Today At The Desk....

Today was a little less harried at the desk than it has been lately, and I was very glad of that because it allowed me to devote my time and attention to a sensitive reference question that came up.

A patron approached the desk, and asked if I could help her find books for young children about death and grieving. When I gently asked if she could give anymore information about the situation they were dealing with, I found out that their had unfortunately been a pregnancy in the family that ended in miscarriage, and the kids were having a hard time understanding what had happened and that there was no baby anymore, even though a significant amount of time had passed.

I cautioned her that we probably would not have anything on that specific situation, but that I would pull together what I could find and bring them to her to look over. Unfortunately, as I suspected, most of the children's books we had on death and grief dealt with the loss of a pet or a grandparent, and tended to focus on the idea that they had lived a good life and to take comfort in memories, which wouldn't be helpful in this situation. I did find a couple of general books on explaining death, which I gave to her. I also told her that if they googled "how to talk to kids about miscarriage" there were several web articles that might be helpful.

As I continue to search online to try to find a book title or a particularly helpful web article to recommend, I luckily came across one that mentioned two titles of books for children about miscarriage. I was thrilled to actually find that a book existed on such a specific topic. They were both out of print, but one looked like it could be purchased used for a reasonable price. I also said ILL would be an option as well, and I wrote down the titles for her and told her just to let us know if she wanted to try to get them through ILL.

As I continued to look on Amazon, I found three other books listed under "What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item" that looked even more promising as they were either more recent, or had customer review, and one is still available through Baker & Taylor, so we are going to order a copy for the collection.  Here are the titles I found, starting with the one available through B&T:

• Molly's Rosebush by Janich Cohn, 1994
• We Were Gonna Have a Baby, But We Had an Angel Instead by Pat Schwiebert, 2003
• Something Happened: A Book for Children and Parents Who Have Experienced Pregnancy Loss  by Cathy Blanford, 2012
• Goodbye Baby: Cameron's Story by Gillian Griffiths & Lindsay MacLeod, 1999

I felt very bad for this family having to deal with such a loss, and I can imagine how hard it would be for young children to understand. I was so glad I was able to find some titles that might be helpful, even if they weren't in our collection, and glad for the atypically slower day that allowed us to talk quietly and privately, and the time to devote to keep digging and digging, until I found something.

Today At The Desk....

Today it was unusually busy at the desk.  Lots of families in and out and lots of questions, plus 3 different middle school classes.  The school groups were each in and out in 15 minutes, but it was a flurry of activity while they were here!  Hustling to select a book, then rushing to check out, and of course several of them didn't have their cards so I had to look them up.  Invariable, at least half of those also had accounts that had expired so I then had to renew them before they could check out.  But, I still managed to get them all checked-out in the few minutes they had.  Fortunately, the school groups all came through and were gone before things got really busy with other patrons.

After the school kids left, families started coming in and I ended up having a few reference questions.  One young girl was interested in learning American Sign Language, so I helped find some beginner books on ASL, and told that we also had DVD's, and that you can find videos online that show you how.  Then her sister decided she wanted to learn some Spanish, so I helped her find some Spanish vocabulary and conversation books. 

Later a kindergarten teacher came in looking for books about photosynthesis, and surprisingly, we didn't have any.  I really thought we would have at least one, but no.  So I looked through all the general plant books and found a couple that had some information about photosynthesis that would work for what she needed.  Then I had a daycare worker who wanted to find some traditional folk tales and nursery rhymes, and I helped him locate them and select the versions that were most appropriate for preschool-aged children.

I also had some patrons who needed reader's advisory, one looking for something similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and another looking for a new series for a child who enjoyed Junie B. Jones.  I suggested Big Nate for the first, and Clementine or Judy Moody for the latter.  One of the students also needed some help selecting a fantasy for her required school reading, and I showed her a few different ones, and she ended up choosing one of Tamora Pierce's books.

Along with all of this, I had several patrons with simple directional or informational questions, a card renewal, several checkouts, pulled all the materials for holds or transfer, straightened up the shelves after the school groups blew through, and still managed to find time in between to cut out some things for storytime! 

I much prefer busy days like this!  For one, the time passes faster, but I really do enjoy interacting with patrons and helping people find the information and books they need.  I find it not only gratifying to be able to help so many people, but energizing as well. 

Today At The Desk.....

