I began using public libraries decades ago, when the “People’s University” ethos was stronger and truer. I’ve reluctantly let go of that notion. Experience has taught me not to pursue interests at libraries that extend beyond light entertainment. You see, even though there are 26 libraries within a ten-mile radius of my home (13 public, two branches, 11 academic), I often have difficulty obtaining from them basic reference information and sometimes even materials.
My most recent reference inquiry, for a pointer to a source for literary criticism, was a failure. I’d planned to reprint a famous poem, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, on my blog and wanted to include a citation to an article that discussed its meaning. The source didn’t need to be the most authoritative or profound; I was simply looking for something about the poem beyond a superficial description of its structure. I never even got close.
An in-person inquiry at one of my area’s better public libraries wasn’t fruitful. The library director pointed me to the library’s database web page and signaled pretty clearly that this was the extent of the assistance I’d receive. The available databases proved poor references. Author and title searches of Gale’s Contemporary Literary Criticism returned 141 articles with tangential mentions; the results were totally irrelevant. Advanced search was a misnomer. Gale’s Biography in Context was also listed as a literary source though it proved to be merely a rudimentary resource for grade-schoolers.
Even though I knew it was a no-no, I tried the online chat with a library 30 miles away. The staff were helpful and referred a database that my region doesn’t subscribe to, which was okay. Though I wasn’t any closer to finding a source, I felt good about the library experience until an email from the library director arrived shortly thereafter. She kindly explained that the online reference service was for her town’s taxpayers and requested that I not use it again.
Access denied
At this point I could have personally visited one of the academic libraries but was concerned that I might come up short there as well. Literature wasn’t listed on the database page of the two largest colleges, which may have been a signal that the topic isn’t “in their wheelhouse.” Besides, I just didn’t have the stamina to face the interrogation that precedes each inquiry (are you a student here, a faculty member, a town resident), even when there are no other patrons on the floor. I can never be sure if the staff are censuring me or are fearful of being chastised by a supervisor for providing out-of-boundary service, but, either way, the routine usually feels lousy.
So I gave up—the information just wasn’t worth the hassle.
My track record for obtaining materials through public libraries has also been hit or miss. Interlibrary loan (ILL) requests have been denied a few times because a book was in an academic collection. Despite reciprocal lending agreements, cooperation between institutions seems strained, and so I’ve needed to escalate with one of the libraries to free up the material. Recently, I had difficulty requesting a journal article a public library reference librarian helped me identify because the staffer who processes ILL was unfamiliar with scholarly citations and became exasperated when I suggested she might need the volume and page numbers to obtain the article for me.
Some of what I’ve described here is because I’m a resident of Massachusetts, whose library system might well be the most fragmented and parochial in the nation. Some of it, though, is symptomatic of intractable resource management issues that create barriers between people seeking information and those who can provide it.
The libraries near me would probably cite funding as a cause for poor service, but I’m not persuaded. Budget increases would do nothing to discourage consortia from licensing inadequate database products. They would do nothing about library culture that fragments processes to the point that a reference librarian who identifies a source cannot do the transaction to procure it, and the person responsible for ILL isn’t sufficiently trained to bring in the material. Larger budgets would also not address the provincialism that discourages or prohibits library staff from servicing “outsiders” even when there are no “insiders” in the support queue. My struggle to get what seem like basic services from an epicenter of 26 libraries is not a resource problem; it’s a resource management problem.
I’ve learned not to push
I’ve been told I’m the model reference user—the kind of curious and savvy patron whom librarians wish would walk through the door. Yet, when I actually do come through, I bring inquiries that bump up against barriers and generate friction. Sometimes my requests are outside a staff member’s comfort zone. Sometimes they may tweak a professional frustration about limited cultural or institutional resources and that gets reflected back to me. So I’ve learned not to push. Instead, I’ve come to accept that the libraries available to me are good sources for popular entertainment material and pleasant conversation with staff. Anything else is more than the system can provide.
Jean,
So sorry for your experience. I don't know the particular circumstances of your reference interviews - they are briefly described. I don't know the situation at the time of your visit, but I know from my own experience that our public libraries are swamped with patrons and drowning at the circulation desk. Plus, as you know, library budgets are under tremendous stress. How much staff was available at the branch you visited. You describe it as one of the 'better' libraries, but don't indicate what that means? Better service? Materials more suited to your tastes and interests? Fortunate to have been equipped with newer, more aesthetically pleasing furniture?
When I look at the burden our public libraries face, I feel fortunate to be in an academic library at our area's technical college. Sometimes, when we're not too busy, which is common from about 9:00am-2:30pm, we can spend an extended amount of time with patrons (students), say twenty or thirty minutes. Often we do so via an appointment system. Baring that, we take reference emails, text messages, chats (from anyone who manages to find our webpage) and even Skype appointments.
I shudder to imagine the work atmosphere at the library you describe if the director acted as you indicated. I hope you share your article with that director - hopefully it will be topic in staff meetings or for the local library board.
And please don't judge all libraries by a few negative experiences. I know so many talented, dedicated librarians who would go the extra mile/kilometer for patrons, and I try to find ways to learn from them and emulate their talents every day.
Posted by Matthew C. / Madison, WI on November 16, 2010 05:09:10PM
Sounds like you had a really bad reference user experience
(yes, they can really good or really bad). Maybe you'd like to
point these folks over to my essay on the reference UX. It
might help.
Posted by StevenB on November 16, 2010 06:51:48PM
Hi Matthew - thanks for your kind feedback. I had the great fortune to attend the Reference Renaissance Conference in August and met many progressive, dedicated librarians and library professors. I also correspond by email and phone with readers of my blog, and get first-hand exposure to some awesome library talent that way. These interactions and my knowledge of collaborative efforts across the country that help mitigate the chutes and ladders I face here in Massachusetts help remind me some of my experience is strictly local. I tried to acknowledge that in the article. What I also tried to do was name common facets of library culture and organization that create barriers between libraries and users, with the hope of generating constructive dialogue, like ours.
Here's a bit more about my circumstances. Our libraries in Massachusetts are numerous, though mostly small and disconnected from one another. The ones I visit in central Mass have never been swamped with people when I visit; indeed, I'm often one of a few people there. We're also not technologically sophisticated, so staff aren't busy answering questions via digital channels. My sense is that staff are more comfortable with the social aspects of working at the library - exchanging local news with patrons, asking after loved ones - and tasks that do not involve adult interaction: working with children, moving materials, scheduling meeting rooms or telephoning patrons to let them know there is a book on the hold shelf. My inquires are outside the norm for them. I indicated one library was better because the staff is more approachable; staff at some of the neighboring libraries are totally heads down.
