Monday, November 15, 2010

Public Service

Here it is, another Saturday afternoon at the Information Desk at HPL.  Every third weekend rolls around quickly.  Right now it seems fairly quiet, but it is noon and we have National Gaming Day activities starting at 2pm. Lots of people, my wife included, think that my helping cover at the desks on weekends is crazy.  Afterall, I am the director and "I don't have to if I don't want to", right?  Actually, I think that is exactly wrong.  If there were more hours in the week, I'd actually work more public service time at places other than just the Information Desk.  It's the best way to find out what our patrons are concerned about, what our staff is challenged with, and generally, how well we are doing our job.

What is working well?  I, for one, am using the Reference Dept. iPad all the time.  What a time-saver to be standing out in our far-flung stacks checking availability or similar titles, or completely different topics without having to traipse back to a catalog terminal.

What isn't working well?  Our roof, for one.  The rain from late Thursday through Friday found a couple of new weaknesses.  So it is probably "out to bid" for us on that.  Electrical plugs and seating are another area we could really work to improve.

As I look over the top of the monitor, I see a patron looking puzzled so no more time for idle blogging - off to help.

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