[Publib] How do you correct a coworker giving incorrectinformation?

[K.G. Schneider]

I think it highly depends on the type of coworker that is giving the
incorrect information.  I work very closely with the other children's
librarian at my branch and we step on each other all the time.  We'd both
rather interrupt and get the correct information out than get a frustrated
patron. I've worked with people though who I would probably wait until
they'd completed their interaction and then quietly go past them at their
table or in the stacks and offer further assistance.  

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An interesting twist on this question is "How would you want a co-worker to
react if you are observed giving a patron incorrect information?" Obviously,
most people are going to paint their reaction in positive terms, but the
answers could be revealing. I like Linda Cannon's advice (assuming that it's
not a case like the one above, where high trust/compatibility/personality
issues lend themselves to a strong patron-oriented model) because it leaves
open the possibility that librarian B may not be right, either, and it also
means they won't get into a dispute in front of the patron. I have observed
librarians "correcting" one another to the point where the patron got lost
in the shuffle.

 

But I think "depends on the person" is an astute answer, too.

 

Karen G. Schneider

kgs at freerangelibrarian.com 

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