Public libraries (in my area and I gather across the nation) seem to be in closed feedback loop. A lot of people with needs like mine don't use them and therefore libraries aren't accustomed to servicing us. Because we find the services inadequate, we don't use libraries. It's a real dilemma. One of the reasons I share my experiences and try to offer new ideas and perspectives (via my blog) is because I believe deeply in the value of libraries and figure that if I do what my friends and colleagues do --- and simply stop using and thinking about libraries, it will only contribute to their decline.
Instead, I encourage a more systematic approach to our libraries nationally so we can use the considerable resources we invest in them to deliver more and better services that appeal to a broader constituency. It's what everyone wants - we just need to figure out how to do it. I've shared specific ideas on new forms of library value (http://www.radicalpatron.com/category/participatory-librarianship/) as well as what national cooperation within the library ecosystem and with the public might look like (http://www.radicalpatron.com/category/npl/). There's so much potential and so much at stake here ... for libraries and the American people.
Jean
Posted by Jean Costello on November 16, 2010 07:42:42PM
As a librarian, I admit to seeing myself in some of your descriptions. It's painful but necessary to have flaws pointed out, so thanks for the reminder that staff needs to be welcoming and as helpful as possible.
As a librarian in central Massachusetts, I do like belonging to a regional network, which can provide resources beyond what any library could do for itself, especially the small ones. The delivery system is great and the online databases are generally excellent. However, it sounds like some libraries may not be using those resources in the best way. Labeling "Biography in Context" as a literary source is just not correct, and offering it to an adult patron who wants some detailed criticism is wrong. Also, it was nice of the director to show you how to use the literary databases, but you wouldn't be able to put a link on your blog because anyone clicking on it would have to sign in with a library card from that town. What he should have done instead was an Internet search (and just doing a cursory Google search, I found a few things that may have helped you).
I wonder if some of your experience has to do with those small libraries needing to cross-train staff. I am a librarian with an MLS, but I have to work the circulation desk a few hours a week. When I get a reference question while I'm working circ, I feel like I can't give that patron the time he/she deserves because I have other patrons who then queue up simply to check out their materials. It's an issue I have yet to solve, as reference is my priority but I also have the secondary task of checking out patrons' items. (I also have the problem of other staff not passing on reference questions and so patrons sometimes don't get the service they need from me because they never hear about me.)
However, I like reference transactions and often when I get one it's a moment of excitement that I get a chance to use my knowledge and skill and help someone find an answer to a question. You are correct that small libraries are often not very busy and are seen as more of a social institution than an educational one. What we do to change that is an issue we struggle with.
Posted by Marcie on November 17, 2010 08:45:44AM
As an academic librarian, I feel the need to explain what
may be going on w/ the librarians you speak to. When a
patron comes to the desk, if it isn't clear, I'll ask them
whether they're a Univ. patron or not (in more politic terms
than that)--not b/c I want to censure or shame them for
coming in, but because that affects the resources I can
offer them. It's not a problem to show them the things we
subscribe to, but if they're not a Univ.
staff/student/faculty, then I can't offer to get something
through ILL for them.
However, other universities have different policies. We're
a state institution, so we can allow anyone to walk into one
of our libraries and use our online resources. This isn't
without its problem--the database vendors *hate* this, and
are always trying to get us to limit access. B/c we get
public funding, we have a leg to stand on. But a private
college/univ. may not be able to allow that sort of access,
even though they may want to.
Posted by Erika on November 17, 2010 11:33:36AM
Thanks for sharing your experience, Marcie. It's funny, your feedback is so consistent with what I hear from librarians whenever I share stories like this one. "I did a quick internet search and found what you needed" or "the person should have told you about x or y database". It affirms my sense that my inquiries aren't all that challenging ... if we could only find a better way to match the resources with the inquiry. What I've learned is to hold onto what the library does provide for me: a nice place where friendly, open-hearted people work, a place to see children and seniors (which is a nice change from the workplace), a place for simple pleasantries like sampling a homemade cookie or confection at the reference desk or catching up on local news. These things count for a lot in a world that can sometimes feel very hectic and impersonal.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 17, 2010 12:49:54PM
I realize that by saying "I found your answer on the Internet," I am not helping my own cause in keeping public libraries open and funded. The "other side" so to speak can always say, "But isn't everything on Google? Why do we need librarians?" But my response would be, "Sometimes people need a little assistance in searching the Internet. Google seems so simple and intuitive, but the results may not be quite what a person is expecting. And you can't always find magazine and newspaper articles for free, like you often can with subscription databases." (Although I've been trying to refrain from such library language and not call them "databases.")
I think this may be what happened to you with your Dylan Thomas poem. I'm sure you could have searched Google yourself--and probably found the right level of criticism--but you wanted a little assistance with your search. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the librarian was ill-equipped to help.
Posted by Marcie on November 17, 2010 01:17:38PM
Hi Erika - I worked part-time at an academic libary from 2002-2005 and understand some of the limitations. I've also done loads of backoffice volunteer work for public libraries and that has also helped me interpret my experiences. I'd argue that our existing library governance and management systems are hurting patrons and libraries themselves. A far better approach, I think, are more open systems like the "OneCard" program pioneered by the Whatcom County Library System in Washington State (http://lib207.lib.wwu.edu/node/204) that provides seamless access to area academic and public libraries. They describe it as an initiative "spearheaded by Whatcom Libraries Collaborate, a group of library directors and deans dedicated to expanding library access for better stewardship of resources and greater community impact." I'd love to think about how fruitful my reference experiences might be if I could easily leverage the resources of the 26 libraries in my immediate area - or the one 30 miles away that had to turn me down - or [commenter] Marcie's library in central Massachusetts ...
Posted by Jean Costello on November 17, 2010 11:25:48AM
Marcie - Thanks for weighing in again, I just love having conversations like these about contemporary information needs and the enormous value librarians can deliver... I tried Google first, using a variety of search terms, and stumbled upon 3 types of unsatisfactory sources: loads of reprints of the poem itself, countless advertisements to purchase a term paper and a few articles written by poorly identified sources describing what they think the poem is about. (If this was 2002, I could have easily found a high quality source, but the internet (IMO) has become over-run with intrusive marketing or endless republishing that makes it really hard to wade through sometimes.) That's when I turned to libraries - and how I would have loved expert help from someone like you who could share a search strategy or tactic to help me mine info on the open web. And speaking of open web, I've recently argued that libraries and librarians are doing themselves a disservice by limiting their scope to resources within their own institutions or consortia. Here's a link to some specific ideas I've shared about broad unmet needs librarians are uniquely suited to fill: (http://www.radicalpatron.com/category/participatory-librarianship/).
