Successful Enquiry Answering Every Time is designed to guide information professionals through all the stages of research, from finding out what the enquirer really wants, to providing a polished, value-added answer.

When people want to satisfy their immediate curiosity they?re much more likely to use a search engine on their mobile device than ask their local library. But while the days of personal intervention in this kind of enquiry are inevitably numbered, the professional skills that underpin them are not. This book uses technology as the enabler of the thought processes that information professionals need to engage in when answering enquiries, and makes the case that new technology, far from making them irrelevant, raises the skill stakes for all.

Now in its 7th edition, this book is fully updated to cover new skills, such as:

• employing critical thinking to manipulate, categorise and prioritise raw search results
• using strategic reading and abstracting techniques to identify and summarise the essential information the enquirer needs from the retrieved documents
• drawing on established story-telling practice to present research results effectively ? whether orally or in writing
• working to the POWER model: plan, organise, write, edit, review.

This book is ideal for anyone who has to answer enquiries from users in any information role; those working in contact centres who are dealing with information enquiries, processing transactions or trouble-shooting technical issues; and information professionals working on enquiry desks in large or small academic, public, school or special libraries.

Introduction: Why thinking skills matter

• Eight essential thinking skills for successful enquiry answering

1. What do they really want?

• Using your analytical thinking skills to understand the question
• Avoiding misunderstandings
• Asking the right questions
• Does all this really work?
• Agreeing the task
• Finding out how long you?ve got
• Coming next ? when the enquirer?s not there

2. Why remote enquiry handling is different

• Anticipating problems by thinking emphathetically
• Can?t see, can?t hear ? the risk of misunderstanding, even offence
• Keeping your remote enquirer on-side
• Keeping good records
• Coming next ? avoiding panic, thinking on your feet

3. Getting started

• Dealing with the panic by thinking imaginatively
• Imagining the final answer
• Choosing the best type of source and delivery medium
• Does all this really work?
• Identifying actual sources
• Coming next ? smarter searching

4. Smarter searching

• Developing efficient search strategies by thinking systematically
• Who needs to be able to search smarter?
• Working out your search strategy
• Searching systematically
• Making the most of indexes
• Electronic search tools
• Reading strategically
• Making sure that what you find is reliable
• Coming next ? even more things that can go wrong

5. Help! Everything?s going wrong

• Using lateral thinking to get out of difficulties
• Vital versus urgent tasks
• Your working timetable
• Managing expectations
• Plan B
• Referrals
• Coming next ? adding value

6. Success! Now let?s add some value

• Using your creative thinking skills to present your answer well
• Quality-checking your answer
• Presenting your answer ? orally
• Presenting your answer ? in writing
• Copyright, licensing, ethics
• Has the answer arrived ? and does the enquirer like it?
• Sign-off: what can we learn from this enquiry?
• Coming next ? adding even more value

7. Don?t just give me another reading list!

• Using critical thinking skills to add further value to your answer
• POWER and KISS
• Making your search results manipulable
• Selecting, rejecting, prioritizing 140
• Strategic reading ? finding the best bits of each document
• Capturing the content for your report
• Now you?re ready to write!
• Making sure your work gets read and valued
• Coming next ? choosing your toolkit

8. Choosing your toolkit

• Using your predictive thinking skills to determine the resources you?ll need
• Making best use of your Time, Intellect and Money
• Keeping track of your enquiries
• Discovering information in your own resources (and beyond)
• Choosing and using the right search engine
• Adding value to your search results
• Starter Sources
• Your goal: successful enquiry answering ? every time