Desk Set

Some time ago, I copied Michael Casey and talked a bit about Desktop on Demand. Since then, I've been playing around quite a bit with a similar application - Goowy. Goowy and DoD both operate as a home-away-from-home desktop environment, but there are a few differences.

Goowy does not run its own browser (rather it just runs in yours), does not provide anonymous IP addresses, and it doesn't come with a word processor. But what it does do is work. Goowy is easy to get started with, it's quick, and it does what it says it's going to do. It provides email integration, IM integration (with Yahoo, Gtalk, and other Goowy users), calendar, contacts (importable and exportable), favorites, an Mp3 player, and my favorite part, online file saving/sharing. The file saving is powered by Box.net - but the funny part is that it's actually easier to use through Goowy, and you get a free 1Gb vs. having to pay for 5 Gb when going directly through Box.net's site.

I admit that I have my "online life" pretty well set-up from both home and work and don't have too much call to use Goowy, but since I do work from home occasionally, I use the online file saving feature to make life easier.

However, I would love to offer a class on Goowy to patrons. Many of our patrons use the computers at more than one library, and I think Goowy would be a boon to some of these people. Also, I have found that the IM feature works on our computers - and even Meebo doesn't work on our computers, since we have chat clients blocked. Gasp! Am I suggesting a work-around to our system? Yes, yes I am. While I hope that someday we will unblock at least Meebo, in the meantime Goowy would provide a chat/IM option that doesn't interfere with our network and doesn't require a download.

A patron could also check all of their email accounts from the same place (we don't offer a tabbed browser), and even play their own music without having to have their iPod (or whatever) with them, as the music files are stored - and played from - the patron's online files. There's even a "minis" feature, which uses a number of widgets and sets up very much like iGoogle or Pageflakes. All from one window.

Desktop on Demand may have been one of the first to this particular party, but I have found Goowy to be infinitely more usable - especially on a public computer.

Random Reference Tool - Zamzar

The other night while at the ref desk, one of my regular YA patrons ran into a little snag; he was meeting with his tutor, and he needed to print out a couple of essays. Problem was, he composed the essays using MS Works (which comes free with most Windows computers), and he couldn't open it on our computers, which run Word. Now, you should be able to convert the file using Word and its conversion setting, but for reasons unknown (security? converter not loaded/accessible?), this didn't work for us (and he didn't have time for me to screw around trying to figure it out).

After a quick search I found, and decided to try, Zamzar, an online file conversion tool. And although there's an "email step" that the service could well do without, the files were converted without too much fuss. Crisis averted.

Zamzar covers a wide variety of file formats, and since it's free and operates online and doesn't interfere with your hardward/software/security config, you might want to keep it in mind for patrons using your public access machines.

Sigh

We have a policy at our library that a patron cannot check out a book (or anything else) without their card - no exceptions, ever. No, we will not look up your card. No ,we will not do it just this one time. NO! The circ people adhere to this policy like it's the Holy Grail. Naturally, I have an opinion on this policy, and even suggestions about how it could be handled a tad differently (and perhaps maybe with a smile - but that's just me), but I do not work circ, and my opinion means nada.

OK, so, as you can imagine, patrons are constantly upset about this policy, and many have asked that we use cards that attach to their keys, like the ones you routinely get at the supermarket for your discounts and such. Most places give you three cards - two keychain type, and one credit card type. People want these keychain cards.

Our consortium recently adopted a new name (thank God), and with this new name comes new cards. I asked one of the staff people (SP) tonight if we were getting keychain cards:

Me - "Are we going to get keychain cards in addition to regular cards?"
SP - "No."
Me - "Because I have had several patrons ask for those...."
SP - "No. Those are gross. I don't want to handle people's keys."
Me - "Well, yeah, but, patrons seem to really want them."
SP - "We're not getting them."

Allllllriiighty then. Business as usual.

First, let me state that I am a germ-o-phobe of the highest order, and the "yuck" factor is not lost on me. But, um, folks, we handle books all day. Books that have had God-knows-what done with/to them. Books that have been in the hands of many many many people, in the course of one day alone. So, uh, the yuck factor is a non-argument, as far as I'm concerned.