 

 

 

Today, it was somewhat unpleasant working at the desk.  Not because of difficult patrons or anything like that, it was just miserably hot!  We've had an unseasonably warm spell this week, and our HVAC system just isn't able to respond very quickly, so it was still in winter mode.  Thankfully I had anticipated it and dressed for summer; some of my co-workers had to be on the verge of heatstroke in their long sleeves and sweaters!

 

It was not super busy, but the list of items that needed to be pulled and processed for holds and transfers was uncharacteristically HUGE!  It took at least an hour, maybe more, to get them all pulled and processed, and that was with my co-worker checking them in as I pulled!  At first I could not figure out why it was SO long; then I realized it most likely had to do with one of our branches being closed.  We are opening a brand new, larger branch to replace the oldest branch in the system, and the old building closed last week, but the new one won't be open until next week.  So I imagine many patrons that normally went to that branch are having to request materials from other branches.

 

After all that was done I had an interesting patron who wanted to see version of C. Clement Moore's "The Night Before Christmas", including parodies.  I found him several to look at, and he explained he wanted to write a parody of his own, based on lore of ancient Egypt, which was another interest of his.  He proceeded to tell me many interesting facts related to the original poem.

 

Then I had a chance to help a sweet older lady who needed help finding directions to a nursing facility where a friend of hers had been admitted.  The patron had impaired vision which she said made it difficult for her to use the computer.  So first I looked up the facility and made sure I had the right location and I pulled it up on Google maps and was able to zoom in enough for her to see it.  I pointed out the route and major roads and landmarks to help her get her bearings and be sure she understood where it was and what the nearest bus stop was.  Then I was able to print it out for her large enough that she could see it, and made sure that she understood and had all the information she needed.  She was very appreciative and I was glad I was able to help her.

 

And of course just as my shift was ending, the air conditioning finally kicked on.

Today At The Desk....

Today was a little bit different from the usual routine as we had several school groups coming in to checkout non-fiction books.  Often we will pull a selection of books for them to chose from ahead of time if they have a specific genre or topic, but since they didn't have a specific topic assigned this time we just left them to browse the stacks.  Two groups came in the morning, then three more in the afternoon during my shift.  It was kind of a whirlwind as they didn't stay long, just came in, quickly chose books, checked out, and left. 

They were pretty well behaved, other than not putting their discards on the cart like I asked, and didn't need a lot of assistance.  The only slight issue was several of them forgot their cards, despite being told they had to have them, and wanted me to look up their accounts.  I told the teacher I could do that if she wanted, but that they would not be able to be in and out in the 10-15 minutes they had if I took time to look up several students (just to be clear, the limited time was specified by her, not the library).  So we decided to prioritize checking out the students who had their cards and if there was time left I would look up the rest, and it was her call when to leave.

After they left there was of course some tidying up to do!  I went through the stacks and picked up all the books they had left just lying on the shelves, straightened up the remaining books, and replaced missing face-outs on the shelves and displays.  The rest of the shift was pretty routine.  I pulled all the holds and transfers, helped a few patrons locate materials and place requests, and worked a little on some stuff for my Storytime-To-Go program.  I was in the middle of helping a patron find a biography for a school assignment when it was time for the shift change, so I explained this to the patron and introduced her to my co-worker, and brought them all up to speed on what I had found (or not found) thus far.

Today At The Desk....The Day Before Snowpocalypse 2016

 

 

So if you're on or near the east coast, you've probably been checking forecasts all day to see how much snow you're going to get and when it's going to start, and making one last run to the grocery store.  In my area, the predictions have been all over the place all week, but most seem to have settled in the 10"-14" range, starting early tomorrow morning and lasting into the following day.  We already had about 1-1/2" yesterday; not much, but enough to close the public schools for 2 days.

 

In light of this, I expected my shift at the desk this afternoon to be very busy with people trying to get out of the house for a bit in between storms, and stocking up on books and movies.  I fully expected our DVD section to be decimated by the time I took the desk at 1:00pm.  But, to my surprise, though there had reportedly been a steady stream of families in all morning, there were still quite a few DVD's left.  Dare I hope people stocked up on books instead?? 

