On Tue, 19 Jan 1999 09:58:57 +0000 Tim Turner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Anyone who has an alphabetised and indexed CD collection at
> home should start wonder about themselves. 

Well, that's me told then! My boyfriend recently bought us a new CD holder. When 
I got home I immediately pulled out all the CDs which he'd randomly stuffed it 
with. He immediately burst out laughing, saying "I KNEW you'd have to put them in
alphabetical order!". I must say in my defence that they're not indexed though. 
However I do have major traumas when I have a blank video tape with several 
films taped on it. Which film title do I file it under? ;-)

> We're in a service industry,
> like it or not, and however good we get at that service, we shouldn't ever
> forget that we are here for the benefit of customers, or clients, or users,
> or whatever else you want to call them.

Yes, but I sometimes find the difficulty is making students realise that what 
may to them seem like pointless rules are actually there to help improve the 
service for all of them. E.g. we don't allow them to borrow until they've 
cleared all their outstanding fines. They think we're being overly harsh and 
vindictive, until we say that fines are there to discourage people from keeping 
books overdue, and that if THEY desperately need a book the person who has it is 
less likely to keep it overdue if the resulting fine means they can't borrow 
again until they've paid it.Another example, on an American circulation 
librarians list I used to be on there was a discusison about whether it was good 
customer service to allow people who'd forgotten their library cards to borrow 
with other ID. Some cried "yes of course, it's good customer care!" I argued 
that in times of limited resources you have to look at "care" for the whold 
community of users rather than the person at the head of the queue at that time. 
If you let someone borrow without their card it takes longer to deal with them 
(checking ID, typing in name, etc). If it became known that Library staff would 
accept other ID and look up your name in order to let you borrow, then all such 
transactions would take longer; queues would be longer and move more slowly, etc 
etc, and service would be reduced for EVERYONE. The same with looking things up 
on the catalogue. Have a policy of doing it for them and you'll always have to. 
Have a policy of showing them how to do it for themselves; you show them once 
and they don't need to come back to you every time. They've learned something, 
and you're not prevented from helping other students.

> Finally, the only real hassle I get from people I know nowadays is that
> they can't believe how little I get paid. If your friends make fun of what
> you do, they aren't your friends.

The money thing is an issue I agree. I have a BA and an MA and graduated (first 
time) in 1991, and I work in management of a University Library, yet I still 
don't earn enough to have to pay back my student loan. Admittedly, it's small
because I only caught the first year of student loans in 1990-91 and they were 
only a few hundred then, but still, I haven't reached the repayment 
threshhold.....

Lesha

--
----------------------
Lesha Fossey        
Assistant Librarian, Circulation Services
University of Exeter
Stocker Road            TEL: 01392 263867
Exeter                  FAX: 01392 263871
EX4 4PT         E-MAIL: [log in to unmask]



%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%