What drives me crazy is that this kind of thinking is standard operating procedure around here. What the patrons want is rarely given much weight - it's always what's easiest for staff - and worse yet - what is easiest for one or two particular staff members. I did not hear that anyone had any input into this decision to not get kaychain cards. I can bet that none of the professional staff had any input. And in fact, I can bet that this decision was made by one person (maybe two). I'll eat crow if I'm wrong on this, but I bet I'm not.

Stuff like this drives me crazy.

SHHHHHHHH....

I just got shushed! By a patron! While I was helping someone at the public access computers! She actually went, "ssshhhhhhh...." She was supremely annoyed that I was helping the person sitting next to her. I think I glared at her.

What does a librarian do?

Tonight, a teen came in and went to the catalog, looked around for a bit, and then went up to the circ desk. As I was on my way by, one of the circ people said, "Well, ask her - she's the reference librarian, and if we have something, she'll be able to help you." The boy immediately balked and said, "I already looked in the catalog - I couldn't find anything." (I'm not clear on why, then, he was asking anyone for help since he seemed convinced that we didn't have what he needed, and he really didn't seem to want MY help (?), but whatever.) I asked what he was looking for, and he told me he needed info on Zapata for a five page paper. I told him to come to my desk, and I would take a look.

I tried the obvious searches first, while he stood there and hemmed and hawed about how he had already done that. He didn't have time to get anything sent over from another library (naturally), and, *sigh* we didn't have anything - he was sure of it. I asked if he could use internet/online sources, and he said, "Yeah, but not Wikipedia because that's not a real source." Then he said he'd rather have books, to be on the safe side. I broke out my mad catalog skillz (HA!), wrote down some numbers, and he reluctantly followed me to the stacks. Sure enough, I found four books with pertinent info for him (in a couple different places). This surprised him, but made him happy nonetheless.

Yesterday, a favorite patron of mine came in to see if we had the latest Hoover's - we no longer have it in print. He then told me that what he was really looking for was a used set no older than 2003 that he could purchase, and that he was having trouble finding it on ABE. He said there were too many kinds, and that he couldn't find anything as current as he would like. After asking him some questions (ah, the reference interview), I determined what, exactly, he was looking for, and suggested that we use Amazon and look at the used book sellers on there (because I knew from experience that that would likely yield more than ABE for that title) and, yay, we found several 2006 copies at very reasonable prices (and I should him exactly how do it so that he could order from home). He was thrilled, and said that I am his favorite librarian and that he'll be sad to see me go.

Another patron asked me to help her with some code so that she could fix her (old style) Blogger blog sidebar, and she asked me about free photo hosting - done and done. And an adult college student in education asked me to help her find sources for a paper. I asked her if she knew about ERIC (she didn't), so I told her what it was (she had never heard the term "database" before - what on Earth are the teachers doing?), and showed her how to access it and use it. She left with 4 journal articles, and said, "I've been looking for info like this for days."

Tonight I also found critical analysis books for someone on King Lear, directed a kid to the MAD magazines, and showed a patron the free YA Book Box because he wanted Stephen King books in paperback (and I knew I had just weeded some old ones).

So, what's my point?

Well, my point is that I would guess many reference people do the exact same thing day after day. Which is why it drives me crazy when I hear stories about some librarians wanting to decide what is best for their patrons, and other stories about librarians who are downright hostile about us "hipster" librarians and our damn library 2.0 nonsense.

In two days, I've used what I have learned over the past three years about reference print sources, our somewhat crappy OPAC, the internet, online databases, silly magazines, HTML, blogging, email, USB drives, literary fiction, and genre fiction. My patrons ranged in age from 11 (MAD magazine) to 70s (email help). And everyone left happy.

This is what it takes to be a good, general reference librarian TODAY. And the sooner we all get on board with the "old" AND the "new," (and that goes for MLS programs as well), the better.