 

I continued to have a steady stream of people throughout the afternoon, but people were mostly checking out books, along with 1 or 2 DVD's.  Nobody came in maxing out their cards checking out 35 DVD's like I expected.  I did have one patron who was looking for several books on advanced algebra and calculus; unfortunately she had written down the ISBN numbers, rather than the shelf location and call numbers.  So I looked them up for her and put in requests for the two that we didn't have and found the one that I had in the children's section.  The rest were adult books, one in the new book section on the first floor and the rest upstairs in adult non-fiction.  So I wrote down the call numbers for her, directed her to the appropriate floors, and called ahead to let them know she was on her way and what she was looking for.  A little while later she came back down with an armful of math books, so I guess I know what her teenage daughter is going to be doing while snowed in this weekend!  They did get a couple of fun books and movies, too, so it won't be all work :)

 

I also got to issue library cards to a couple of little girls, who were very excited to get them.  I always feel like it's a privilege to issue a child their first card.  It's not quite the same milestone as it used to be since there is no minimum age anymore, but it's still special.  Then they each got to pick out two books and bring them to me to check out, and they were so proud.  Later I had another child who had gotten his first card today as well, though not from me.  But, I still got to help him check out his first books with it, which is the best part.

 

Later we got word that not only had the decision been made not to open tomorrow (which is very unusual; they usually wait until the morning to make a decision), but we were even closing early tonight at 6:00pm instead of the usual 9:00pm at the mayor's request, to get everyone off the roads sooner so crews could start pre-treating.  So we let patrons know so they could get their final selections made and make transportation arrangements if necessary, and then it was time for me to go home and let the evening crew finish the last hour.

 

And what will I be doing while snowed in this weekend?  Well, I have plenty of work to keep me busy:  a book review to write, two more books to read and review, and ......drum roll, please......a library school admissions essay to write!  Yes, after two years of feeling like I had missed my calling and wishing I had been a children's librarian, but feeling like it was too late, I have decided to start working on an MLIS! 

 

I have wanted to for a while, but the tuition for the local program was just too high, that I just didn't feel it was worth it considering how many working years I have left and how saturated the job market is, especially here.  I also didn't care for their curriculum; it had little room for flexibility or specialization with so many required courses and few electives.  But then I came across a program that was almost half the cost, had fewer required courses and more electives, and just seemed much more practical than the one on here (and yes, it is ALA accredited).  So, I'm making the leap, and while I know there's a good chance I will never have an official "librarian" position, I hope it will at least help me get some kind of full-time position before my husband retires and I lose his health insurance.  Wish me luck!

Another Day At The Desk...

I'm a little late with this installment of "Today At The Desk" because I've been busy researching the MLS program I'm considering applying to and started getting things together for my application.  This week's shift at the desk was pretty typical, very slow for the first couple of hours, and really busy at the end once the kids were out of school.  But, today I had a number of questions and situations beyond the routine checkout assistance, answering basic questions, and locating materials.

I had one patron looking for the 3rd book of a particular series, but we only had numbers 4, 5, & 6 on the shelf.  No problem, I thought, we'll just request it from another branch.  But, to my surprise, when I checked the catalog we did not even own a single copy of the third book in the whole system!  We owned several copies of 1, 2, 4, 5, & 6, but no 3's at all, which seemed rather strange.  The patron took the books we did have and I told her I would be sure to let the manager know we needed to get some copies of the third book.

Then, before I could even finish writing an e-mail to the Youth Services Manager about missing that book of a series, I had another patron ask about a different series.  We had books 1 through 6, but not 7 or 8, and she wanted to know if we would be getting them.  I checked the catalog, and they were not listed at all, which usually indicates it has not been ordered.  I tried to call my manager to double check, but she wasn't in.  So I had to tell the patron that it didn't look like we had ordered them yet, but that I would be sure to recommend that we do and let management know patrons were asking for them.  We were able to find a different book and request another book she was interested in from another branch, but the poor girl was so disappointed to be leaving with only 1 book I really felt bad for her.

So I quickly sent an e-mail to both my department head and the Youth Services Manager of the whole system about both the series that we were missing a book and the incomplete series, and soon got a response that she had just ordered the latter two books a few days ago, but that it hadn't gotten all the way through our bureaucracy yet which was why they were not yet showing in the catalog.  I wanted to let my disappointed patron know, but they had already left, and had used self-check for the one book they checked out.  Then I remembered I had placed a request for them, so I was able to backtrack through the system to get her name and phone number and called to let them know that the books she wanted so badly were in the process of being ordered and would hopefully be here in 2 or 3 weeks.  I was so glad to be able to give her good news!

