Remember all that Domino’s Pizza craziness of a week or so ago? This video, originally from the Today Show, explains what happens after the fact when employees do stupid things online – in this case, the employees were apparently fired (among other things – watch the video to find out more).
Thankfully, that type of sheer stupidity towards customers would NEVER happen in a library, right? After all… we’re trained professionals. We paid for two years of grad school to be able to work with people! And we hire para-professional staff who ALSO love to work with the public. Right?
Well. Check these tweets out:
or:
… and one more:
Now, of course I realize these tweets weren’t meant for the actual patron to see – the librarians in all three screenshots most likely really DO have great customer service skills, and were simply frustrated … so they decided to vent via Twitter (in Twitter’s public feed. Oops).
But still.
I think there’s a HUGE GRAY area right now in the online world. Many of us are using these tools for work AND for non-work stuff. And it’s confusing! Some people set up two Facebook accounts/IM accounts/Twitter feeds. Some (like me) blend them all together. My Twitter feed flows into my Facebook feed, sometimes with some unintended consequences (well ok – usually I just get something like “David, I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about” from an old high school chum).
But still.
What happens when said “dumba**” in the screenshot above decides to use Twitter, wants to connect with people … so he/she does that “find everyone within 20 miles of this zipcode” search, and discovers the librarian virtually hollering at him/her?
In some cases, these lovely little quotes can be found pretty easily … and can also be traced back to the owner of the words (and the library that person works for).
Then what? Does the library director have to issue a statement (like the CEO of Domino’s did)? What happens to the librarians above when their library director discovers Twitter?
What do you think? Do you vent about your patrons online? Do you keep separate personal/work accounts in the social networks you frequent?
Here’s a pic of the reference desk at Anywhere Public Library in Fakeola, USA. As a service to their customers, they decided to create a sign letting their patrons know that their questions might not be answered right away.
After all, some questions simply aren’t answered instantaneously – staff might need to wander out in the stacks to find an appropriate resource, or the question might lend itself to a lengthy reference interview. And once in a great while, questions really DO take up to 2 days or so to get answered, so it seemed like the right thing to do to post this sign.
When asked about their sign, here’s what library staff said:
“in my experience, most questions do NOT take 2 days to answer, but isn’t it better to give a max time in the event that a question needs more thorough research? Librarians actually DO have other things to do with their time after all.”
“While it’s nice to say “We’ll get back to you as soon as possible”, some patrons want a definitive time frame.”
“We posted the “factual” limits and the 48 hour turnaround to buy ourselves wiggle room and to avoid the open-ended questions”
“Why does every question have to be answered right NOW? Honestly, if you need an answer right away, there’s this lovely invention called a telephone.”
OK – obviously, I’m fudging a bit. My reference desk pic is fake (my Photoshop skills astound no one). But the answers from “library staff?” These are all quotes from real librarians, commenting on my two previousposts about electronic reference service needing a reboot.
Some readers who thought my post was a bit over the top said one of three things:
you have to give patrons a time frame [even though we mostly answer these questions pretty fast].
you simply can’t answer lengthy reference questions via email or IM.
We’re not discriminating and how dare you suggest we are! [OK, you're right. I used that word on purpose - made ya look! ]
So – what do you think? Do you have to give patrons a time frame online? Are most of your email/electronic reference questions answered pretty fast? Do you think that long or detailed reference queries can be handled online?
What do you do in Lincoln, Nebraska after you give a presentation at the library’s staff day? You have dinner with Michael Sauers and family! Thanks, Michael, Mary, kids, cats, and dogs for a fun time!
Early this week I gave a version of my trends and transformations talk to the Kansas Historical Society and Archives staff. They’re doing some pretty cool things with podcasting, experimenting with video, and blogging.
