This first week following my transfer, I was sent as a substitute to one of the system's several temporary branches. These recently opened to serve communities where the main branch in that area was closed for long-term renovation or replacement. I'd been to one in another neighborhood before, and found it to be a very nice, clean, bright place brimming with current books and tons of computers -- in other words, markedly different from most branches...
I'd never been to this particular temporary branch before, but thought I knew where it was, and took public transportation there. Alas, while I had the street right, I was off on the number by about 25 blocks and had to take a taxi to get there in time. (As usual in our city, the cabbie ripped me off.) Anyway, I got there on time and met the tech who usually works there, along with another tech who was substituting. Like the other temporary branch I'd been to, this place is pretty small, but nice and well-stocked. There's no separate space for a librarian, so I basically hung out at the double-sided "island" where the circulation staff works.
It was quickly obvious that the main draw at that branch is the 20 computers. They were all in use pretty much the entire day. From what I could tell it was a mix of people checking email, job searching, writing letters, and checking social networking sites like Facebook. One aspect of this that the senior tech spent a good deal of time policing was the all the toing and froing of teen users. There's a rule that only one person can sit at a computer, and she was pretty rigid about that.
This tech definitely commanded respect from the kids, and that led me to think about the role race might play in dealing with kids in the library. She's black and looked to be in his late 30s or early 40s, in other words, the same age as their mothers might be. I wonder to what extent a white male like me would be able to be as firm with them without somehow coming across as provocative. It's a real issue, given this city's history and my own experience living here -- and depending on which branch I'm assigned to in the future, something I'll have to figure out.
Anyway, since the computers are the main deal, I didn't have a whole lot to do. There were only three real "reference" questions:
- A middle-aged black woman was looking for something she thought was called the "Civil War Guidebook." I did a search in the catalog and then led her to the 973s, where we looked at a guidebook called Civil War Sites: The Official Guide to Battlefields, Monuments, and More, which proved to be exactly what she was looking for.
- Another middle-aged black woman was looking for biographical and/or critical information about the playwright Arthur Miller. After explaining to her that a small temporary branch like this one was unlikely to have too much on specific writers, I showed her how the Biography section was set up. There, we found Enoch Brater's Arthur Miller: A Playwright's Life and Work, which she spent the next several hours poring over. I also gave her a quick tutorial on how to use the online catalog to find relevant materials throughout the system, place them on hold, and have them sent to the most convenient branch.
- Finally, a black teenager came in looking for books about skateboarding. This branch happens to be next to the city's only skate park, so I figured there'd be a nice little set of books, but no dice. The only thing I could find in the 796s was Evan Goodfellow's Street Skateboarding: Endless Grinds and Slides, which the kid was really into. I felt bad that we didn't have more -- since I have seen plenty of skating books in branches in whiter neighborhood. So, I did another quick tutorial on how to search the catalog and have books sent over.
MLS or GED?
Which of the above interactions really need an MLS to sucesfully resolve?
The first interaction was super-basic, but I guess the other two used my MLS to a certain degree -- in the sense that I tried to show them how to do stuff on their own. It's kind of a borderline call, since anyone comfortable with our online catalog could have shown them the same thing, but I'll be generous and count those two.
Week: 2 for 3
Year: 6 for 65
2 comments:
I understand what you are saying about the role that race and gender (and the combination thereof) play in interacting with kids in this city, but most children respond to sincerity and knowing that they are cared about. If you can manage to be stern and serious, while also showing them that you care about them, then race and gender become less of an issue. They want to know that they are liked, but they also want boundaries.
I think your comments are spot on, another librarian friend said that where she works, the teens are so used to being viewed with suspicion that if she just smiled at them, they responded really well. So, smiling can go a long way toward forestalling any "misbehavior".
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