Posted by Jean Costello on November 17, 2010 11:49:18AM
Marcie,
I, too, found some good online resources for this, and Jean was right that Lit. Reference Center and the Gale product she spoke of were not much help.
Jean,
Thanks for the response. I did look at your blog and I was dying to go to reference renaissance, but didn't have time (vacation or otherwise) or the money to get there. Anyway, we'll keep trying to remain relevant and helpful!
Posted by Matthew C. / Madison, WI on November 17, 2010 04:36:36PM
Marcie & Matthew - this dialogue is proof that it's not only the underserved or the people lacking computer skills that need libraries. I'm computer literate, a recent graduate of a top-notch college and a resourceful person ... and I bombed out on my own. Couldn't get thru the internet flotsam floating around my search for literary criticism for Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night". You both found sources I did not. I'll keep banging the drum for systems that let us more easily connect with one another. Thanks for the help and the great feedback!
Posted by Jean Costello on November 18, 2010 08:58:13AM
I'm a reference librarian (academic)who has watched coworkers do reference at my library, and a local library patron who has occasionally approached reference librarians at my local public library. I'm sorry to say that one problem I see is that many people who become reference librarians aren't very smart. Research suggests that the quality of public school teachers has declined dramatically since women became able to pursue careers other than teaching. Is the same phenomenon going on at libraries? Given the appallingly low standards for admission to, and completion of, library school programs, it's no wonder today's reference librarian is sometimes ignorant or stupid.
Posted by unstricken on November 18, 2010 04:04:33PM
That's all very depressing. In Minnesota all citizens have access to a basic suite of databases (Electronic Library for Minnesota) and public and academic libraries cooperate so there are no barriers to ILL between library types.
That said, doing a quick and dirty search of the MLA bibliography and other databases, I'm not finding articles that specifically interpret that poem. ("And Death Shall Have No Dominion" seems to have gotten more ink.) I found more in Google Books - pages of books about Dylan Thomas that discuss the poem. Of course, getting your hands on the books (and not being frustrated by the omitted pages on Google's book search) would take some time and ILL mojo.
As for reprinting the poem on your blog - is it in the public domain? I would be surprised ....
Posted by Barbara Fister on November 18, 2010 08:29:22PM
Jean, I think the biggest shame here would be that you stop pushing for the services you want. It may be frustrating, but the library should be there to serve everyone and that means that everyone should be able to speak up and say what that service is, for them in particular.
That said, I cordially invite you to come live in Washington State, where the winters are milder, the libraries more connected - at the least, feel free to bother us on Ask-WA anytime you want (http://ask.wa.gov/).
All the best, and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Posted by Ahniwa Ferrari on November 19, 2010 06:35:47PM
I know you said "Budget increases would do nothing to discourage consortia from licensing inadequate database products", but that it's not as simple as that.
Databases are hugely expensive. More money means more databases. The more the consortia spends on databases, the more I have in my budget to buy extra databases needed by my patrons. Of course in the current fiscal crisis, some libraries have no additional funds to buy anything.
My state, Montana, provides over 50 databases to every library in the state free of charge, courtesy of the legislature. Are they "inadequate" for college-level research? Some of them are. I sometimes have to remind the Provost that the Small Engine Repair database is part of the consortial package and the University does not have to pay for it.
In Montana, the majority of libraries are school and public libraries so the database selection is geared to those libraries. Since I don't have to pay for the statewide databases, I can spend my funds adding other college-level databases based on the university's curriculum.
Posted by Susan Lee on November 19, 2010 06:56:44PM
Hi Barbara - I've been a lifelong resident of MA and my experience with public libraries is they point to resources in their own physical collection and say look yourself. If I was working with someone like you, or the other folks that are joining the dialogue here, we might find that there truly aren't resources readily available ... but I would have learned something through the dialogue. My library experiences leave me with a good comfy feeling, but they're definitely not learning experiences.
And great point about reprinting the poem on my blog. I should know better ... It was reprinted so many times over the web that I did a quick cut'n'paste and overlooked copyright entirely. Just one more reason we need folks like librarians to help educate or remind us of these things. Thanks.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 19, 2010 08:13:25PM
This state-of-the-art of (can’t find &/or won’t find), not-in-their-stock &/or not-for-your-use of a resource (academic research-type) in a library, surprises even the community whose tax money is involved. And, you will find this have-not domain dominating every where.
This surprises everyone because, libraries are believed to have most academic resources (by any measure and benchmark, educational resources will find a higher rank)--access to it another story.
Let us consider another instance. Why don't I use library at all (for our day-to-day needs)? The answer is: because they don't have such a collection. They in fact don't have any material for the common citizen's daily survival, be it for insurance, health, housing--the bare essentials of the life today (not to talk about purchasing automobile, finding corporate information and other socio-cultural necessities). Where are the libraries that provide information for our daily needs? Any clues?
And, based on this current status of our libraries, everyone else, including Google Uncle, all are information mediaries.
Then, is there an answer to the bottom line: "when I will be in a position to use libraries for and find information that meets our daily survival needs".
Posted by Dr. Mohamed Taher on November 19, 2010 08:55:44PM
Hi Ahniwa - sadly, I've run out of steam. My experience has been that public libraries and Friends groups really like doing things the way they've always done them, with the same people who've always done them. They're impermeable to new blood and new ideas. So I still volunteer from time-to-time to do clerical work, but I've stopped offering ideas or attending meetings or providing free technical consulting. And I haven't given up the ghost entirely, which is why I blog and respond to invitations to speak and write. These activities have put me in contact with library folk around the country and I'm way jealous of so many things you folks west of the Mississippi have going on :) Keep the collaborative efforts going! Jean
Posted by Jean Costello on November 19, 2010 08:59:21PM
Hi Susan - clearly databases are wonderful resources, and yes they are expensive. Librarians from around the country have helped me understand some of the issues with public library dBs including anemic design, vendors bundling marginal sources with more highly-valued ones, purchasing by consortia who are insulated from users, poorly designed library webpages (Wayne Bivens-Tatum discussed this in his article http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviewsreference/887365-283/imagination_sympathy_and_the_user.html.csp). My point was that these are all management problems versus funding problems.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 19, 2010 09:19:15PM
Dr. Tabor - sounds like you don't find the libraries available to you good sources for the information you need. For public libraries, there are so many reasons why this may be the case: communities have become diverse as have their users' needs and expectations; needs have become more sophisticated as education levels have risen; the sheer volume of info has risen exponentially at the same time info industries are in a state of mega-disruption - and - libraries are now one of many info intermediaries and competition has raised the bar. Whew - this list isn't exhaustive and it still makes my head spin! From what I can see, the library community hasn't truly taken up these dynamics. Rather, it has been doing the same thing I do about starting a robust exercise program. Folks talk about it, and do more research, and call baby steps significant progress, make pledges and affirmations ... and essentially push it off another day. This is human nature and institutional nature and very understandable. My sense is that this is a do-or-die decade for American public libraries. By 2019 I predict we'll have adapted to their decline (as communities have with independent pharmacies) or we'll be elbow-deep in building a 21st century institution that will meet our needs AS WELL as libraries did during the first 50 years after their formation. Making the latter scenario come true is the topic of The Radical Patron blog.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 20, 2010 08:52:05AM
I am sharing this article with students in my public library seminar. Maybe some will post their comments here. Thank you for the observations.
