[Publib] Re: Attitudes in the Library

[Burns, Jimmy]

I agree with Ms. Feil that we shouldn't become jaded and that we
shouldn't practice patron stereotyping. On the other hand, it is
extremely easy to see how we can become jaded. I, too, work in the
downtown main branch of a large public library system serving a
population of around 800,000, and I've pretty much seen it all. Despite
an active security team led by a former policeman, hardly a day goes by
without our having an "incident," be it prostitutes setting up shop in
the public rest rooms; perverts flashing or stalking people, often
children; drunks passing out (if we're lucky and they pass out before
they become unruly and abusive) in our lounge chairs, thieves being
caught leaving with stolen library material, etc. And this is not to
mention cell phone users, computer users (one who some months ago tried
to throw another over a balcony because the latter deigned to use what
the former deemed his favorite computer), etc. who subscribe to what
seems to be the new public attitude of "If I want to do it, I'll do it,
rules or no rules." No, not all patrons are problems waiting to happen.
Most are people who make our work rewarding. Unfortunately, it is the
other side of the coin--the problems, and they are numerous--that cloud
our days and that tend to stick in our minds, leaving us distressed and
often jaded.

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Libby Feil
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 2:39 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Re: Attitudes in the Library


Hi, all--
	I am uncomfortable with the turn this thread has taken.  All 
kinds of people -- homeless or not, cell-phone-using or not, teenage 
or not -- can cause disruptions in the library.  When disruption 
happens, librarians can simply rely on their libraries' codes of 
conduct to ask the disruptive patrons to stop or to leave. 
Therefore, we do not need to pass specific policies against or 
villify particular patron groups or particular uses of the library.
	Many of my department's patrons are homeless people who are 
terrific to work with.  We also have teens, folks with cell phones, 
and patrons from many different groups that some people would presume 
to be problematic -- but they are not, not any more so than any other 
group.  If librarians change to labeling behavior as bad, rather than 
labeling whole patron groups as bad, public service becomes a lot 
more pleasant.
	If a library is full of disruptions from any groups to the 
point that "regular" people don't want to go there, then that library 
needs to review its policies and establish procedures for how to 
handle disruption.  I work at the main, downtown branch of a large 
public library system.  Yet our library is a safe place, a place that 
people are thrilled to come to.  Anyone who is disruptive, whatever 
their socioeconomic background, is asked to leave.  The patrons who 
do not cause problems are thus able to enjoy themselves freely.
	On a related issue, refusing to privilege one patron's 
computer use over another is not an abdication of judgment and 
responsibility.  It is a recognition that we as librarians cannot 
know the full story of every patron and their information-seeking 
need, and that it would be patronizing and counterproductive of us to 
privilege particular users and uses.
	That woman using e-mail?  Maybe she is waiting for news from 
her daughter in the military in Iraq.  Or checking to see if she 
received an interview from an online job application she submitted. 
That child playing a video game?  Perhaps he is using an educational 
game recommended by a teacher to help improve his fine motor skills. 
The teen on Facebook?  How do we know he's not networking with 
friends from a class about a joint project?  Any of these people -- 
how do we know they are not taking a five-minute break from the 
resume they were working on, or the essay they were writing, or the 
cover letter they were composing?
	And as previous writers have pointed out, even if that man on 
MySpace is just chatting with an online acquaintance -- why shouldn't 
he be allowed to do that in a library space?  We don't require 
patrons to read only classics, we offer programs such as free movies 
as well as free computer skills classes, and we help patrons who are 
seeking information to settle a bet just as kindly as we help patrons 
who are writing a research paper on Eleanor Roosevelt.
	I can certainly understand feeling cynical, particularly on a 
bad day, but I think in general it works best to approach all of our 
patrons with the assumption that they are not problems waiting to 
happen, that they are not out to get us, and that their requests will 
be reasonable.  On the rare occasions when their actions are not 
acceptable, deal with it using the code of conduct.  I know that I'm 
always pleasantly surprised at how many fewer problems I encounter on 
those days when I approach my work as though I won't encounter 
problems...
Best wishes,
Libby
-- 

Elizabeth "Libby" Feil, Librarian
MA, MLS
Manager, Local & Family History Services
St. Joseph County Public Library
304 S. Main St.
South Bend, IN  46601

574-282-4621
l.feil at sjcpl.org
AIM:  sjcpllibby
http://www.libraryforlife.org/localhistory/
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=47449051655
To subscribe to our monthly Local & Family History
e-newsletter, email me at l.feil at sjcpl.org

Find the help you need at your destination library for St. Joseph 
County research!


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