LIS 701 04 Introduction to Library and Information Science Professor Karen Marek December 6, 2010 Laurel M.

Schilling

Reflections on Public Library Volunteer Experience Our group of four volunteered at a local public library in a small community located near Dominican University. According to city-data.com, the population is just under 10,000, having declined by 6.9% since 2000. 19.9% of the population is foreign born, and 31.6% are of Polish heritage. Over 50% of the population is married. Crammed between cream colored brick buildings and almost invisible from the street, the tiny storefront building is located on a busy road close to OHare Airport. The first thing one notices is the bank of computers opposite the circulation desk and the friendly faces of the librarians. The cramped interior contains rows of books tightly spaced, with a small, windowless picture book room at the back. To the left is the program area, a large room lined with books, with several long tables in the middle and a fireplace flanked by wing chairs at the back. Most of the action in the library occurs here. It has a living room feel, and is cozy and friendly. This is a small community library where everyone knows each other well. Our group met with the librarians on October 5th, 2010 to discuss volunteer possibilities. The goal at that meeting was to staff the enrichment program, which reinforces math and reading concepts for 1st through 4th graders. We talked about other volunteer jobs that were more libraryoriented as well. I found the three librarians to be very friendly, easy to talk to, and eager for our ideas, although I was astonished that they asked if we wanted to plan and teach an adult program. I was to learn later why they suggested this. Not knowing anything about their patrons or the community, however, we all declined, choosing instead to participate in programs already in place.

Schilling 2

My initial impression of the library was positive: a small, child-friendly library with a helpful staff. However, I was to learn later that there is an undercurrent of discontent, in that the library has lost patrons a 25% decline in cards issued which is a matter of grave concern. The librarians/directors are young, just out of school in one case. There are four librarians: a Childrens Librarian, a Youth Services Program Director, a Director of Circulation and an Adult Services Director, who is a recent Dominican University graduate. For the purposes of this reflection, I will refer to all of them as librarians although I am not sure if all have MLIS degrees. I found all of the librarians to be outgoing and easy to talk to. After helping with several youth programs, I noticed a good deal of informal chit-chat between the librarians and the patrons who have children, reflecting a genuine interest and connection between them. The librarians seemed interested in their patrons as people and wanted to know about their lives and what was going. My first volunteer session was on October 12th, when I taught three adorable 1st and 2nd graders time telling and money concepts. The Childrens Librarian had organized the lesson plans and materials, so the class was easy to teach. Besides these three, there were several older children who worked on reading. The classes took place in the large multi-purpose room. My impression was that this tiny library invests a great deal of time and effort in programs for young children, and that this is a big draw for the library. On October 23, 2010, I helped with the craft for the Around the World program. Each child had a mini-booklet that is stamped each time they attend a session. The focus this time was on Mexico. The librarian read the children a short book about the culture and customs of

Schilling 3

Mexico, and another volunteer and I helped the children paint their wooden maracas. The children also received a Mexican prize selected from an assortment in the prize case. Following this short program, I helped prepare materials for an upcoming Halloween activity. On November 8, I helped with the Thanksgiving placemat activity. Only two boys were there, the two regulars, perhaps because the weather was unseasonably warm. The mothers were included in the craft, and while working, the librarian chatted with them about school, their other children, what they were doing for Thanksgiving, etc. One mother told me that she signs up for every craft and program offered. The library seems to serve as a social outlet for these families, for the mothers as well as their sons. Game Day on November 13th turned the multi-purpose room into an active center. Several games systems were installed: game cube, Wii, and Dance-a-thon, as well as numerous board and card games. There were sixteen children in attendance, not including moms and younger siblings. Additionally, there were two Dominican volunteers besides myself, who played Dance-a-thon, Xbox, and card games with the kids. The program was very successful. I was surprised to learn that the library owned all these systems and flat-screen TVs: I counted eight game cubes, three TVs, one Wii, one Xbox 360, and one PS2, along with many controllers for multiple players. When I expressed surprise that the library had invested hundreds (perhaps thousands) of dollars in gaming equipment, the Youth Services Program Director said that at one time gaming was HUGE, and they had a game day every Saturday. Since then, there has been somewhat of a decline in interest. After participating in several programs, I concluded that this library primarily serves as a social outlet for families with young children. I rarely saw people looking at books or checking

Schilling 4

them out, certainly not in the program room. The librarians seem to spend most of their time organizing and planning activities and workshops, which are numerous. I never saw young children in the picture book room, which is poorly situated and has no windows. In fact, the design of the library is not inviting, and the computer terminals are placed so that the screens face the front desk and are visible to everyone in the library. Nonetheless, the patrons with little children seem to love the programs, and I saw some of the same children over and over. Despite my initial positive impression, there seems to be some unhappiness with this community library. On November 23, 2010, I spent two hours designing a customer satisfaction survey for the Adult Services librarian. I was astonished to learn that the library has experienced a decline in the number of library cards issued (25%). The librarian hypothesized that much of this is due to dissatisfaction with the circulation desk. Although most patrons seem happy with the librarians, some of the clerks staffing the circulation desk are viewed as unhelpful, crabby, and to be avoided. Some patrons even request specific clerks. The librarian decided that a customer satisfaction survey might be one way to get to the bottom of the situation and determine who (or what) is causing the problem. We talked for a while about how service is an important component of libraries, yet the circulation staff doesnt always convey a willingness to help. Part of the problem might be a language barrier, since over one third of the community is Polish, and another part might be the age of the clerks (seasoned citizens). My guess is also that since the librarians are young, they might be intimidated and reluctant to talk to the clerks about their attitude. The clerks, being older, are probably also stubborn and resistant to change. They undoubtedly earn less than the librarians and consequently feel no need to be helpful, especially if it requires effort on their part for which they arent compensated. Nonetheless, the four librarians will have to figure out a way

Schilling 5

to incentivize all library employees to put service at the forefront. There are articles available on the ALA website, one of which is entitled A Collaborative Learning Experiment: Top Ten Customer Service Skills for Library Staff (alalearning.org). This article outlines ten suggestions for support staff that might improve patron relations. Another problem is that information about upcoming programs is not posted on their website. In fact, when one mother inquired about future programs, the program director told her to look on the windows. If there was more information on the website, it might encourage patrons to use the library more. I feel that the young librarians care about their patrons, especially those with children, and are interested in serving them. However, the older support staff might not share their zest for service, and these young librarians need to find a way to communicate their concerns in a nonconfrontational way. While this library seems to serve the patrons with children fairly well, the older adults dont appear to use the library much because most of the programs are geared to children. Perhaps this is why the librarians asked us if we wanted to teach adult classes. The survey I designed might be a good starting point to figure out why people are not getting library cards. It might be helpful also to ask the older support staff if they have recommendations about how to improve service to the seasoned citizen patrons. Since I found all of the librarians easy to talk with and receptive to ideas, I think that including the support staff in decisions about the library might make them feel useful. This small community library has a lot of positive attributes because of its friendly atmosphere, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experiences there. The librarians work hard to offer many programs for children, and because the Childrens Librarian is also a certified teacher, the

Schilling 6

lesson plans are well organized and easy to execute. I would have liked to spend more time interviewing the Adult Services Director to determine what the negative issues are and how she plans to solve them. This little library has a lot of potential if the staff can expand their patron service to include adults while continuing to serve their young families. They also benefit from the influx of volunteers from Dominican University, but might put them to better use if they had more concrete plans to offer their volunteers.