After that I had kind of a strange situation with a patron that came to the desk because her account was blocked.  As it turns out, she had a number of issues with both her card and her child's card.  She had a number of overdue books that had not been returned, which is why the self-check wouldn't let her check out.  She said she had just returned them, so we called down to circulation and asked them to please check the books she had just returned in so she could check out more.  But then, once they were checked in and all the overdue fines were assessed, both accounts were now blocked due to the fines.  She paid the fines for her son's card and was then able to check out.  I noticed there were still a couple of items on each account that had not been returned and were overdue, so I brought those to her attention. 

Here's the strange part.  She says she has them and that she had overlooked them before because her son must have peeled the bar codes off, and hands me two books.  I checked her account and she did have those titles checked out, but neither book she gave me had any library markings on them whatsoever, or any indication that they ever had.  I thought I had misunderstood and asked if she meant she had purchased those to replace books that had been lost or damaged (which we allow as long as it is the same edition and like new condition), but she said "no".  So I was a bit confused as to what was going on and asked my manager to step in and confirm that these were not our books and rule whether to accept them or not, and she confirmed they were not and gave them back to the patron.  So I renewed the items on her account so they would not continue to accrue more fines and give her more time to find them. 

Of course in addition to all that were all the routine questions and tasks, like straightening up, filling displays, withdrawing weeds, and pulling the request list.  I also had a brief chat with our executive director and it turns out we have somewhat similar backgrounds, both having biology degrees and starting out doing lab work in microbiology before taking time out to have kids and then getting into the library field.  It's not often I run into someone else with a science background at work, so I thought that was kind of neat. 

Yesterday At The Desk...

Yesterday when I headed down to work the children's desk I expected it would be a fairly slow day since school was back in session after the winter break.  I was a little worried I might have a little trouble finding enough work to keep my busy, but as it turns out, that wasn't an issue!

While the first hour was a little slow, the rest of the shift turned out to be incredibly busy!  Very uncharacteristic for a Thursday afternoon, and even busier than when the kids were out of school on winter break.  In fact, the only time I have seen it that busy is in the summer when we have groups visiting or a very popular program, or on weekends.  Not a problem, just a little surprising.

There was a steady stream of patrons in and out, and most stayed for a while, and everyone seemed to need help!  Several needed help locating materials, placing holds, some needed reader's advisory, one person had major account issues with both her and her child's cards due to several overdue and lost books, a school group came in to check-out biographies, and the usual general questions, tidying up, and pulling requests.

One issue came up with a patron who really needed to print out her confirmation for her FAFSA, but didn't have any money.  With a child in college, I can certainly sympathize with the stress and urgency of submitting the FAFSA and felt this was a case that justified us giving her a little help.  However, I had never dealt with a situation like this so I had no idea HOW to over-ride the system and get it to print out without her having to pay for it first.  Luckily, one of the assistant managers was working at the adult service desk nearby, so she was able to take care of it.  Unfortunately, because it was so busy and so many people needed help, I was not able to observe what she did as I had to assist other patrons.  But I will be sure the next time we have slow period to have someone go over that with me so I know how to do it the next time the situation arises.

One thing I didn't need to do today was shelve or sort carts because the new page started this week, and everything was all caught up!  I got to meet her at the end of my shift, and as it turns out she has a good bit of experience working in libraries, so I thinks she will be a great addition to the team!  Hopefully now with two pages we can stay on top of keeping the shelves straight and in order and keeping displays filled, in addition to getting things shelved in a timely manner.  A good start to the new year!

Today At The Desk....

I actually got to use my degree today!  Of course I use my education degree when doing storytime and programs, but I got to make use of my biology/chemistry degree today.  A patron approached the desk looking rather desperate.  When I asked how I could help her, she explained her 12-year old niece had called her in tears because of a school project.  As a parent who has been through many school projects, I could immediately empathize.  Then she went on to explain that her niece had to make some kind of model of a neon atom and had no clue where to begin, the school library had no resources, and the child's family did not have internet access at home.  She didn't realize it, but she had definitely come to the right person!  With a major in biology/education and a minor in chemistry, this was right up my ally!

I had some ideas of my own, but first we looked through the science books in our collection to see if any showed ideas for building molecular models and/or information about Neon's structure in particular.  Lo and behold, I found a book specifically on the Noble gasses (the elemental group Neon belongs to) which showed a simple Bohr model of a Neon atom and gave some additional information on neon, and Noble gasses in general, then I found a second book which showed 2 or 3 different ways of constructing molecular models.

