When you’re in an organization that provides services to people across a large region, a whole state for example, you get a lot of e-mail from a lot of people. Many times this e-mail comes from people with whom you don’t communicate with on a regular basis. Also, with the increased social nature of the Web, although sending e-mail may seem quaint to some, it will not be going away any time soon.
So, if you want to be sure that your e-mails are responded to promptly, and to reduce the amount of e-mail being sent back asking, now, just which library are you from, it’s best to set up an e-mail signature file. Once you’ve done this, whenever you create a new message, this information will be automatically appended to your e-mail, providing much needed contact information and without you needing to type it every time.
What should be included in a signature file? At a minimum:
- Your name & title,
- your library’s name,
- the library’s full mailing address,
- the library’s phone number, including area code,
- relevant phone numbers and URLs,
- and your e-mail address for good measure.
For example, here’s mine:
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Michael Sauers, Technology Innovation Librarian
Nebraska Library Commission
The Atrium, 1200 N Street, Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508-2023
402-471-2045
800-307-2665 (NE only)
Fax: 402-471-2083
msauers@nlc.state.ne.us
http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/
http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/
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Most e-mail programs today allow you to create multiple signature files, a personal one and a professional one for example, and you choose which one is appropriate for the type of communication you’re sending.
Instructions on how to set up a signature file in the most common e-mail clients are linked to below. If you have any questions about this please let me know.
Hey Mike,
Great post. Think I’ll add “friend of libraryman” to my info. 😉