Policy

Multnomah County Library welcomes feedback, positive and negative, from patrons. If a patron provides input to the library, either by completing the online comments and suggestions form or by filling out and submitting a comment card, the information they provide will be reviewed by appropriate library staff. If the patron provides contact information, they will receive a response.

Rationale

Patrons who use and support the library have a right to express their concerns and opinions about their experience with the library.  

Application

A staff member will listen to the concerns of the patron and attempt to satisfy him/her by listening and acknowledging the right to state an opinion. Staff may solicit the assistance of a supervisor or PIC to attempt to address the concern in the moment.

If the patron wishes to submit a formal complaint, staff will share with the customer the most appropriate communication channel. Once submitted, the patron's comment will be reviewed by appropriate staff. The patron will receive a response if he/she has provided contact information.

Procedure

Step 1: When patrons have comments or concerns...

Understand and practice MCL's service principles

• Become familiar with our Customer Service Principles.

Help patrons access appropriate communication channels

• For general comments and complaints, kudos to the library or library staff, or questions about library procedures,
  • help the patron access the online Contact the library form, or
  • offer the patron a comment card.
• For complaints about library materials, see Complaints about Library Materials in the Daily Operations Manual.

Step 2: When a paper comment card is received...

Complete internal comment form

• When a paper comment card is received, designated staff transcribe the comment card into the Internal Comments, Questions and Suggestions form.
• Staff are directed to fill out the form as completely as possible, including what steps have been taken to address the issue, and any other relevant information.
• For staff inputting data: you may find yourself entering a complaint/concern about you or a colleague's service, the comment may be inappropriate or include threats. Don't take it personally, yes, they all need to be entered.

Forward original paper comment card

• Once a paper comment card is entered into the form, send the original hard copy to the Director's Office for archives per county records policy: 635/ADM/DIROF.

Step 3: When you receive a comment through Knowledge Tracker...

• Once a comment form is submitted online, it is automatically assigned to the designated Knowledge Tracker administrator. At regional and neighborhood libraries, this is typically the branch administrator.
• If a response is requested:
  • If the compliment or concern pertains specifically to the location at which it's received, the branch administrator can choose to respond to the concern or reassign it to Neighborhood Libraries.
  • If the compliment or concern pertains to the greater library system, reassign it to Neighborhood Libraries or an appropriate Knowledge Tracker administrator.
  • If it's unclear where the comment should go, reassign it to "COMMENTS COMMENTS."
  • If reassigning a ticket, include any additional information in the Comments section of the ticket that will be helpful for the person to whom the ticket is reassigned.
  • If a mailing address is provided without an email address, the responding staff person (or their designee) is responsible for printing and sending a response via U.S. mail.
  • Once you have responded to the comment, reassign or forward it to appropriate staff as an fyi and close the ticket.
• If a response is NOT requested:
  • Reassign or forward the comment to appropriate staff as an fyi and close the ticket.
• Compliments:
  • All compliments about library locations or location staff can be reassigned to the library administrator or designee.
• ​Closing tickets:
  • ​If no further action is required, be sure to close the ticket. This ensures those tickets that do still need a response will be more easily discoverable.

​A flowchart of this procedure is also available.

Resources & support

Sample responses

• When responding to a patron's comment, feel free to consult the Sample Responses to Comment Cards document to discover responses to many frequently commented upon topics.

Knowledge Tracker

• The MCL Knowledge Tracker Guide explains how to use various features of the Knowledge Tracker tool and includes best practices and answers to frequently asked questions.