--Kathleen, University of South Florida, Tampa
Posted by Kathleen de la Peña McCook on November 20, 2010 11:55:48AM
I share your frustrations but am fortunate to be living in a
place with excellent ILL (though it can take some time to
get what I request), and living near a university that
welcomes visitors (no membership fee required), to use its
databases, to print out articles, etc. But I agree with you
that public libraries are generally not for scholars, which
may reflect the dumbing-down of America...or maybe we never
smarted-up? After all, the percentage of people who
graduate from college is still around 30%...kinda shocking,
don't you think? Maybe if we had a more educated populace,
our libraries would have to keep up.
Posted by MadamaAmbi on November 20, 2010 03:02:07PM
There are a number of reasons for the poor service. Library schools are too
focused on web based solutions, ignoring traditional quality sources in library
education programs. Hence many librarians lack real reference knowledge and
skills. Newer librarians are focused on entertainment, gaming and the latest
app's. They don't have the knowledge base or the people skills to deal with real
reference. Collections due to budget cuts are focused on the "give them what
they want" ethos, hence collections of 10 copies of Eclipse and no serious
reference resources.
Posted by Nancy W on November 21, 2010 07:03:59AM
Why doesn't Jean 'get a life'. How condescending about the wonderful job that Public Libraries do in the community - the services to children (improving literacy in the community), sevices to school aged students, services to the elderly, bringing the opportunities for life long learning and recreational opportunities to many including the disadvantaged. What a pretentious bore!
Posted by Simona on November 21, 2010 06:01:52PM
MadamaAmbi - thanks for writing. Many public libraries are positioned to handle inquiries like mine and many are not. Given our considerable library resources, it would be great if we could find ways to better match people seeking information with the resources to provide it.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 21, 2010 07:59:22PM
Hi Nancy - thanks for sharing your perspective; as a patron there are many aspects of the library ecosystem I don't have visibility into.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 21, 2010 08:29:57PM
Hi Simona - hmmm ... I don't recall saying that public libraries do a wonderful job in their communities (although tens of thousands surely do). What I did say, in my reply to Marcie, is that even though (for me) libraries have not been places of life-long learning they are still nice public spaces to pleasantly pass the time and see people in my community. My sense, based on the number of adults I see at the library reading the newspaper or casually chatting about friends, family and local affairs is that other people may see the same value in the library as I do ... so I'm not quite sure what about it feels condescending to you.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 21, 2010 08:53:20PM
Jean: Can we see the final article and references you ended up using? That would make reading this article and finding what the patron wanted clearer to me. Never pass up the chance to educate!
Posted by Nancy on November 22, 2010 10:05:50AM
Hi Nancy - thanks for asking. On The Radical Patron blog, I write about what I see as the enormous value and need for public libraries, along with my concerns about the sustainability of our existing funding, organizational and service models. I juxtaposed the Dylan Thomas poem with a prior post describing the decline of another community institution, the local pharmacy. As a footnote to the poem, I was hoping to include a few references to literary criticism that analyzed the poem's meaning. Here are links to both posts: http://www.radicalpatron.com/public-libraries-and-independent-pharmacies/ and http://www.radicalpatron.com/rage-rage-against-the-dying-of-the-light/.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 22, 2010 10:06:17AM
Try the ipl2's digital reference service:
ipl.org
Posted by Mary G on November 22, 2010 06:07:42PM
I have had this experience, too, esp when travelling. My
husband and I are staying in a hotel, eating at local
restaurants, visiting local museums, and are told we can't
use the library (to check our email via internet) because
we're not local residents (but we're paying the onerous
hotel tax). This has happened in Philly and other towns up
& down the east coast.
Whereas in Monterey, CA, where I used to work, we let
everyone have 30 mins on the computer twice/day. It's a big
tourist town, so internet use at the library is just another
aspect of being friendly to tourists. No, Monterey is not a
wealthy library system--like many places in CA, it's in
trouble.
Posted by Karen on November 23, 2010 06:50:35AM
Hi Karen - experiences like the ones you and I have described are the reason I've said our national library funding models are unsustainable. Chances are residents in the communities you've vacationed in also experience barriers and friction, as I do in my home area. What a downward spiral. Because we're still using funding, organizational and service models that limit service levels, people like us stop thinking of libraries as resources and find alternatives. As library services become less useful and relevant for us (and because our home budgets are as tight as our municipal ones), we find it harder to support libraries at budget time. And the pattern repeats the next year. We need to break this pattern - and FAST. I believe we can do it with our existing human, material and capital resources ... and would love to get a national dialogue going about it. Thanks for weighing in, Jean
Posted by Jean Costello on November 23, 2010 09:54:46AM
I had a very different experience with the library system in Massachusetts. Of course, this was in 1999, a decade ago, so my expectations may have been different. I lived in New York State on the border of Massachusetts and I was able to get a MA library card (for a small out of state fee, $25 I think.) I had a tremendously positive experience with the staff at the local collection in the Pittsfield, MA library, who took an interest in my research and offered me many suggestions. At the time, I wasn't expecting to be able to connect to databases to find my information, so it may be that the system has become inadequate.
The system for interlibrary loans of materials in Michigan where I now live is excellent. I can find almost any book that I would want for my research. It isn't as instant as the Internet, but I couldn't have written my most recent books without it.
Posted by Laura Lee on November 23, 2010 01:24:14PM
Thanks Laura - experiences do differ substantially from library to library. In the article, I tried to name systemic issues to help make it relevant to readers across the country. What I didn't write is that some of the staff I encountered were just plain weary - tired, overwhelmed, demoralized ... I can't say for sure tho I got the sense that they'd already given about all they had to give. Working in a library can be discouraging and stressful these days. With our mobility and the communication systems at our disposal, I believe there's a great opportunity for libraries to share content, systems and best practices that would enhance the library experience for users and staff alike.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 23, 2010 05:11:38PM
Just out of curiosity, whey did you go to "the library director" for a reference question? At most libraries, the director rarely does desk time and is thus usually not up to date with reference or reader's advisory sources or searching skills. Which is fine: that isn't their job. However, when my director gets a library question she always refers it to the frontline staff on the desk.
