helping

On Saturday I spent about half an hour helping a patron register for a class, explained how to contact her department to ensure that her overrides were in the system so that she could register for two other classes, showed her the ins and outs of Blackboard, gave her the phone number for Computing so she could contact them to get her Blackboard account working, and printed off several screenshots of our class registration procedure to ensure that she could do it at home. I also showed her where the bookstores were located so that she could get her textbooks. She was an older student--by that I mean in her 40s. She's a new student, so she's unfamiliar with our "system". She mentioned that her teen sons are so "fast" with computers, but that it takes time for her. I told her that I understood and explained that the university's system can be clunky and frustrating at first, but once you get the hang of it, you're soon a pro. I later found that she is a Canadian student and that coming over here costs $12 dollars a trip.

I could have just directed her to our computer help desk located in the computer lab behind me, but I felt that wouldn't give her the service she needed. I went with her to the computer lab, sat down with her and explained everything patiently. The patron was genuinely appreciative and I hope that I left an excellent impression of the library. I'm confident that this student will come back to the library with other questions. This is what librarianship is all about. Helping people.

I know that showing someone how to use the computer or explain an extensive process (like registering for classes) can be tiresome, but it's important that librarians be willing to teach others how to do things for themselves. We can't just sit back and say, "Oh, go to the computer lab and the computer help desk folks will help you." Chances are the computer help desk folks won't spend the time to really assist the patron fully. The computer help desk staff is almost entirely composed of undergraduate students who have yet to cultivate a strong customer service philosophy. Our Information desk is staffed by librarians and library school students. We need to show patrons that we are dedicated to helping them--and helping them learn. Librarians are here to help. Sometimes we can't help with everything, but we must try.