Secret Shopper

I found myself both nervous and excited to complete this assignment.  I was nervous, because it is totally out of character for me to ask for help at a library (or a store for that matter).  I tend to like to figure things out myself and not bother those working.  I realize this is a little strange, because at the library where I work, I love to help our patrons, and assist them in finding the resources that they want or need.  I was excited because I chose to visit a library in a neighboring county tat I had not had the chance to visit, and had been wanting to explore their facilities.

Once inside the front door, I found myself immediately at the circulation desk. There were two staff members on duty to assist patrons.  Both of the librarians were busy at the time, so I chose to look around the library for a few minutes before seeking assistance from them.     

After spending some time exploring the library, I walked up to the circulation desk and said “hello” to the staff member there.  She was busy on computer, and waited a full 30 seconds to acknowledge me.  I was starting to think this was not a good sign.  When she did look up and acknowledge me, she asked if I needed something.  I asked her if she could help me find a book.  She then asked what I was looking for.  I explained that I enjoy reading historical fiction, but was looking for a new author to read.  She promptly returned to her computer.  I was not sure what she was doing, nor did she ask me any further questions.  I guess at this point I could not stand the quiet so I told her a few authors that I have enjoyed reading – Lauraine Snelling, Tracey Peterson, and Lynn Austin, but that I have already read most of the books by these authors that are currently available at the library.  The librarian continued to do something on her computer, which I assumed involved a search.    Finally, she told me that she looked up historical fiction and “pioneer” on the libraries online catalog and found several books that might be of interest. She still did not ask me any questions, nor did she tell me the names of any of the authors she located while completing her search.  The librarian simply suggested that I go to one of their computers and do the same.  She informed me that she only reads non-fiction, so she doesn’t have much knowledge about historical fiction. 

I asked her what search terms she used to locate historical fiction books for me.  She explained how she completed her search and provided the search terms for me.  I wanted to try and get a little more out of this experience, so I went on to ask her about non-fictions books, since she indicated that she has more experience with reading this genre.  I told her that I enjoy books about World War II and might be interested in reading something about this time in history.  She consulted the online catalog once again, and then offered that they had several books on World War II available and that I should look in the non-fiction section of the library in the 940’s.  This was not the help I was hoping for.   

This pretty much sums up my experience with this librarian.  I would not say that she was overly happy to help me.  She seemed a little nervous throughout the whole experience.  There was no interview, and very few questions were asked concerning my interests in a book.  I do not believe that this staff member has had much readers’ advisory training.  Perhaps she is fairly new to the job and is still learning about this area of librarianship?

I would say that this was very much a learning experience for me.  It helped me realize the importance of asking the right questions, and going through the interview process in order to help the patron and to make the experience a good one for all involved.  I believe as librarians, we want the community to value the library. Having knowledgeable and friendly staff members is an important part of the relationship.  Having this experience as a student, I felt bad for the librarian I encountered.  I wanted to help her, and I guess I did that a little by offering information for which she did not ask.  However, if I was a regular patron coming in with a real need, I don’t think that I would be impressed with simply being told to look up the information myself on the OPAC.