Also, most libraries will give you the option of being called or emailed back if staff don't have the time to give your question the attention it deserves.The proliferation of resources means it often takes more time, not less, to thoroughly answer a question given all the tools available. I ALWAYS stress that staff will be happy to take a patron's contact info and get back to them. I hope you were given this option.
Posted by Lesley Williams on November 23, 2010 07:25:35PM
This: "a place for simple pleasantries like sampling a homemade cookie or confection at the reference desk"
Huh, I don't know what kind of libraries you have in your area....
Posted by Blake on November 23, 2010 06:21:49PM
Lesley and Blake - you each picked up on characteristics of the public libraries in my area: they're numerous, small, quaint and essentially stand-alone units staffed by a handful of individuals who must do everything from turning off the alarm systems in the morning to [name all traditional library services here], managing meeting rooms, programming, promotion, updating the website, and in the case of some directors also managing the facilities. In many communities, like mine, they are beloved (and yes, patrons do show their appreciation by bringing baked goods and confections that are shared at the front desk). Staff try really hard, but there's only so much they can do given the way these libraries are currently conceived, structured and funded.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 24, 2010 07:34:53AM
I don't think it's fair for you to criticize all the libraries in your area when you only went to one. Certainly that one library could have done a much better job of fulfilling your need, or at the very least pointing you to another library that could. However, you didn't even visit or call one of the academic libraries in the area. You just assumed they wouldn't want to or be able to help. I am an academic librarian, and I will echo that when I worked at a large, state university, I would often ask if the patron was a student or not. It's not because I didn't want to help our public patrons, but knowing whether they were working on an assignment as a student or simply seeking information would change how I conducted the reference interview.
Posted by SusanE on November 24, 2010 09:54:19AM
"Author and title searches of Gale’s Contemporary Literary Criticism returned 141 articles with tangential mentions; the results were totally irrelevant."
OMG, please go here:
"Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)." Poetry Criticism. Ed. David Galens. Vol. 52. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2004. 207-338. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. CIC
Included is a rather lengthy discussion of the poem grabbed from a piece by Marc Cyr that originally appeared in "Papers on Language and Literature: A Journal for Scholars and Critics of Language and Literature" (1998 Spring; 34, 2: 207-17)
Posted by Leo Robert Klein on November 24, 2010 10:33:58AM
Hi SusanE, please read my essay again. The experiences I described covered a few public libraries (3 actually), and this experience is representative. If it was simply one disappointing experience with one library, I would have chaulked it up to a bad day. I'm confident my experience is not unique to me or to Massachusetts. What I also tried to do was name the system problems that might accrue to such disappointing reference experiences. I also explained why I did not pursue an academic library for this one and an assumption that they did not want to help was not a factor. Thanks for sharing your thought process for reference. I'm interested in how you would have approached my inquiry about literary criticism for the Dylan Thomas poem "Do not go gently..." differently if I was a student writing a paper or someone simply seeking information. Can you explain? Jean
Posted by Jean Costello on November 24, 2010 10:57:01AM
Thanks for the reference, Leo. Librarians from across the country have emailed me citations and I'm grateful that so many people have taken the time to do research and outreach on my behalf. This really affirms my faith and commitment to libraries and the profession. We have all the right stuff going for us — so let’s keep advocating for systems to better match users and library resources! Thanks again.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 24, 2010 11:01:29AM
Hi Jean,
I'm sorry to hear about your poor experiences. You'd be very welcome at our (academic) library any time, by phone, email, chat, or in person. I have a good article on "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and would be happy to email it to you.
Posted by Laura on November 24, 2010 09:06:35AM
Jean, just to be clear: I would have stepped someone like you through a couple of the resources, gone through some of the results, maybe emailed you a thing or two -- and then sent you on her way to the Computer Lab to see if you could do some of this on your own.
Posted by Leo Robert Klein on November 24, 2010 11:20:48AM
Laura - yes, I'd love the citation and also how to contact your library. Here's how to reach me, so we can chat more: http://www.radicalpatron.com/contact/
Posted by Jean Costello on November 24, 2010 12:09:07PM
If you were a student working on an assignment, I would have shown you how to use our databases, sat down with you and provided some preliminary searches for the information. Ultimately, though, I feel that it is up to the student to find and disseminate the information they need. For public patrons, I would most likely do most of the searching myself, and would leave less of the dissemination of the information to them. Basically, I feel like it is my responsibility and goal to help the student learn how to find information on their own and my responsibility to find it for the public patron.
Posted by SusanE on November 24, 2010 12:13:15PM
Leo - the type of help you describe would be so welcome, for I'd learn so much from it. As an FYI, I've begun pursuing the citations you and so many other librarians have provided for me and through the process have already picked up a few new search techniques and sources.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 24, 2010 12:26:22PM
Oh SusanE, I'm so glad you checked back! Not sure how representative I am of the non-student users you support, but can share that even though the need for a specific piece of info brings me to the library, I seek the learning experience in most cases (though not all). Sometimes I just want the fish and don't want to be taught to fish, but most often it's the latter. I see it as my responsibility to let the library staff know what level of service I'm looking for and try to communicate that as part of my inquiry. You know, I offered the essay in response to an invitation from LJ, and never anticipated the response it is generating. It's been a wonderful experience to talk about the challenges facing our libraries and at the same time learn new personal information skills through dialogue with you and your many colleagues that have contributed. Thanks and take care, Jean
Posted by Jean Costello on November 24, 2010 12:36:16PM
Your comments are timely. I manage reference services in suburban library. The former director had a healthy respect for the reference process, but the director who replaced her clearly sees reference service as peripheral to the library's main mission. As a result, the materials budget has been slashed and staffing of the reference desk has been haphazard. If we are short-staffed, it's the first position left empty. It is also increasing likely to be staffed by a non-professional with no background in the services that define the position. It's no wonder the patrons drift away and don't return.