Next, I did an internet search for "how to build a molecular model" to show her several different ideas for putting one together, the most common being colored styrofoam balls to represent the protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and smaller balls on wires to represent the electron shells.  There were also models using pompoms, beads, skewers, and cardboard rings.  We discussed the methods and I told her all the supplies we had seen used could be found at Michael's Crafts in the floral and/or jewelry sections (possibly at Wal-Mart as well) and that I had even seen a molecular modeling craft kit there at Christmas time.  Then I searched specifically for models of neon so she could get a better idea of what it would look like, and since the aunt did have internet access, I explained all she had to do was Google "how to build a molecular model of neon" if she needed to refresh her memory or print out pictures.  She was very relieved and was glad to have information and a plan for her niece to work with!

I also got to issue a little boy his first library card, which is always a privilege, and helped him find some picture books with Frankenstein-type monsters.  Then his mother explained he was going to have a baby sister soon, and asked for a book about being a big brother, and we found the perfect one.  I think he was more excited about Frankenstein, though ;)

I did have to call the big guns in to help one patron.  A mom came to the desk explaining that her 3rd grade daughter was auditioning for the local performing arts school, and had to prepare and deliver a monologue.  However, she did not like any of the books specifically about monologues, and felt they were a little dull and predictable, and geared more for older kids.  She wanted help selecting a picture book or middle-grade chapter book that she could use instead, something with a spunky character, and lots of expression.  I have to confess I was at a bit of a loss on this one.  I can recommend books to read for that age or reference, but knowing what would be good as performance art, I really didn't feel I could judge as the performing arts are not in my realm of expertise at all.  So I had to ask the librarian to come out and field this one, and she was able to pull several good suggestions and the patron left very pleased, which is what's important.

And of course there was the usual cleaning and straightening, filling displays, pulling and processing holds and transfers, answering routine questions, and check-out assistance.  I also had a chance during a slow spell to cut out some decorations and props I had printed and laminated to use with a new "Feelings/Emotions" storytime kit I'm developing for the "Storytime-To-Go" program I do the other 3 days of the week, and look up the ISBN numbers for books I'd like to order for the same program.  All in all, a very productive day, with both a chance to use my science background, and to help with something totally out of my comfort zone. 

Today At The Desk...

After three days of back-to-back storytimes at daycares, it was nice to be back in the children's department doing something different!  Don't get me wrong, I like doing storytime, but after doing 17 storytimes in 3 days I am ready for a change of pace.

Today I started off my shift like I usually do, picking up toys and stray books, filling displays, and straightening shelves.  I also sorted the shelving carts to help the page out, and pulled all the holds that needed to be sent to other branches.

There's a bit of a lull right now, as all the kids are back in school but they haven't gotten hit with a lot of homework or reading assignments yet.  I took advantage of a quiet spell to research cowboy-related picture books to develop a kit for the storytime bus.   We have a number of these themed kits, each containing at least 10 books and a few activities and songs related to the theme.  Because we visit up to 17 different classes each week, it's nice to have a variety of books to accommodate different ages/attention spans, allow the reader (myself and a volunteer helper) to chose books the fit our style, and so it doesn't get overly monotonous reading the same 2 or 3 books over and over.  Finding enough cowboy books, however, is proving to be a challenge.  It seems like most I find are just too long for the kids I see, but I managed to find a few and requested a few more from other branches to check out.

In addition to the routine questions, helping with checkouts, and placing holds, I had the opportunity to assist customers with some issues that I had not dealt with before.  One was pretty straightforward, just a customer returning a DVD after accidentally returning an empty case prior.  So I just had to find where my co-worker had put the empty case and return the disc to it, check it in, and then just double-check both the item record and the patron's record to be sure it was take off their account and there were no notes that needed to be removed. 

The second was a bit more involved.  A customer called because she had received a notice that she was being billed for a book that was returned damaged, yet she was certain it was in "pristine" condition when she returned it [at another branch].  I pulled up her account and saw that she had been charged the full replacement cost of the book, so I expected the book to have significant damage when I pulled it from the evidence shelf.  However, it only had stains on one page, and a few spots on the edges of others.  Otherwise, it was in good condition.  I was a little surprised she had been charged full replacement, but the book was practically brand new and had only been checked out twice before.  Since the damage was not extensive and it was possible it had happened either before the customer checked it out, or in the process of being routed back to our location, I decided it was in the best interest of good customer service to waive the charges, and my supervisor concurred, which made the customer very relieved.

