I founded a non-profit that organizes learning circles for people to learn together. We used to focus on online circles, but found that we mainly reached people who were already fairly well educated. 18 months ago we switched to exclusively working with public libraries to host our learning circles, and we couldn't be happier with the results. We now see about 65% first time online learners, most are without a college degree, and even homeless people have joined. And working with the librarians has been awesome. Public libraries for the win!
What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
31–40 of 41 posts
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
IT support can be a thankless job. People only need you when something goes wrong, which means you can get a lot of unpleasant people. It also doesn't help that non-functioning technology is often amongst the biggest of many peoples pet peeves, so they already start out from an impatient state. I can't see the same being quite as true for librarians as people aren't starting from a state where something that should b…
I used to work in IT support before becoming a librarian and my experience confirms this. Most (but not all, there were many pleasant people who called the IT desk) were in a sour mood when they called, making it hard to keep my own sunny disposition. When people come to a library desk, they're excited about any help they receive. Extending your second paragraph, when people interact with the IT desk, they're trying…
I can see what you mean, we ( = professor an I speculating) thought that would be factor. OTOH, people go to the doctor only when they're sick, which is also a bad state, but being a doctor isn't considered a thankless job whereas IT is.
Just speculating here, but I think it has to do with how a lot of people seem to look down on IT, and tend to blame them for their problems. With doctors, the people tend to look up to them, and don't blame them for their illnesses[0].
> when they called
I'm pretty sure this makes an enormous difference as well, btw, compared to face-to-face communication.
So we got three examples of service work, where the interaction with the customer completely shapes the experience for everyone involved.
[0] ignoring malpractice cases and such, but that's after treatment, not before.
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#33When I was teaching at Malmö University, one of the professors once shared that he had noticed one constant across all universities he had attended: on average, the librarians are the most helpful, cooperative members of supporting staff, whereas IT people are the most antagonistic, least helpful people. With just one year of working experience there I already knew exactly what he meant. What we were puzzled by is wh…
All the public library librarians I know are amazing. All the university librarians I know are amazing.
For whatever reason though, all the secondary school librarians I ever interacted with (admittedly, a small sample) were the worst kind of petty bureaucrats, who seemed to revel in being deliberately unhelpful, usually for some kind of pedantic trivial reason.
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#34When I was teaching at Malmö University, one of the professors once shared that he had noticed one constant across all universities he had attended: on average, the librarians are the most helpful, cooperative members of supporting staff, whereas IT people are the most antagonistic, least helpful people. With just one year of working experience there I already knew exactly what he meant. What we were puzzled by is wh…
All the public library librarians I know are amazing. All the university librarians I know are amazing. For whatever reason though, all the secondary school librarians I ever interacted with (admittedly, a small sample) were the worst kind of petty bureaucrats, who seemed to revel in being deliberately unhelpful, usually for some kind of pedantic trivial reason.
Because of their clientele? They deal with double-talking rules-lawyers all day long. Develop a thick skin and zero tolerance, or they don't last long.
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#35When I was teaching at Malmö University, one of the professors once shared that he had noticed one constant across all universities he had attended: on average, the librarians are the most helpful, cooperative members of supporting staff, whereas IT people are the most antagonistic, least helpful people. With just one year of working experience there I already knew exactly what he meant. What we were puzzled by is wh…
All the public library librarians I know are amazing. All the university librarians I know are amazing. For whatever reason though, all the secondary school librarians I ever interacted with (admittedly, a small sample) were the worst kind of petty bureaucrats, who seemed to revel in being deliberately unhelpful, usually for some kind of pedantic trivial reason.
Richard Nixon was president when I last dealt with a secondary school librarian, but for what it is worth, I recall her as very pleasant. In junior high I was a library page, and though I no longer have any recollection of the paid staff, they must have been OK to work with, or I'd have quit or never started.
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#36When I was teaching at Malmö University, one of the professors once shared that he had noticed one constant across all universities he had attended: on average, the librarians are the most helpful, cooperative members of supporting staff, whereas IT people are the most antagonistic, least helpful people. With just one year of working experience there I already knew exactly what he meant. What we were puzzled by is wh…
All the public library librarians I know are amazing. All the university librarians I know are amazing. For whatever reason though, all the secondary school librarians I ever interacted with (admittedly, a small sample) were the worst kind of petty bureaucrats, who seemed to revel in being deliberately unhelpful, usually for some kind of pedantic trivial reason.
Can't confirm that - while my school librarians weren't exceptional in any sense, they certainly were not as bad as you describe.
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#37When I was teaching at Malmö University, one of the professors once shared that he had noticed one constant across all universities he had attended: on average, the librarians are the most helpful, cooperative members of supporting staff, whereas IT people are the most antagonistic, least helpful people. With just one year of working experience there I already knew exactly what he meant. What we were puzzled by is wh…
To the other perceptive replies in this thread I can add that many US librarians, and especially public librarians, are attached to a set of service-oriented ethical considerations they associate with the work. It's enshrined by the American Library Association, and many consider it a mission.
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#38I founded a non-profit that organizes learning circles for people to learn together. We used to focus on online circles, but found that we mainly reached people who were already fairly well educated. 18 months ago we switched to exclusively working with public libraries to host our learning circles, and we couldn't be happier with the results. We now see about 65% first time online learners, most are without a colleg…
Good job! Check this out and see if you want to add it to your toolbox for your homeless participants:
Re: What Do Public Library Workers Do? (2011)
#39Oh! I put this post together :)
Welcome to HN. :)