Kindly teach someone to fish
I had a patron complain to me this morning about how he was "read the riot act" (which means to reprimand severely) about looking up call numbers the last time he was at the desk. In another case, I instructed a patron to look up the call # on the course reserve catalog computers, but the reserve catalog was not all ready up, so he got lost looking through the All Campuses MNCat catalog and ultimately gave me the wrong call number.
I think there are obvious benefits to our policy of requiring patrons to look up call numbers, as Margaret outlined in the Jan-24 post "Teach someone to fish." http://blog.lib.umn.edu/wilsper/informationcentral/2007/01/teach_someone_to_fish.html#comments
We should not forget, however, our commitment to providing fast, friendly, and accurate service to our patrons. There is no warrant for having an 'attitude' about patrons who come up to the desk and ask for a book without a call number. Many of them do not know our policy. If this is the patron's first time using the reserve catalog, they might be better off with personal, step-by-step instruction. We can do this when it's not busy. Whatever the solution may be, my main point is that our policy should not be construed as license to do the bare minimum in providing access to reserve materials or to treat patrons callously.
Comments
I very much agree. The first priority is always excellent customer service. If anyone wants some pointers about how to best direct patrons to the reserve self-service computers, just let me know.
Posted by: Margaret | February 2, 2007 03:53 PM
Let's remember that patrons can over-react a little bit. I do not believe that anyone that works at the desk would reprimand a patron in a rude or inappropriate way. I think we just have to remember to make sure the patrons know we are enabling them to do more when they learn to use the website as a resource on their own. When they use the reserves website at home, they can save themselves a trip sometimes if they know a book is out or available online.
Posted by: maggie | February 3, 2007 05:02 PM
Maggie, I agree. I think he was probably exaggerating, which is not to say that we did our best though. For what you said about "making sure the patrons know..." this is a difficult bit to get across. And if you immediately begin with a statement like "My hope is to enable you..." it might be insulting to someone who knows there way around a library (more than us!) As is often the case, polite but firm guidance is key. :)
If you notice the patron stumble a little through the catalog, you can (with your courteous hat on) try to explain how understandable the mistake was and what he/she can do for remedy. This can be done in one well-conceived sentence.
All in all, I have never witnessed with my own ears any problem with anyone here. I'd be hard-pressed to guess who the patron is complaining about.
Posted by: Charlie | February 5, 2007 08:20 AM