And now for something low-key and inspiring...

Weeding through the library and librarian videos on YouTube is a daunting challenge.  It seems everyplace and everyone wants 15-seconds of fame.  However, when I find one that inspires me, the world becomes as magical as any library's stacks.

Take this one for example.



I particularly like the cop at the beginning and the parallel between house cat and World Cat.

What a Reference Desk Should Look Like

No question about it. Reference desks should mirror their users' purpose. This one made out of recycled books does. It's definitely social repurposing! To see more photos of it go here.

Can I borrow....?

Although this post says that the circ desk provides all the stuff patrons want, at SCC the stuff is provided by the reference desk.  Either way, this is a wonderful diatribe--except for the slam at romance novels, of course.

What should the ref librarian do?

So if you're a person walking up to the ref desk, what would you rather see the ref librarian doing?

1) Reading a book.  (Well, it is a library after all!  And since I'm now reviewing for Booklist, I have galleys to read.)

2) Writing on a piece of paper or typing on a keyboard.

3) Staring intently at a computer screen.

Since I'll be working five hour shifts this summer, I'm just wondering what activity would put students more at ease when they approach the ref desk.  Staring off into space and surveying the room don't really work well.

How would I do in her country?

A very charming, very petite Asian student approached the desk, almost apologetic in her demeanor.

"Could you help me please?"
"I'll try."
"My professor said that we may use visual aids to give our presentation.  But I don't understand visual aids."
"Oh, they...," I began, but she cut me off.
"I look up the words.  But I do not understand how I should have glasses for the presentation."

Well, it made sense.  Glasses = visual aids.

Gently--well, as gently as I know how--I explained what visual aids really are.  And I showed her the CQ Researcher database which has a section of maps and graphs in case she didn't want to construct her own visual aids.

"I don't think I ever understand English," she commented after thanking me.

I wonder how many of us really do.

Frustration's Cure: A Reference Librarian

This scenario has played and replayed at both libraries where I work:

A student came up to me, frustrated that his database search wasn't working out well.

"I need to find some information about some companies for my business class," he told me.
"What sort of information?"
"Well, like how much money they make and stuff."
"Where have you looked so far?"
"Ebsco, you know, Academic Search Premier.  And we've found a lot of articles, just not what we need."
"Okay, I have another suggestion for you."
Big sigh on his part.  I could almost read "What now?" flashed above his head.

Saga of the Short Classic

This is one of the most vivid memories I have of working the reference desk at Tysons-Pimmit Branch Library in the Fairfax County Library System.  (This was way before Tysons was a huge regional library, but when it was housed in two ground-floor apartments in the high-rise complex nearby.)

The English class students at the neighborhood high school had been assigned to read a classic contained on a reading list--not an uncommon assignment for librarians to deal with.  We had a copy of the assignment and knew which books were included on the list.  To save time, we had pulled many copies of the books from the fiction shelves and had them available near the ref desk.

A sturdy young man walked up to the desk while I was working and asked how he could find the classics.

I was young.  What can I say?  I was trying to be helpful.