Communications Policy

We recognise that effective communication is essential in order to provide good customer service and to fulfil our Standards of Service. The Communication Policy explains how we stay in touch with you, what we aim to achieve through our communications, and how we actively listen and respond to your feedback. 

1. Communication Purpose

We provide our customers with a range of information. Broadly speaking our communication approaches fall under the following categories:

• To inform: we provide transparent information to our customers about our services (e.g. opening hours, loan entitlements), our policies and our procedures (e.g. ILL procedures).
• To notify: we provide our customers with notification reminders when their books are reaching the due date, when their reserved books are available for collection and when their books are overdue.
• To respond: we respond to queries we receive from customers face‐to‐face, by email and via social media outlets.
• To consult with customers.

2. Methods of Communication

We communicate with our customers through a variety of appropriate channels and mechanisms, in ways which meet individual needs and preferences. These currently include:

AFBI Intranet	Plasma screens
Email	Quarterly Newsletter
General library webpages	Service points
Guides, leaflets, flyers	Surveys
Induction sessions	Telephone calls
Instagram	Tours
Library Committee meetings	Training sessions
Library news items	User Experience (UX) research
Notices	X

These methods will be reviewed regularly and advances in communication channels will be adapted where appropriate. 

3. Communication Principles

To ensure effective communication with our customers, we aim to embody the following principles:

• Our communication will be clear and concise in order to deliver our message succinctly.
• We aim to use plain English so our communication is easily understandable.
• We will deliver timely communication that is relevant to the customer at their point of need and ensure that agreed standards of service are met.
• We will reply promptly to all customer queries, ensuring that agreed standards of service are met.
• We will adopt a flexible communication approach, delivering our messages in a variety of ways that meet customer needs and preferences.
• We endeavour to standardise our communication where possible in order to ensure customer clarity by creating templates for letters and emails.

4. Internal Communication

To deliver effective communication to our customers, we must ensure that our internal communication is effective. We will do this by:

• setting an Out of Office email to alert colleagues to our absence from work.
• recording an appropriate voicemail to allow colleagues to leave a message and also to redirect colleagues to an alternative colleague/department if we are unavailable.
• encouraging staff to offer feedback on our communication methods and information provision.
• Contributing to a regular Library Team Brief. 
• Holding regular Library Staff updates throughout the year. 
• Effectively utilising Microsoft Teams as a staff update and communication tool. 

5. Policy Evaluation

Our Communication Policy will be kept up to date with an annual review. We will also review strategic documents that may impact on our Communication Policy on an annual basis, for example our Social Media Strategy (Appendix 1).

6. Evaluating Our Communication

In order to ensure the effectiveness of our communication, we will regularly evaluate our communication approach by:

• seeking regular customer feedback (both formal and informal) on our communication and information provision.
• listening to and responding to customer suggestions regarding our communication and information provision.
• making changes to our communication methods or principles where necessary.
• reviewing and updating our Communication Policy accordingly.
• regularly reviewing and updating all information content to ensure accuracy and currency.
• gather and analyse statistics regarding the usage of our communication channels where possible. We will use these statistics to inform our policy and decision making regarding communication and information provision in the Library (Table 1 summarises the channels and media we currently use to communicate with our customers and, where possible, how we can gather evidence of use)

Table 1.

Medium	Channel	One to one	One to many	One-or two way	How measured?	Mainly used for
AFBI Intranet	web		yes	one	system	news about resources and events
Email	electronic	yes	yes	two	manually	reliably reaching individuals or groups
General Library webpages	web		yes	two	system	Library services and contact details
Guides, leaflets, flyers	print		yes	one	manually	subject, database and services information
Induction sessions	In-person		yes	two	manually	providing orientation and help and advice
Instagram	web	yes	yes	two	system	brief updates, urgent messages
Library Committee meetings	In-person		yes	two	n/a	presenting Library updates and eliciting feedback
Library news items	web		yes	two	system	news about resources and events
Notices	print		yes	one	n/a	current information
Plasma screens	electronic		yes	one	n/a	current information
Quarterly Newsletter	electronic		yes	one	system	news about resources and events
Service points	In-person	yes		two	manually	providing help and advice
Surveys	electronic		yes	two	system	eliciting feedback
Telephone calls	In-person	yes		two	manually	providing help and advice
Tours	In-person	yes	yes	two	manually	providing orientation
Training sessions	In-person	yes	yes	two	manually	giving instruction
User Experience (UX) research	In-person & electronic	yes	yes	two	manually	Gathering customer insight
X	Social media	yes	yes	two	system	brief updates, urgent messages

 

Appendix 1 - AFBI Library Social Media Strategy

Introduction

The purpose of this document to record how AFBI Library utilises social media platforms to promote its services and resources to customers.

The main reason for adopting social media platforms, inclucing X and Instagram, as a communication tool was to:

• Inform customers about news and developments
• Promote services and resources
• Assist customers in using the Library
• Gather feedback about library services
• Engage with customers, particularly within the AFBI community.

Metrics

The main metrics that social media platforms collate include total followers (the number of people that follow the Library’s accounts), post impressions, likes, profile visits and mentions. These metrics are the key way for AFBI Library to measure the effectiveness of social media content.

Content Topics

We have developed a calendar of events and topics to guide the campaigns throughout each year. 

Integration

A number of steps have been taken to integrate social media with the Library’s other forms of communication:

• Details about our social media accounts can be added to individual email signatures. 
• Induction documentation for new library users includes details about the AFBI Library’s social media accounts.
• Social media buttons are included on the homepage of our website.

Management

All members of the AFBI Library team post on our social media platforms. The responsibility for managing the accounts is shared between the Newforge and Stormont Libraries on a weekly, rotating basis.

• Members of the group manage the service during weekdays from 9.00am until 5.00pm.
• Any queries about posting or responding to comments are discussed informally via the group.

Reviewed February 2026