“Is there a book about…?”
As a librarian working in a public library, I often encountered patrons who came to the desk to find out where certain books were, how to look up specific information, what I would recommend about a topic for further reading. However quick and simple these encounters were, we had to demonstrate all the mentioned skills of a librarian for a successful reference interview (Riedling p.92):
Approachability – there is always a librarian or a library assistant behind the counter who seems to be waiting for only one thing in life: patrons to present their questions.
Listening/Inquiring – While working at the public library I weekly encountered some unusual, even eccentric and quirky patrons, but no matter what, I was polite, genuinely engaged and appeared to be willing to spend my next twenty minutes discussing rutabaga recipes, tantric yoga, or beach resorts in Caribbean islands.
Searching – Finding the right balance between too few and too many questions is a real art; paying attention to nonverbal clues often revealed that the patron needed much more than a piece of information. In a small town, where everyone knows each other sometimes it’s hard for people to come to a librarian and ask for reference material on mental illness, eating disorders, divorce or cancer treatment.
Follow up – The best feedback is when a patron gets back to the librarian and thanks them for their help, even weeks later. The occasional disappointment occurs when we find the book we just recommended in the drop bin ten minutes later: it could mean that we probably didn’t dig deep enough to find out what the patron really needed.
Our reality
In a small elementary school library, where I am working now, the reference interview may not require all these special skills on a daily basis.
Students mostly seek information for school projects, whose criteria has been set by their teachers. Since the classroom teachers and the TL collaborate and correspond regularly, the TL is often more familiar with the project than the student. In our school the time students spend in the library is not flexible: they come for lessons when both their teacher and the TL are present. For research activities in the primary grades, we usually select and provide the resources.
It's very rare that students ask us for reference material outside of a class setting. However, students regularly seek leisure reading and came for advice on fiction books that would be similar to what they enjoyed.
What should we keep? What should we get rid of?
We are at the beginning of a major weeding process. Our district is buying a new catalogue system, and renovations are starting at the end of the school year, so it seems to be the right timing. Our library clerk used to work at the local public library, so she was determined to follow the evaluation guidelines that the public library set. We agreed on several points (content, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility). We are not keeping reference materials that are
- outdated (contain politically incorrect language or illustrations, inaccurate content),
- in bad shape (black-and-white, repaired many times),
- not 'inviting' (content is arranged in a dry, matter-of-fact manner, without text features or illustrations)
The library clerk (who is a trained administrator, but not a teacher) used one other criterium that I disagreed with: how frequently a book was taken out. She pointed out that we have hundreds of books that nobody borrowed for years. As a teacher I felt that I don't think that borrowing data should be used as a rule. Our staff members regularly use books from the collection in their lessons that students do not borrow - and sad, but true: teachers don't always sign out the books they borrow for a couple of hours! I use various resources daily that students would be not interested in, but they are excellent for a teacher to build a lesson with, or to use as an example, to quote, to reference. Teachers regularly decide to do units that they haven't done for years. Students choose topics for curiosity projects that nobody has done before.
In a small library like ours, I think it's not an unreasonable request to examine closely every book that has been for weeding. We might find useful, hidden treasures.
I love the way you have put your entry. Your information is very helpful to one such as myself, who hasn't been in a teacher librarian position yet. I have helped in my school library but not with any major decisions or helping students other than where is this author or do you have this novel questions. Thank you for being interesting and informative!
ReplyDeleteI found your process about weeding very insightful. I agree that not all books should be pulled simply because they haven't been taken out in awhile. I know that an entire section of our library is used almost exclusively by teachers and we are not the best at making sure we sign out our books. I love a good useful, hidden treasure!
ReplyDeleteI love the name of your post. Very clever :)
ReplyDeleteI admit that when I first read the reasoning behind the library clerk's position about getting rid of the uncirculated books, I agreed with her. After all, if they are not being used, why keep them there to take up space? However, once I had read your point of view on the matter, I changed my tune. Teachers often don't check out books that they use regularly in their lessons at my school's LLC either. It would be a shame to accidently throw one out that had been enjoyed for years. Instead, I think asking the question about there being another resource available to replace it first, is a great alternative.