I thought it was interesting that the patron was not angry, but seemed more horrified that we would think she returned a badly damaged book without saying anything.  I really suspect that her child that read the book probably spilled something on it and didn't tell her mother, but the damage was not obvious and I could see how the mom wouldn't notice.  But I told her it was certainly possible that it had been done by a previous patron and whoever checked it in didn't notice.  I explained that in the future if they did happen to notice any pre-existing damage in a book they check out, to be sure and let us know so we could note it, and then she would have to worry about getting charged for it.  So everybody was happy in the end, and we decided to put the book back in circulation because the staining was so minimal.

I am also happy to report that "Batman" was back to see us today, taking some time out of his day fighting crime to stop by and play with the blocks and check out a book or two.  It was also nice to see one of our semi-regular families; they split their time between our location and one of the branches.  When I first met them there were just two very young kids and the mom who had a small baby bump.  That baby bump is now a very energetic 15-month old, and her oldest is now in kindergarten!  I really enjoy getting to know young families and watching the kids as they grow, and see what books they like and how their interests change.

Today At The Desk......

 

Thursday is my favorite day of the work week!  It's when I get to go back to the Children's Department [I am now working in Outreach most of the time] and work at the service desk.  I worked here for over 2 years as a page, and while my back doesn't miss all the shelving, I do miss being in and around the collection all the time, talking with my co-workers, and above all, interacting with the patrons and really being able to connect with them.  So Thursday's are like going home for me. 

I love that when you work in the children's department you really are working with all ages.  You have toddlers, preschoolers, older kids, and teens.  You also get to work with adults, too.  There are families that come in together, nannies, parents and grandparents who come in looking for books for their kids and grandkids, college students taking kid lit classes, and special needs adults or adults who never developed good literacy skills looking for books for themselves.  I love the variety and all the different types of reader's advisory and customer service that I get to do in the children's department!

Today was a pretty typical day.  I took advantage of the less busy times to clean up, fill displays, straighten shelves, pull items for transfer to other branches, and sort the shelving carts for the page.  When it got busier I had the usual helping patrons check things out, find materials, and place holds, issuing passes for the computers, reminding young kids to stop running and monitoring teens' noise level and language.  I had the privilege of issuing a young lady her first library card, which is an exciting milestone for most kids.  She was very cute and precocious and told me all about how much she loves to read, read, read while I was putting her information into the computer.  Then I had two of our summer reading prize drawing winners come in to claim their prizes, which they were very excited about.  I was impressed when one of the moms told me that her kids had both participated and agreed that if either of them won, they would split the prize ($25 gift card).

But the highlight of my day was when Batman and Robin stopped by!  Last week Batman was in full costume and Robin was wearing his mask, but today they were incognito as 3 year-old Clay and his father.  I was so impressed last week that his father not only let his son wear his Batman costume, but that he was willing to wear the Robin mask in public, even answering to the name Robin.  Today I chatted with them a bit as I was cleaning up the play area.  I found someone had dumped all the pegs from the pegboard into the drawer under the train table and started pulling them all out; when the boy realized what I was doing he started helping me, all on his own. 

I decided such behavior definitely needed some positive reinforcement, and I went to see if we had any Batman stickers.  I didn't find stickers, but I did find what looked something like trading cards that must have come from book, and there was a Batman one!  I told Clay, aka "Batman", that I really appreciated him being such a good helper and gave it to him, and you should have seen his face light up and the expression of awe!  I love these moments.....

Today At The Desk....

 

It was great to be back in the children's department today :)  As much as I like doing storytimes and having more responsibility and independence with my new position in Outreach, I still feel homesick for the children's department.  There's just something about staying busy and being able to really interact and make a connection with the patrons like you can working a service desk in the library.  I love the variety, of people and issues; I'm so glad that I still get to do this at least one day a week!

Today it started out quiet, which I used as an opportunity to brush up on different features of the ILS and the summer reading database, straighten up the shelves and refill displays, and sort shelving carts for the night page.  Things gradually got very busy by the latter part of the day.  I had several summer reading finishers, and I always enjoy being able to give them their prize book and seeing what they choose.  Of course there were the usual tasks:  showing people how the catalog works, helping them locate materials, shelf checks, placing holds, checking books in, showing people how to use the self-checkout station, issuing library cards, and providing program information.  In particular there was one family who were from another country and English was not their first language.  The mom asked several questions throughout the time they were there, and kept apologizing.  I assured her there was no reason to apologize and that that's what we were there for, and that I was happy to help her in any way I could.

