Play it cool!
Someone at work today asked me what I thought people visiting the library should be called? I guess there is some debate as to whether or not to refer to people as "patrons," as the word can have bad connontations. And while I answered her question, all I kept thinking was,
"maybe we should focus less about what we are calling people and pay more attention to the fact that some librarians out there has no social skills whatsoever!"
Seriously-it is okay to come out from behind your books and know how to talk to people! My boss is a great example. I can't have a normal conversation with her without her answering questions in this self-defensy kind of way, as though she has to loudly defend anything she says, or else she answers, awkwardly snort-laughing as she answers my questions in a condescending fashoin. If she talks like this to me and I work with her, what the hell are the patrons thinking!
My wish for the "Next Gen" librarians that we are supposed to be, is that we be cooler than some of the librarians of my youth-shit I would at least settle for more normal!
"maybe we should focus less about what we are calling people and pay more attention to the fact that some librarians out there has no social skills whatsoever!"
Seriously-it is okay to come out from behind your books and know how to talk to people! My boss is a great example. I can't have a normal conversation with her without her answering questions in this self-defensy kind of way, as though she has to loudly defend anything she says, or else she answers, awkwardly snort-laughing as she answers my questions in a condescending fashoin. If she talks like this to me and I work with her, what the hell are the patrons thinking!
My wish for the "Next Gen" librarians that we are supposed to be, is that we be cooler than some of the librarians of my youth-shit I would at least settle for more normal!
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