Dealing with Front Desk Realities

AFTER COMPLETING THIS COURSE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO:

• Start conversations with patrons in a way that feels natural, welcoming, and not forced
• Handle everyday requests with more confidence, clarity, and less second-guessing
• Respond to challenging situations with empathy while still keeping interactions on track
• Use simple communication techniques to de-escalate tension before it builds
• Set clear, respectful boundaries without feeling like you’re being rude or shutting people down
• Communicate professionally across in-person, phone, and email interactions
• Build stronger day-to-day relationships with patrons and coworkers through more intentional communication

You’ll leave with practical language and approaches you can use immediately, whether the interaction is easy or complicated.

If you are someone who:

• Talks to dozens of patrons a day and has to switch gears constantly
• Wants to be helpful and kind, even when interactions are frustrating or unclear
• Has had moments at the desk where you weren’t sure what to say or how to respond
• Is trying to balance being approachable with not getting overwhelmed or taken advantage of
• Wants to feel more confident handling both everyday interactions and the occasional tough one

This course was built for you.

This course is especially helpful for:

• Circulation staff and front desk workers who interact with patrons all day
• Library assistants and paraprofessionals managing public-facing responsibilities
• Librarians who want stronger communication and customer service skills in practice
• Staff who regularly handle questions, concerns, or complaints from the public
• Anyone newer to library work who wants a clearer, more confident approach to patron interactions

If you work with the public and want your day-to-day interactions to feel smoother and more manageable, you’ll see yourself in this course.

THIS COURSE CONSISTS OF 4 SELF-PACED MODULES:

Module 1: The Why and How of Customer Service: Responding to Common Issues

How do you initiate a connection or conversation with someone? Why is customer service pivotal for library workers, and how can you improve your service excellence? And how can you respond to common issues that arise with patrons? How do you conduct yourself professionally on the phone and over email? This introductory module will highlight small, tangible ways you can enhance your customer service skills and build relationships with library users. You will also learn practical tips for maintaining excellent phone and email communication and customer service.

Module 2: De-escalation Techniques: Communication and Customer Service in Difficult Situations

What is the role of communication in customer service, and what kind of communication is best to facilitate connection? What is nonviolent communication, and how can it help diffuse difficult patron interactions? This module will discuss tangible ways to de-escalate situations and navigate customer service during conflict and tension.

Module 3: Customer Service and Relationships: Building Emotional Intelligence

What is emotional intelligence and how can it help you improve your customer service? How do you work toward growing emotional intelligence when it's such an amorphous concept? This module will explore practical ways to grow your self-awareness, interpersonal skills, and emotional intelligence to create and build trust with colleagues and library users.

Module 4: The Customer Isn't Always Right: Self-Care and Boundaries

How do you determine when the customer isn't right, and then what do you do to move forward? How do you maintain your personal boundaries and self-care all while in a customer service role? This module will give you practical tips for identifying if and when a library user is worth keeping and how to focus on employee needs alongside customer service. We will also discuss ways to articulate your boundaries and identify ways to care for yourself while at work.

COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Brianna Campbell, Strengths Coach, Speaker, Workshop Facilitator

Brianna Campbell offers a fresh perspective on leadership development. After graduating from Cornell University, she joined a strategic consultancy where she became a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and created culture development programs for her clients. While there, she managed several accounts and built internal programs that ultimately propelled her to become the Director of Learning and Development after four years with the company. At the beginning of 2022, she decided to tackle a new challenge and become a self-employed Strengths Coach and Workshop Facilitator. Her clients span a variety of sectors including government, construction, property management, marketing, senior care, electrical services, and the nonprofit sector. Brianna’s desire to see people empowered to go beyond what they thought possible drives her work today.

Elisabeth Marrocolla, Deputy Director, Darien Library

Elisabeth Marrocolla is the Deputy Director and Associate Director of Public Services at Darien Library in Connecticut, where she has served in leadership roles for nearly a decade. An avid reader and experienced librarian, she previously led the library’s Children and Teen Services department and continues to champion innovative library programming and inclusive services for all ages. Elisabeth holds a Master of Library and Information Science and has contributed writing on librarianship and readers’ advisory to professional publications and blogs. At Darien Library, she is known for her enthusiasm for genre fiction, community engagement, and fostering a welcoming environment for lifelong learning.

Margaret Ann Paauw, PhD, LCSW, Assistant Professor, Eastern Michigan University

Dr. Margaret Ann Paauw is an Assistant Professor at Eastern Michigan University, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and author. She has practiced social work since 2012, primarily with individuals experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, and serious mental illness. Dr. Paauw previously worked as a library social worker with the Chicago Public Library and was an active member of the Public Library Association’s Library Social Work Taskforce. She facilitated the library social work direct service call, co-authored A Trauma-Informed Framework for Supporting Patrons, and authored Navigating Difficult Situations in Public Libraries. Dr. Paauw has consulted on library social work partnerships and provided trauma-informed and de-escalation trainings to libraries across the country. Her research focuses on the efficacy of library social work partnerships and contributing evidence to support this growing practice.

Melissa Munn, (she, her) Owner, Melissa Munn Library Consulting

Melissa is a compassionate library leader and trainer with over 20 years of experience developing staff and creating inclusive, welcoming spaces. Drawing on a background in Criminology and 10+ years in social services, she has worked directly with marginalized populations including youth experiencing homelessness and individuals involved in the criminal justice system. Using a strengths-based, trauma-informed approach, Melissa partners with organizations to build stronger teams and cultivate library environments where all people feel safe and welcome.

Front desk work is where everything shows up. Questions, frustrations, confusion, policy issues, people having a bad day. You’re expected to handle it all in real time, often without much training in how to actually navigate those interactions.

This course focuses on what to do in those moments. Not in theory, but in the actual situations you deal with every day. You’ll learn how to communicate more clearly, respond with empathy without losing control of the interaction, and handle both routine and difficult conversations with more confidence.

You’ll also build practical skills around emotional intelligence, boundary-setting, and professional communication across in-person, phone, and email interactions. The goal is not to change who you are. It’s to give you tools that make the job feel more manageable and interactions feel less draining.

SESSIONS AND PRICING

Early bird pricing ends one month before the session deadline. Course materials unlock on the session deadline date.

GROUP OPTIONS

Training a team? Choose the setup that matches how you want to plan and pay :

Group course enrollment: Enroll 3+ staff in this course and save.

Bulk course credits: Prepay once, get the highest per-seat discount on every course, and assign seats later.

Unlimited annual licensing: System-wide access for a year with no per-course approvals.

Request Discounted Group Pricing

Questions? Email groupsales@libraryjournal.com.

COURSE FORMAT

This is a fully self-paced, asynchronous online course consisting of multiple modules. Each module includes video instruction, slides, readings, and reflection activities designed to connect directly to your daily front desk work.

EXPECTED TIME COMMITMENT

The course is designed to take approximately 8–10 hours to complete. You may move through the material at your own pace and on your own schedule.

COURSE ACCESS

You will have access to all course materials for six months from the material unlock date.

CREDIT & CERTIFICATE

Complete all modules to earn professional development credit hours and an Library Journal certificate of completion.

ACCESSIBILITY

All video recordings feature auto-captioning. If you require accommodations, please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration and we will make our best efforts to support your needs.

SUPPORT

For technical or course-related support, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.