[Libs-or] A reminder
Beth Saul
SaulB@ci.canby.or.us
Tue, 11 Mar 2003 18:28:59 -0800
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As a beleaguered public official who is trying to do three different jobs, =
I want to respond to your story.
First, I agree that we need to be ever mindful of how we respond to our =
citizens, whether library patrons, park users, visitors to City Hall, etc. =
We truly are the stewards of all of the public's goods and services, =
which the public pays for, and we need to be mindful of that responsibility=
and privilege.
At the same time, we are guardians of those goods and services. Walking =
the thin line between faith in humanity and a judicious skepticism about =
people's motives is not always easy.
Perhaps the person who confronted you has had problems in the past with =
people who were not there for such an innocent reason. We once found a =
person hiding in our restroom--- she had been there overnight hiding from =
an abusive husband. But it scared our clerk nearly to death to find her =
there unexpectedly the next morning!
If this is a larger library in a difficult area, it might be reasonable to =
expect the staff to question someone found in a "closed" area. We have =
had a theft in our small library during a time when we had some teenage =
volunteers doing a computer project in our back room. You never know. =
People sometimes disappoint. We want to be open and friendly, yet we =
sometimes need to be a bit skeptical and questioning.
Perhaps the person who confronted you was a bit upset at herself for =
forgetting to lock the area. If the area did not have a sign indicating =
that it was a closed area, it does seem reasonable that you might feel =
okay about taking a look. If the area did have signage and you "broke the =
rules"--- well, couldn't you have gone to the desk and let them know you =
are a librarian and would like to see the room?
Having said all of that, I still agree with you that there are ways and =
ways of handling such a situation. A pleasant statement to the effect =
that this area is closed right now would certainly have been more customer =
friendly and would still have put you on notice that you needed to leave =
the room.
Finally, your story both convicts me (yes, I get so stressed out trying to =
handle more and more work with less and less that it sometimes becomes =
very hard to stay upbeat and friendly) and frustrates me (for heaven's =
sake, why do people go into areas that are closed without asking--- don;t =
they know how short staffed we are and how hard it is to stay on top of =
things???)
But I will agree that developing a customer friendly response --whatever =
the situation --is required if we are to stay faithful to our charge as =
stewards of the public's goods and services.
Beth Saul, Library and Parks Director, City of Canby (and I also am =
involved in Risk Management and am director of the Swim Center, too)
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<DIV><FONT size=3D2>As a beleaguered public official who is trying to do =
three=20
different jobs, I want to respond to your story.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>First, I agree that we need to be ever mindful of how =
we=20
respond to our citizens, whether library patrons, park users, visitors to =
City=20
Hall, etc. We truly are the stewards of all of the public's goods =
and=20
services, which the public pays for, and we need to be mindful of that=20
responsibility and privilege.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>At the same time, we are guardians of those goods =
and=20
services. Walking the thin line between faith in humanity and a =
judicious=20
skepticism about people's motives is not always easy.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Perhaps the person who confronted you has had problems =
in the=20
past with people who were not there for such an innocent reason. We =
once=20
found a person hiding in our restroom--- she had been there overnight =
hiding=20
from an abusive husband. But it scared our clerk nearly to death to =
find=20
her there unexpectedly the next morning!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>If this is a larger library in a difficult area, it =
might be=20
reasonable to expect the staff to question someone found in a "closed"=20
area. We have had a theft in our small library during a time when we =
had=20
some teenage volunteers doing a computer project in our back room. =
You=20
never know. People sometimes disappoint. We want to be open =
and=20
friendly, yet we sometimes need to be a bit skeptical and=20
questioning.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Perhaps the person who confronted you was a bit upset =
at=20
herself for forgetting to lock the area. If the area did not have a =
sign=20
indicating that it was a closed area, it does seem reasonable that you =
might=20
feel okay about taking a look. If the area did have signage and you =
"broke=20
the rules"--- well, couldn't you have gone to the desk and let them know =
you are=20
a librarian and would like to see the room?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Having said all of that, I still agree with you that =
there are=20
ways and ways of handling such a situation. A pleasant statement to =
the=20
effect that this area is closed right now would certainly have been =
more=20
customer friendly and would still have put you on notice that you needed =
to=20
leave the room.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Finally, your story both convicts me (yes, I get so =
stressed=20
out trying to handle more and more work with less and less that it =
sometimes=20
becomes very hard to stay upbeat and friendly) and frustrates me (for =
heaven's=20
sake, why do people go into areas that are closed without asking--- don;t =
they=20
know how short staffed we are and how hard it is to stay on top of=20
things???)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>But I will agree that developing a customer friendly =
response=20
--whatever the situation --is required if we are to stay faithful to our =
charge=20
as stewards of the public's goods and services.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Beth Saul, Library and Parks Director, City of =
Canby =20
(and I also am involved in Risk Management and am director of the Swim =
Center,=20
too)</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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