Reference Services, Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Approachability

We found out in Chapter 1 that a patron's interaction with the librarian is the most important part of any transaction. Patrons have a much stronger memory of the person who served them than of the purpose of their library visit. Just as our opinions of staff influence our choice of stores, restaurants and other businesses, library patrons judge our quality of service by whether or not the librarian was friendly, interested, and willing to help.

Before any interaction between library staff and patron can occur, a library visitor must be able to find a librarian and be willing to ask that person for help. "Approachability" means whether or not the patron feels comfortable asking you for help.

During this portion of the class, we were shown pictures of male and female librarians of all ages and ethnic backgrounds performing various activities, wearing different types of clothing, and with different facial expressions. We were asked to choose between pairs of photos, and select the librarian we would feel most comfortable approaching with a question. A similar survey has been given to hundreds of library users. The results showed a slight difference between old/young, male/female, and various ethnic groups depending upon the user population demographics (which may mean a Hispanic or Spanish-speaking librarian would be more approachable to some users of our library). How the librarian was dressed also influenced whether or not a patron would approach, which led to a discussion of uniforms, name tags and dress codes. Most patrons chose a librarian who was neat and dressed slightly more formally than the patron. The instructor's advice: Dress like you are part of the community, but at a level the community respects.

Here's what we ALL can do to be more approachable:

1. Be visible to the patron (not hidden behind piles of books or a computer screen).
   
2. Make eye contact.
3. Smile.
4. Greet the patron

In addition, some activities we do at the service desk make us seem more approachable than others (in order from most approachable to least):

1. Standing, making eye contact, smiling.
2. Standing, making eye contact.
3. Helping another patron.
4. Standing, writing.
5. Sitting, making eye contact.
6. Using the computer.
7. Reading.
8. Talking on the phone.

This study shows that a librarian standing is selected more often than one who is sitting. When you are standing, you are at the patron's eye level. You are more easily seen, and making eye contact is more natural. It also holds true, then, that children will most often ask for help from someone sitting (at their eye level).

Notice that patrons would rather wait for a librarian who is helping another patron than approach one who is doing other things. We learned that the patron is almost always drawn to a librarian doing something active. A librarian helping someone in the stacks or shelving books will be more approachable than one just walking around (who may not be recognized as library staff, or may be perceived as the "library police" -- someone to be avoided.)

The issue of roaming (going into the stacks to help patrons) raised an obvious question. When you leave the desk to help someone, then others see no one at the desk. We were told that as long as the librarian remains visible, patrons at the desk will wait. If you go where you are not seen (like in the stacks or around the corner), people waiting will give up after a few seconds. So it's important to let people know you will be right back, or get someone else to help them if you will be out of sight.

My thoughts on this chapter: Like the majority of my classmates, I was very surprised to find that patrons would rather wait for a librarian to finish helping someone else rather than interrupt someone doing another activity. This caused me to rethink which activities are appropriate for the service desk, eliminate those that take my attention away from the public, and think about how I look to library users. One time, frowning over a computer problem in the children's room, I overheard a conversation between mother and 4-year old daughter. Mother: "Ask the librarian where they have those books." Child: "I don't want to . . . she's a scary grandma." I've never thought of myself as a scary grandma, but it made me smile, at which point I became unscary and the little girl found her courage (and her books). Maybe I should have a smiley face tattooed on my hand to remind me.

The whole subject of approachability made me think about shopping. How do you decide which clerk to ask when you need help? How do you feel about having a salesperson approach you and offer to help? Have you ever had an experience where you can't find anyone to help you? I have a friend who seldom comes to the library any more because of some negative interactions she had with a single employee. Even though there are many of us to choose from, she won't take a chance on being served by the person who made her feel her needs were unreasonable.

Enough philosophizing for today. I'd like to hear your comments on this information. I think the more we talk about it, the better we'll all understand what we have to do to make our customers happy and our library awesome.