No Network, No Patrons

Well, almost no patrons....

Today we shut down the public access computers so that we could do both hardware and software updates on them. We don't have a ton of computers, but we have enough that it just made more sense to shut down the network for the day and try and get them all updated/fixed at once. The fact that we were doing this was well-publicized, so very few people came in to be disappointed by the shut-down - in fact, very few people came in at all.

It was like a ghost town in there, and the people at circ kept saying, "Wow, I can't believe how DEAD it is." I, however, wasn't at all surprised. And I have to say that I was thrilled that the lack of patrons only served to underscore how very important it is that our next Director be someone who is tech savvy and UNDERSTANDS the IMPORTANCE of "library 2.0" issues in OUR library. (Not necessarily me - Chewbacca - anyone - just please "get it.")

Aside from that, there were other interesting aspects to today's shutdown. In spite of the fact that few people came in, I answered a fair number of reference questions - it seemed that most everyone who did come in today asked me for help. I also had several reference phone calls from my "computer regulars," which to me demonstrates that many of the "computer regulars" do not use the library solely for the computer access, but now know that they can get the help they need from the reference desk - whether they enter the building or not. Cool. Also, a couple of other regular patrons came in today - like every other day - and didn't miss the computers one bit because they come in simply to read the newspaper. Also cool.

I found it nice to be able to spend the day doing something a bit different than usual. I spent a lot of time lying on the floor - which is unusual library behavior for me (surprise!). I had fun with the cans of air (those were always my favorite darkroom supply), I cut up my hands while installing the new floppy (eeek) drives, and I blew lots of black stuff out of my nose (the computers had not been cleanned inside in a LONG time) at the end of the day.

Ain't it fun being a librarian?

I'm going off the rails on a Crazy Train

Every library has its "off" patrons, and mine is no different. We have a relatively small assortment of regular (as in visits regularly), odd-duck patrons who run the gamut from "quietly weird but doesn't bother anyone" to "annoying when the moon is full but essentially harmless." None of these people have ever caused me to feel alarmed, and at their worst, they simply require some extra one-on-one attention.

So, imagine my surprise when shouts of "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" rang out from the back corner of non-fiction last night.

It started off quietly. I was pulling books for the holds list when I noticed some strange noise coming from one of the desks. It sounded like insane muttering, but it was fairly quiet, and I didn't think that anyone who wasn't standing right next to the source could hear it. The muttering turned into words, and then some sort of singing. It was still fairly quiet, but I poked my head around the shelf to take a look. There was one of my regulars - who had never uttered a peep before as far I as I knew - sitting there with a pair of headphones on. The headphones were blaring something that sounded like "church music" (for lack of a better description). I just assumed that she was engrossed in what she was listening to, and wasn't aware of her own voice. Again, since she was removed from the main part of the room, I didn't bug her about it.

Until it escalated.

Her volume grew louder, and her muttering became quite distinct - I was pretty sure I heard her say, "kill her." Several times. Hmmmmm. What to do. Now, I know that people who work in large and/or urban libraries have to deal with this kind of thing (and much worse) all the time, but here in land of the geriatric mystery reader, I wasn't sure what the protocol was.

I went to my boss and said, "One of our patrons is being a little strange. She's saying, 'kill her' over and over again. It's getting louder. Um, do we have a specific way we should handle this?"
My boss said, "Tell (the Director)."

Eventually, (the Director) came over to check out the situation. By this time, the patron was in a full-on shouting chant of "Kill Him!" and the other patrons were looking around with faces that clearly said, "WTF?" She approached the woman and asked if she "needed help." The patron said, "Oh, can you hear me!? I'm sorry! I'm having a difficult time right now, and I'm praying." She quieted down, and we determined that she was (most likely) harmless. Poor dear.

I went back to my desk and Googled "kill him" +prayer, but somehow I don't think she was listening to Shellac. In fact, when I went back to check on her later, I could hear the Star Spangled Banner blaring in her headphones while she (quietly) muttered, "You can't fool me, oh no you can't." Heh.