Couple that set of conditions with overall reductions in library funding and the growing notion that you don't need the library if you have the internet; we are left with an apparently irreversible decline in service and a wide-spread embrace of ignorance. *sigh*
Posted by Pam on November 24, 2010 11:51:30AM
Hi Pam - I believe we need librarians and libraries now more than ever due to the myriad problems with our current infotainment landscape and the loss of our public commons to commercial interests. I know many people who feel the way I do about the latter points, though they do not see libraries as resources. Regretfully, my library usage is also on the decline. Part of this, I believe, is the library community's confusion over its mission. So much has changed since libraries came to prominence in this country roughly 100 years ago that I believe the library community and the American public need to forge a better consensus around what we want our libraries to be, and then fund them appropriately.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 24, 2010 02:58:13PM
What a frustrating experience. I like to think you just ran into frazzled librarians on a bad day, but geez. I am a children's librarian, and our department is insanely busy, but that kind of non-service is not what patrons encounter at our desk. I'm sure you already found plenty of resources on the Dylan Thomas poem, but if not...
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night By: Lord, Russell, Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition,
Database: Literary Reference Center
Posted by AR on November 24, 2010 09:39:20PM
Thanks, AR - I'll check out the article. FYI, my experiences were more the result of institutional definitions and limitations than poor staff performance. Interestingly, most of the library folk I've spoken with consider the reference experience as the interview and the source identification, and they assess their performance based on those two facets. My evaluations, on the other hand are end-to-end ... so if I need to scour a library webpage like one Wayne Bivens-Tatum described in his article and can't even locate a major heading like "Literature" or if I have to speak with three people and repeat the citation info over and over to get an ILL done (and then cross my fingers and hope that the source comes in), that's not a good experience in my eyes. What would help is the user empathy Wayne described and the systems analysis Jamie LaRue referred to ... to help make the staff shine and more users with alternatives (like me) turn to libraries for information. Jean
Posted by Jean Costello on November 25, 2010 09:54:36AM
When libraries limit access to resources based on residing in a specific town or affiliation with a specific college, it is not because of "library culture and organization" rather it is due to the restrictions put on by the funders of these libraries. City taxes for example support local public libraries and the city sets the policy of who then is entitled to use the local services. Colleges are funded by districts or state governments and the these funding entities set who is entitled to free access. Let's look at another example from the college sphere - tuition. If you live out of the district or state, you will pay a higher rate to take classes at those institutions. Likewise, a comparable example at the local level to public libraries is public schools. If you live in one city, you can't send your children to public school in another.
Posted by sj on November 25, 2010 12:01:14PM
Hi SJ - I understand the library ecosystem reasonably well, and I'm suggesting we reconsider it. In my view, it's an issue of vital national importance. The majority of funding mechanisms, jurisdiction, governance etc. were established at a time when information was scarce, people were significantly less educated and mobile. And of course we had no data technology. Particularly over the past 40 years, user needs have become more diverse and sophisticated, and libraries face competition from a range of for-profit and non-profit organizations. How can we expect them to evolve rapidly enough to stay viable if we place so many restrictions on them?
Posted by Jean Costello on November 25, 2010 06:27:39PM
My local public library, in Los Angeles, isn't remotely appropriate for serious research. Napping, getting high, washing up in the lavatories--that's what goes on here. Im sorry for the librarians and the staff, but no one is willing to admit that the LA downtown "flagship" library is a dropin shelter.
Posted by Belinda Gomez on November 25, 2010 07:59:13PM
I am truly sorry for the experience that you had. I do
believe that some of the experiences that you cite are
functions of budgetary shortfalls, which we as a profession
are trying to learn to address gracefully. The barrages of
questions about your affiliation may fall into this
category. We are advised as a profession, in order to
justify funding, resource purchases, and, sometimes, our
continued existence, to attempt to get information on the
patrons we are serving, since, in most cases today, any
purchase rules out some other potential purchase.
Unfortunately, if a resource we are purchasing is primarily
used by people outside our funding population, those dollars
may need to be reallocated to a resource that might serve
our core group of patrons better. The academic and public
librarians that are asking you these questions may or may
not have made this very clear or may not have attempted to
do so. So often, it feels like whining to continually
proffer these explanations, but if we do not, we probably
seem nosy, intrusive, or as though we are looking for
excuses to provide barriers to serving you, which seems to
have been borne out in your reaction: “I can never be sure
if the staff are censuring me or are fearful of being
chastised by a supervisor for providing out-of-boundary
service, but, either way, the routine usually feels lousy.”
I work in a public library, where I do get academic
reference questions on a regular basis and walk the line
between giving the best service that I can and letting a
patron know when there are resources at a nearby academic
library that would answer her question much better, which
can be interpreted as an attempt to avoid the question.
However, as someone who, on a digital job, has had patrons
approach her through a NJ public library queue who seemed
not to realize the fact that their registration as a student
at Princeton University afforded them access to more
resources than any public library could dream of on Jungian
archetypes or the educational impact of poverty, to cite two
examples, I feel obligated to tell a patron when she can do
better than me and my library. That is not an attempt to
punt. That is an attempt to get the patron an “A” on her
paper.
It may be that none of these barriers that we as librarians
are attempting to negotiate played into your unsatisfactory
interactions. If this is the case, I am saddened and
apologize again.
Posted by Nicolette on November 26, 2010 04:35:50AM
Hi Nicolette - thanks so much for the detailed reply. I know there are many restrictions placed on you and other library staff, which is why I ended my essay with the conclusion "it's more than the system can provide". The thrust of my advocacy is to disrupt the narrative about library funding and value. It's true that funding levels are insufficient to support our existing library systems, however my argument is that those systems (which worked so well for half a century) are now woefully inefficient and often incapable of providing high-quality information service. What I call for is discussion about how we can use our resources to provide more service more effectively. We have the talent, money and technology to do it. All we need to begin is a change in perspective.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 26, 2010 07:42:31AM
Library staff should provide research consultation level assistance to all drive by and/or drop in patrons. We should not be afraid to work through a thorny, unfamiliar research problem on the fly, even at the risk of opening ourselves up to the possibility of failure and/or time suck. Nor should we be intimidated by imperious patrons who frame their research questions so that the question itself implies, "This should be easy, what’s taking so long?" … We know things aren’t always as easy as they appear. We must focus on achieving the task at hand: providing thoughtful assistance to a researcher searching for a particular piece of information. Research is a creative, freewheeling enterprise. I’m sure most Library Journal readers, after reading your sad pronouncement, immediately went off to nefarious licensed lit crit databases (and google scholar, … admit it) to see how we might have fared in your withering estimation. (I did ok, thank you very much). Researching any walk-up researcher's issue in depth is a two way street – a communication exercise. It’s my experience that public services research experts (by any other name) love to work at length with people who are willing to share information openly as we stitch together thoughts and motivations, searches and resources. In fact, many different people receive wonderfully perceptive, nuanced and intelligent expert research support from library public services every day of the year. Cherry picking bad experiences in any service environment is so very easy - low hanging fruit – and perhaps the product of you and your style as much as the libraries in your path.