I also gve three presentations at Lincoln City Libraries in Lincoln, Nebraska. Great staff – very energetic! My keynote session was titled “The Future is Not Out of Reach: Trends and Transformation.” Here’s the Slideshare version:
This week, I spoke in a couple different places… I visited Florida and lead a couple of SEFLIN workshops. Great fun! The first talk was all about Mashups:
landline phones (ok, my family still has this – check back with me in another year or so)
floppy disks (my kids once asked me “what’s a floppy disk, dad”? I stared at them a sec, then realized they had never seen one. Time flies!)
wristwatches (don’t wear one – that’s what my iPhone’s for! and the computers I stare at all day)
VHS Tape and VCRs (yep – still have these, too)
Beepers (iphone again – the beeper is no longer needed)
Film Cameras (haven’t had one for years)
typewriters (interestingly, my 9-year old has one … ONLY because Molly [the American Girl Molly who lived in the 1940's] had one, and my mother-in-law still had an old one in a closet. Yes, a typewriter was an odd present for a 9-year old, but she loves it!)
walkmans & discmans (haven’t had one in years)
dialup (My library serves a whole county – Topeka has broadband, the county is pretty spotty)
DVDs (I still use these, and we still watch DVDs. But that’s now. They’ll be gone in 10 years time, I’ll bet).
What would you add to this list? Or how about this question – what in this list does your library still support, and why?
OK… I’m a card-carrying member of the American Library Association, and it’s voting time again. Every year, we vote for a president (and a lot of other stuff). This year, there are two candidates for ALA President – Kent Oliver and Roberta Stevens. Both fine, highly qualified people, I’m sure (though I’ve never met either one).
As a web-centric, social media loving geekboy, here’s what I noticed when I visited their websites:
Roberta Stevens:
Cool. She has a website.
Dated design … looks like a fine site from the year 1999
big fat Donate button (actually the first thing I noticed)
where’s the RSS feed … hey, wait a minute … why isn’t this a blog-based site with commenting?
a mish-mash of text links that point to videos, photos, podcasts, webpages, and pdf files
a link to a Facebook Fan page
Ah – there’s her blog – one of the many text links points to it.
Oops – I clicked through to her blog. She has embedded a YouTube video there … but it broke her blog template.
Kent Oliver:
Cool. He has a website too. A nicely designed site, looks a bit like Obama’s recent campaign site
it’s a blog – the RSS feed is right there, where it should be (subscribed)
two quick links to platform and qualifications
a Donate Now button that blends in with the rest of the site
an embedded video (used blip.tv – coolness)
Flickr images, embedded on the main page so I can see them…
a search box!
no one’s commented on his blog posts yet (currently displaying big 0′s beside each post)
Oops – just clicked on Platform. Instead of getting his actual platform, I got two more links… same with the Qualifications link.
Honestly, once I get past all that stuff and take a peek at their actual platforms, it’s all the usual stuff (diversity, more money, support privacy, etc) – nothing that stands out as remarkably interesting to me, a lover of all things web (which is a reflection of ME, not them ).
But – looking at the two lists above … who do you think “gets it?” Who either understands new online media, or at least knows who to ask for help? Will that sway my vote (and the votes of many others)? Probably so.
Yes, understanding “the new stuff” is definitely important, and can make or break a campaign.
Tyler, from the 344pounds.com blog, was kind enough to take this snapshot of Designing the Digital Experience sitting on the shelf at the Richland County Public Library and email it to me! Here’s what Tyler said about the book:
Hey David,
I bought your book off of Amazon yesterday, but also went down to the
Richland County Public library to check it out until it gets here.
Attached are the pics from that visit!
I found about you and your site a little while ago by searching for
something about designing a better blog for users (can’t remember exact term). I started a personal blog, 344pounds.com, about 3 months ago — I
don’t have a huge technical background, but I’m learning as much as I can
so I can make sure my blog is “good” for my customers, aka readers.
While your book is *marketed* towards designers and business owners, I
think that anybody who has any type of website can benefit from the book,
even a small “not for profit” personal blog like mine. I’ve already found
quite a few things from reading your book that I can apply to my blog.
Feel free to post this on your blog or testimonials page or whatnot — I’d
love to help sell the book, it’s great!
Tyler
Thanks Tyler for buying the book, taking the pics, and the kind words! You rock!
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Remember my library’s 
