[Publib] "Sorry to bother you . . . "

[Joe Schallan]

Sara Weissman  <weissman at main.morris.org> writes:

 > There is something terribly wrong if a patron begins with
 > "I don't want to bother you, but ..."   What body language
 > engenders that?   What message are we conveying?

They ARE bothering us, and it is almost impossible for our
body language NOT to convey that.

Let me elaborate.

Every public library I've worked in (in my case, three)
loaded up its reference staff with enough "off desk"
responsibilities and tasks that the librarians felt compelled
to take their work to the public desk with them, just to
make some sort of stab at keeping up.

So at all these places, librarians were very busy,
heads down, working on their stuff.  OF COURSE
patrons will feel they are bothering such librarians, and
OF COURSE such librarians will be hard pressed not
to convey "I'm being bothered" body language, especially
if the patron has come up to the desk exactly when
the librarian is now making the 17th attempt to
complete the sentence in the report she is writing.

This is, of course, a tough nut, and I don't have a
universal way of cracking it.

Has any place tried mandating that staff are
not to take work out with them to the public desk?
Do patrons then complain to city council about
observing idle librarians during the inevitable slack
times?  (This actually happened in one city I know
of.)   Or at the least think to themselves what a cushy,
low-stress life it is to sit idly at a desk and get paid
for it?

All I know is that if you try to work at the desk to fill
the slack times, then patrons are going to feel they
are bothering you.  I don't see how it can be otherwise.

And really loading up your librarians with tasks and
deadlines, to the point where they are desperate for
time, is a surefire way to absolutely ENSURE that
there will be very bad body language indeed.

- - - -

I've often thought I should be wearing a large button:
"Just trying to use my time well when none of you
need me, but if you do need me, IT IS OK TO ASK!"

Joe Schallan
Phoenix