Cheers,
Brian
Posted by brian williams on November 29, 2010 12:33:07PM
I admit the search interface isn't the easiest to use, but I found four articles in the Gale Literature Resource Center that might have fit the criteria. I think the Hochman article is probably the best.
Cyr, Marc D. "Dylan Thomas's 'Do not go gentle into that good night': Through 'Lapis Lazuli' to King Lear." Papers on Language & Literature 34.2 (Spring 1998): 207-217. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. David M. Galens. Vol. 52. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
Heaney, Seamus. "Dylan the Durable? On Dylan Thomas." Salmagundi 100 (Fall 1993): 66-85. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. David M. Galens. Vol. 52. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
Hochman, Jhan. "An overview of “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”." Poetry for Students. Detroit: Gale. Literature Resource Center. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
Schwarz, Daniel R. "'And the Wild Wings Were Raised': Sources and Meaning in Dylan Thomas' 'A Winter's Tale.'." Twentieth Century Literature 25.1 (Spring 1979): 85-98. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. David M. Galens. Vol. 52. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
When I did a search for "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" in MasterFile Premier, an EBSCOhost database available to all WV public, school, and state academic libraries, I found twenty articles -- some more relevant than others and some not relevant at all, but again I found the full text of the Cyr article (see above).
I feel for Massachusetts and for all struggling public libraries, but the answers were there. If the staff is intimidated by ILL and by using unfamiliar databases, that is probably because they are underpaid and undertrained -- they are probably not professional librarians. More money would help if it was devoted to salaries for professional librarians. In our area, the county library director is the only MLS person to oversee all public libraries in three counties.
When using chat with another library system, I understand the frustration of the director. Chat, at least in my experience, takes a lot longer than an in-house query -- longer to sort out the information need, longer to explain what databases to use, just generally longer.
As for the questions in academic libraries, it has to do with resources and licensing agreements. I can help you at the reference desk as long as no students want help, but I cannot let you use a computer without an official school login and password. Therefore, you cannot use our databases without me acting as mediator. It has to do with the Office of Information Technology and network policies not the library's.
Even at my desk I still have to ask you questions about what you are doing and what you are looking for because I can't give you advice if I don't know what your problem/information need is.
I suggest that the next time the county/city votes on the library budget (usually a part of the property taxes), unhappy patrons campaign for better budgets and directors with MLS degrees.
Posted by Linda Celet Bane on November 29, 2010 06:50:58PM
Hi Linda - thanks for the great references; the dBs you used aren't available via the public libraries in my area. Regarding the need for professionally trained librarians - I don't believe the difficulty in my area is that there are too few trained staff, but rather that the means of matching needs and resources is out of calibration.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 29, 2010 10:07:16PM
Jean, get thee to an academic library. Academic librarians must be familiar with databases. I'm a Reference Librarian in a university library, and we help non-student, non-staff, non-faculty patrons regularly--no interrogation required. Community members are welcome to get a user card to use our library's resources. Don't knock it until you've tried it!
Posted by Alison Librarian on November 30, 2010 11:13:00AM
Alison - I've wondered why more academic libraries don't allow non-students to become cardholders. I suspect many of the assumptions that inform prohibitions would prove false with examination. I'd also be willing to bet that providing access to more people would be beneficial for the user, the library and the content providers. Thanks for the tip --- I'll check with a few of the academics in my area to see if they provide cards to people unaffiliated with the institution.
Posted by Jean Costello on November 30, 2010 01:33:01PM
I regret your experience you had, but please don't chastise all libraries and librarians because of it. I see what the librarians go through at my school, it is a thankless job no matter how hard they try. The students and/or patrons are ignorant and expect the librarian to do all their work for them. Budget constraints DO add to these issues. However, it is not a librarian's job to write your paper for you or do all the leg work. They are there to point you in the right direction. If you are writing about something you SHOULD have at least some idea of what your talking about. I find that patrons and/or students have no idea and they don't ask what they need help with properly, they assume librarians are mind readers or something. I find your little blog post insulting. These people work hard everyday always with a smile on their face and are always up for any challenge brought to them. I think that you are just nit-picking and I would like for you to walk in their shoes for just 1 day and see if you would sing a different tune afterward....you would. Come on, please don't lump all librarians together. Besides, most public libraries rely on volunteers who have no experience because of BUDGET CONTRAINTS!!! Why don't you have your own database resources then? Why did you have to go to the library if you obviously can do it all by yourself? 99.99% of patrons and/or students find that even though they are not clearly stating what they need help with find statisfaction with the librarians they encounter. I find what you've have blogged about offensive and with bias which makes everything you've written false. Please don't make librarians waste their time with you when all you are is ungrateful for their service. Let them serve someone who actually can appreciate all they do!
Posted by Michelle on November 30, 2010 07:05:41PM
A beautiful new branch library (don't let the name fool you; it's quite large) opened a few blocks from my old house, but after a few attempts to get help beyond pointing at the catalog, I gave up. In one of my last LIS classes, students who had taken a library marketing class the semester before would occasionally veer off-topic to discuss public sentiment about libraries and librarians, and what we could do to improve it. After several weeks of this, I had to interject: in all my uses of the local public library, including synchronous and asynchronous chat systems, the only question that was answered accurately and completely was "where are the tax forms?"
One thing that struck me in this essay was the idea of the "model reference user." I recently prepped some coworkers for research in a special collection at the LOC by listing off the things they needed to know before they got there (e.g., locating the online finding aid) and explaining "if you go in there prepared, with a clear idea of what you want, the librarians will get excited and do everything they can to help you," which has always been my experience at the LOC. Certainly not most public libraries, though--I often get the sense that everyone is considered a "problem patron" until proven otherwise.
Another thing that came up in that same LIS class and may well be true here is the fact that many library positions just aren't staffed by librarians anymore. Folks go through library school, learn about reference interviews and search strategies, and when they graduate, they get shunted into management. And whether librarian, paraprofessional, or volunteer, many staff members are forced by bean-counters to value quantity over quality: when you're fighting for budget scraps, "we answered 2500 reference questions" looks a lot better on paper than "we answered 1200 reference questions as completely, accurately, and quickly as possible, and all 1200 patrons were satisfied with the attention their question received." Sad but true.
Posted by Sarah on December 1, 2010 01:31:12PM
Sarah - thank you so much for your thoughtful and perceptive reply! There are so many dimensions of our public library system to explore and discuss, and I'm pleased that my essay has catalyzed a number of them in this discussion stream. As I mentioned in another reply, the challenges (and opportunities) within our national public library systems are significant. I believe our libraries are national treasures and worth the effort, and I am hopeful that we can create a national dialogue to come to a better consensus of what we want from our libraries --- and then provide the resources necessary for them to deliver those services.