Later in the day I did have a little drama.  While I had a couple of people at the desk and the phone ringing, a younger teenage boy approached and said he needed help.  I told him I would be right with him as soon as I finished helping the people that were there first, which I was able to do quickly.  He said that some other kids were trying to start a fight with him.  I called security right away [I am so glad we have them!]  I thought he was probably being overly dramatic, but after the first security guard came and talked to him and checked out the situation, 2 others showed up to monitor the situation and be sure there was no trouble, and they felt he was indeed in danger. The boy called his mom to come get him (he had ridden his bike) and the guards waited until she got there so they could escort him out to the car safely.  It's a shame this kind of thing happens, but I am very glad this boy handled it appropriately and came to me for help, rather than escalating the situation.

We have so many kids that just hang out at the library because they have nowhere else to go and nothing constructive to do.  They don't read, they just play on the computers and run around the building and eventually get into trouble.  Most of them aren't bad kids; they are just bored, undisciplined kids with nothing constructive to do.  I wish we had some type of on-going program in the summer to give kids like this some badly needed structure and purpose. 

Awkward Situation of the Day

AWKWARD!

Yesterday was my first official day working the children's desk as a library assistant, and though it was initially slow, later on it got really busy (of course after the librarian went back to her office and left me on my own).  But relatively uneventful; just the usual reminding noisy tweens/teens to keep it down or they don't get anymore computer time, dealing with the *ALWAYS* malfunctioning games computers, and straightening up the DVD shelf for the billionth time, plus the usual questions, check-out assistance, and phone calls.  All in a day's work :)

But one awkward situation did come up, thankfully while the children's librarian was still at the desk with me.  A little girl approached the desk and asked the librarian where such and such book was.  When she could not find it in the catalog, the librarian asked if she knew the author, to which the little girl replied "My Mimi wrote it", but she couldn't provide the name.  We were both inwardly cringing, expecting what we were about to hear, as the mom explained it was a book her mother-in-law had written, [self-]published, and "donated" to the library about a month ago, and she would think it should be on the shelf by now. 

I held my breath, my mind whirling with possible explanations, and wondering how much we should, or could, even tell them since *they* weren't the author.  If it was actually sent in as a "donation", it would have gone straight to the Friends for selling in the bookstore or to be recycled if deemed not sellable.  If it was sent in through proper channels as a submission for consideration to be added to the collection, then it would have to be reviewed by the youth services manager and children's librarians for each branch to determine if it met selection criteria.  Most of these self-published books end up being politely rejected.  Of course at that moment, we had no idea what had happened in this specific case, and you don't want to tell a little kid that Mimi's work might not have been up to snuff or could have been discarded like trash!

In the end, the librarian made the best possible choice in the situation and just truthfully said she didn't know what had happened to it, or where in the process it might be, and "they" just may not have gotten to it yet, without going into the possibilities, which is what I would have done as well.

But, it got me to thinking how others might have handled it, and how self-published books are handled in general, so I posed the question to an online group of children's librarians and other youth services professionals, and got a variety of answers.  Many commiserated with the uncomfortable situation of dealing with self-published books that often are not very good; it seems everyone thinks they can write a children's book these days.  Others felt torn, wanting to give new authors a chance, especially local ones, but were uneasy about adding such books to the general collection.  And a couple took a different tact, feeling that all local authors should be celebrated and promoted, by displaying their books prominently on a special shelf for local authors.

I do like the idea of having a local author shelf and helping to promote local talent, or at least give them a chance, then letting the public decide what stays and what goes via circulation.  I think this is a great idea for small-town libraries, but I wonder if it's feasible in larger libraries/systems?  How local is "local"?   And should there be *any* standard for inclusion?  After all, not all self-published authors have talent just waiting to be discovered like Christopher Paolini (whose self-published book Eragon was brought to the attention of a publisher by author Carl Hiaasen after his son read and enjoyed it); some are real stinkers!  I fear our system would be quickly over-run if we put every book written by any author in the greater region we serve on the shelves; there are already so many new picture books published by the major houses every year.  Maybe e-books would be a viable alternative?  

Any thoughts??

Customer Service

What is good customer service?  And how do we provide good customer service in the library?

I think that's a hard question to answer, maybe not quite as subjective as saying what is good art, but it is a bit nebulous and often times situation-specific.

