in general and academic libraries in particular. Service institutions such as universities are mainly focused on providing optimum quality service to the students, by way of enhanced support services for education, as a means to retain students and improve their academic performance (Sander et al., 2000). Academic libraries exist purely to offer services to the students, which include a range of activities such as offering professional reference services to enable the students to effectively use the various resources that the library has to offer; respond to online queries for references; assist in information delivery services such as shelving and re-shelving books, periodicals etc., among many others (Hernon, Altman, 1996). This paper on customer service operations and excellence aims to discu ss and analyze the various issues related to the management of academic libraries, with the help of appropriate theories and models and conclude with recommendations for improving the services operations to achieve better results. Managing Libraries: Overview One of the primary objectives of libraries is to store and record detailed information about books, in order to serve the 'customer' i.e. students in a better manner. Academic libraries in particular, deals with preserving and recording comprehensive information with regard to scholarly publications as well as the primary resources which are used by the students for achieving scholarships. The libraries in general and academic libraries in particular have recently undergone significant changes over the past couple of years, especially with regard to the manner in which information is stored and dealt with. Such rapid transformations can be largely attributed to the fact that the development of information technology has penetra ted almost all aspects of human life, and academic libraries are no exception. Such changes has brought about a significant transformation in the manner in which libraries are governed, and managed; followed by changes in its organizational structure, skills sets required of library staff, as well as the range of facilities made available to the customers (Budd, 2005). Libraries across the globe are now increasingly accepting and accommodating such changes, in order to enhance their service quality. According to the management at University of California Library: â€Å"The continuing proliferation of formats, tools, services, and technologies has upended how we arrange, retrieve, and present our holdings. Our users expect simplicity and immediate reward and Amazon, Google, and iTunes are the standards against which we are judged (University of California Libraries, 2005, p. 7).† Considering the wide ranging transformations brought about by technology, the management of librar y services must be reviewed to accommodate and cope up with the changing times. However, it must be noted that despite the rapid changes which have penetrated almost all the aspects of management within academic libraries, customer services still remains the same and uninhibited. The key role of librarians still surrounds provision of optimum services to the users, by offering high quality services.