Posted by Jean Costello on December 1, 2010 03:45:20PM
I wish someone could have referred you to Gale's Literature Resource Center. If you had come to my library, I wouldn't have given up until you left with what you came for. Good, solid literary criticism is one of the hardest things to find, and frankly I was surpised to find it in LRC after you said it was unavailable in Lit Crit Online.
Posted by tricia on December 2, 2010 04:35:51PM
Hi Trish - guess what? My consortia just added this resource in December (http://find.galegroup.com/menu/commonmenu.do?userGroupName=mlin_c_cwmars). It wasn't available to me or the people who tried to help me at the time I made my inquiry. What I also figured out based on the feedback here (and the nudge to look harder) is that the database web pages at most of the public libraries in my area aren't up to date - so I'm going to bypass them from now on and go directly to the consortia page. There may have been more resources available to me than I (or perhaps also folks working in the libraries) perceived at the time.
Posted by Jean Costello on December 3, 2010 09:13:31AM
Jean,
Your experiences with libraries in your area sound awful. If you're looking for literary criticism in the future, Gale has a free index at http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex. It will point you to the relevant volumes in various Gale sets, such as Poetry for Students, Poetry Criticism, and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (all of which have criticism on this poem).
Tina Lau, Librarian
Cuesta College
San Luis Obispo, CA
Posted by Tina Lau on December 8, 2010 03:48:00PM
For some reason I'm not able to read more than the three visible posts, so I don't know if someone already said this. Sorry if so...
First, you DO sound like an exceptional researcher. Academic libraries are better equipped these days to delve into serious author research issues than small public libraries. (Hopefully, bigger public libraries have the staff and expertise to be closer to academia.) Many very small libraries are staffed by underpaid and under-skilled people, many of whom don't even have a library degree, and can't really be expected to do the kind of research you needed. So being pragmatic about available services is something I'd suggest to you, as a patron. (Which is certainly NOT to say that it would be a bad idea to organize consortia or other systems so that there is SOMEONE to whom you could have been pointed who could help, maybe in a consortium headquarters or local academic library.)
Also, about budgets. My mid-sized NH Library just cut several expensive newspaper subscriptions. We now have access to NewsBank, a handy database of national newspapers, and that subscription cost about what ONE of the newspapers did. However, no crossword puzzles, no classifieds, no physical paper to browse... it's an unhappy compromise, but one we had to make. Things like this are inevitible in the current economy, and they hinder excellent service. Tools we used to take for granted are not available. It's hard for everyone.
On the flip side of that, however, is the "economy of scale" issue. MOST of our users (you being an exception) don't miss most of the things we have to cut. Cutting edge patrons have always been and will always be a big challenge for Reference Services. Some librarians are better at punting than others. I know that I, for one, sometimes forget about the existence of certain tools that could help because I haven't needed to use them in years -- and I'm only human with a human memory! (Not an excuse, simply a statement of fact. Not infallible. This is one reason my library tries to keep two reference librarians on desk -- we can bounce ideas off each other and remember things the other person maybe has lost track of, thus giving better service.) But our choices have to take into consideration whether to keep an esoteric tool we use once a year for $500, or to buy more DIY books that are constantly signed out (for example.) We try to maintain a reasonable balance, but it's not easy.
There are undoubtedly things we can improve, but the problems for libraries are real. Funding IS mostly local, and Boards of Trustees decide how much local taxes can support non-taxpayers. Not all libraries are members of organized consortia, so they are often limited in ways organized groups are not. In a perfect world, you should be able to get anything from anywhere. I hope you locate a reference service that can actually help you. I'm sure there is one around!
Posted by Sherry on December 9, 2010 11:05:14AM
Thanks Tina - I'd bet anyone with interests like mine would find Massachusetts' public libraries lacking as consistently reliable information resources. Some, like my hometown library are absolutely wonderful community centers, and beloved by the their patrons for this reason. I offered my essay, not to publicly rant to disparage (as many have accused) but rather to highlight what I believe is a critical issue for libraries and the people they serve. For me, the amazing thing about this exchange (here and with folks from across the country who have emailed me) is what a fabulous learning experience it has been to engage with so many difference perspectives --- all around this single use case of my inquiry for literary criticsm. This type of dialogue is one I'm trying to model and extend beyond one patron and one use case. Thank you for the pointer to the Gale index. I'll check it out.
Posted by Jean Costello on December 9, 2010 02:35:16PM
Next time try a community college library.
Posted by Vicky on January 5, 2011 06:45:46PM
Thank you, Tina. My experiences weren't awful in the sense that I encountered a disagreeable or incompetent person in my interactions. Indeed, I tried hard and a number of people tried to help me.
My experiences are awful though if you step back and ask how, in 2010, a college-educated patron with internet access and a willingness to do some legwork can reside in close proximity to 26 libraries - with so many librarians, so many books and so many databases - and come up short on a pretty basic reference inquiry. My assessment is that everyone involved (me and the library staff that tried to help me) were working within very limited systems that mitigated the value of the resources we've all invested in ANd the fruitful work we could have done together. We can do better and reaching higher ground is what I advocate for as The Radical Patron. Jean
Posted by Jean Costello on January 12, 2011 06:22:08PM
You could have walked into our college library in New Rochelle, NY and asked the reference librarian for assitance. We do not ask if you are a student or faculty member. As long as you work with the librarians, you can have access to their expertise and even have an article or two printed ot for you from our research databases. The only thing you can't do is borrow our books (but you can
come every day and read them in a beautiful setting) and you can't log in to our network to access our journal articles--legally that is not allowed.
Posted by Callie on April 4, 2011 03:42:18PM
Hi Callie - In Massachusetts we don't have the state and region-wide public library collaboratives that many other states enjoy. Pity ... I hope my article conveyed how difficult that can make accessing library resources here. I know the folks in Washington State and Toronto, Canada are pursuing greater cooperation between public libraries and academics, which is also very encouraging.
Posted by Jean Costello on April 5, 2011 11:43:01AM
Found "stuff" on our Gale Literature Resource center in a few minutes. Maybe the staff needs some training. The source came from Poetry for Students. I didn't look at any of the other articles, since the first one seem to have what you wanted. In these times, we are not training people and we do not value experienced librarians. That's probably why you are having problems.
Posted by Mary Phillips on April 5, 2011 06:27:01PM
I would like to propose not to hold off until you get enough money to buy all you need! You should get the <a href="http://goodfinance-blog.com/topics/business-loans">business loans</a> or just car loan and feel fine
Posted by McguireSavannah on March 6, 2012 01:57:42PM
