Tech Coach How-To Making appointments:

Tech Coach How-To
Making appointments:
1. Use the blue binder at the circ. desk to help the patron select a date/time for an appointment.
2. Fill in the patron’s name and phone number. Make sure that it is legible and confirm that the
number is correct and currently working.
3. Fill out an appointment reminder card for the patron.
4. Stress to the patron the importance of arriving on time and calling ahead if they need to cancel.
Inform them that they will be working with a volunteer who has set aside this time to help them
and that we do not want to waste a volunteer’s time with no-show appointments.
5. Fill out the Tech Coach Status Notifier in GoogleDocs.
a. This is a very important step because this is where the volunteers check to see if they
have an appointment each week.
b. The library gmail account is: [email protected] and the pw is 4724statebpl
c. Add any notes that might be helpful for the coach (i.e. wants to work on excel/needs to
set up email/etc.) but do not put the patron’s name on the form.
6. Initial the binder sheet indicating that you have filled out the GoogleDoc.
Some guidelines:
1. Patrons may only sign up for 1 appointment per week and only up to 3 weeks consecutively.
While we want to fill the available slots as much as possible we also want to give others the
opportunity to sign up.
2. No Shows:
a. After about 10 minutes, call the patron to see if they are on their way.
b. If a patron does not show, make a note in the blue binder.
c. If a patron does not show more than once they should not be signed up for more
sessions (at least for a while – a month waiting period?). The tech coach coordinator
should call the patron, explain to them why it is so important to arrive for the
appointment and suggest that they attend library classes instead.
d. This is the one part of the program that is simply unavoidable. Communicate our
reminder process to volunteers so that they know we are doing our best to get the
patrons here for their appointments.
3. No studying required. While it can be helpful to the coaches to have a heads-up of what they’re
working on at their appointment they should not feel obligated to spend time studying up on
something overly specialized. Tell the patron that the coach may or may not be familiar with
that particular technology but that they will do their best to help them within the 1 hour time
frame.
Administration:
1. Blue binder @ circ. desk
a. Check to be sure that there are always about four weeks or more of sign-up sheets.
b. Check to be sure that there are copies of the sign-up reminder sheets to give to patrons.
c. Keep volunteer contact info up to date.
d. Documents can all be found in I:/Library/Collister/Volunteers
2. GoogleDoc
a. Cross-reference the GoogleDoc and the blue binder often to ensure that all
appointments are entered online.
b. Update the dates to correspond to upcoming weeks of appointments in the binder.
c. If cells lose their formatting:
i. Click on top left cell or hit Ctrl + A to select all
ii. Right-click anywhere in the document
iii. Choose ‘Conditional Formatting’
iv. A box will appear showing the rules. Click ‘Save Rules’
3. Patron Communication
a. Call patrons each week to remind them of their appointment. Again stress the
importance of calling ahead if they are running late or have to cancel.
b. Remember to advertise! Via word of mouth to patrons and in-house signage.
4. Volunteer Communication
a. Send out the link to the volunteers each week so they have easy access to the doc. You
can also use this opportunity to let them know about library events that might interest
them, interesting articles on technology in libraries or other relevant items.
b. Volunteers should call & speak with someone or email multiple people if they have
schedule changes or are unable to make it to an appointment.
5. Stats
a. Calculate the hours for each volunteer at the end of the month and enter them into the
volunteer hours form provided by BPL’s administrative secretary.
b. Attach the sheet in an email to the administrative secretary. This is due within the first
week of each month.
c. KEEP the old sign-up sheets. This is our documentation of the time volunteers were here
as well as past patron no-shows, etc.
*For information on volunteer coordinator procedures, see the ‘Volunteer Coordinator How To’
document at I:/Library/Collister/Volunteers