Abstract

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.
Tim Buckley Owen BA DipLib MCLIP is an independent writer and trainer with over 40 years' experience of information work - at Westminster Central Reference Library, the City Business Library, and as Principal Information Officer at the London Research Centre. He has also held strategic media and communications posts at CILIP, the Museums, Libraries & Archives Council and the Library & Information Commission.
Owen is incredibly thorough in this exhaustive presentation of strategies and different outlets for research, which is what makes this text a strong pick for any information professional, but particularly for students developing their search strategies and those in academic, medical and special library fields

Audrey Hopkins
VOYA
"With its cutting edge coverage of contemporary developments, Successful Enquiry Answering Every Time is much more than was ever taught to trainee librarians. It is highly recommended for students, librarians, and library educators and also for anyone who has to answer questions in a contact centre or enquiry desk anywhere. Whether finding answers or teaching others how to find answers, this book is a goldmine of effective ideas."
Australian Library Journal