I would say that good customer service in a nutshell is providing prompt, courteous service in way that the customer leaves with a positive feeling, and feeling that their issue was resolved to their satisfaction, or at least that they were heard and understood and the issue would be forwarded to the appropriate person and addressed. 

Good customer service is being friendly and welcoming, approachable, patient, and knowledgeable.  Good customer service means finding a way to help the customer, or finding the person who can.  Good customer service means anticipating what customers may need, and recognizing when they need help but are shy about asking.  And, in my opinion, sometimes good customer service means having to enforce the rules so that one patron does not infringe on the ability of other patrons to use the library, but in a way that is positive and friendly.  But then again, good customer service sometimes means making exceptions to the rules.

Some of the practices I use in customer services are fairly basic: greet people when they come in, smile, make eye contact, ask if they need help or have a question.  While I am busy doing something like sorting carts or shelving, I make sure to keep open body language and face the front, and to still be aware of when customers enter the department.  If I am the only one in the department, I will circulate among the stacks every so often, just in case I missed anyone coming in.  I find that patrons often approach me while I'm in the stacks shelving rather than ask whoever is working the desk since I am already there, and in general many are shy about asking for help, but seem relieved when you offer.  I discreetly observe patrons while they are in the stacks to see if they seem to need help, but I make a point not to hover or ask them if they need help every five minutes.  If I ask, and they say "No", I just smile and say "Okay, just let one of us know if you need anything or have any questions" and may mention any upcoming programs or special displays we have that might interest them.

I also try to really give them my attention and provide a personal touch.  Instead of just pointing or directing to where something is, I walk them over personally.  If they need help with adult fiction, I help them even if it's not my department.  When you are walking through the library, patrons don't know what department you work in; they just ask the first staff member they see.  If it's something I know, I go on and help them myself; if it's not, then I walk them over and introduce them to the appropriate staff member with a brief explanation of what they need.  I try to remember repeat customers' names, especially the children, and what kind of books they like and what I have suggested for them in the past.  Patrons really seem to appreciate this more personalized, "concierge-type" customer service, and I believe developing such a relationship between the customers and the staff fosters a greater sense of customer loyalty, and more frequent visits to the library, which in turn results in greater circulation and program attendance.

I really enjoy helping people, whether it be finding a book they need, suggesting titles, or helping them with their accounts.  It is so gratifying to see a child's face light up when you find the right book, or to hear from a parent that their child really liked the book you suggested.  I like that I get to interact with lots of different people, and all ages.  I enjoy seeing our regular patrons as well as introducing newcomers to our services.   I hear some people in other service fields complain about customers, but I have been very pleasantly surprised at just how appreciative people are for the least little things, and how patient they are when it is busy and they have to wait for help.  While all customer interactions are not so pleasant, the good far outweigh the not so good, and I couldn't imagine working in a position that did not afford me the opportunity to work at a service desk at least some of the time.

And what about the not so good?  I think I will devote a separate post to that later on....

Where To Begin?

Very first post, the pressure!  I've already given my background and the reason for this blog on the "About Me" and "About This Blog" pages, so where to start with the first post?  Ah, I know; I'll start with my first Customer Service award:

 

 I received this from a young man named Peter one morning recently.  He and his younger sister Helen and their parents are regulars at the library, and are the absolute perfect patrons.  They come regularly, perfectly behaved, check out all kinds of books, know how to use the catalog and Dewey decimal numbers, and attend programs (they are awesome to have at dance parties in particular).  I have gotten to know them fairly well after the last two years and have sometimes helped them locate materials that weren't were they were supposed to be or made book suggestions, or asked them about school.

 

On this morning, I had just come up from circulation and was happy to see that they had come in.  My supervisor told me Peter needed to see me, and I went over to him expecting to help him find a book or answer a question.  Instead, he presented me with this picture, saying that he had missed seeing me (evidently they had been in a few times when I wasn't working)!

 

I was so touched, I almost cried!  It was so sweet and unexpected.  The librarians and associates who do storytimes get cards and pictures every now and then from the kids, but rarely does anyone give the pages much thought.  And if you look closely, you'll see that those aren't just ordinary stickers, those are GOOGLY-EYE stickers, and you don't give googly-eye stickers to just anybody!

 

I will always treasure this, and anytime I feel unappreciated I'll look at it and remind myself that the patrons do appreciate what I do, and that is what is most important :)