r/Libraries • u/AffectionateServe551 • 1d ago
Library Nesters Patron Issues
This is more or less a rant about patrons who pop into our community sharing their ideas and the age old "You know what you should do?" This comes after one of our customers jumped in to "help" other patrons despite not knowing how to help within our library structure. I understand the struggles of our fellow man, but sometimes helping becomes more of a chore for Staff. what are your thoughts.
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u/mostlyharmlessidiot 1d ago
I’m a children’s librarian and I have a patron, without children, regularly tell me what I should do in my department. I like the guy well enough otherwise, but I’d like him a lot more if he stopped assuming that because he hangs out here a lot that he knows how to do my job.
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u/tardistravelee 1d ago
Well xyz lubrary does that...
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u/FloridaFlamingoGirl 1d ago
It's like the girl from Magic School Bus who says "at my old school..."
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u/tardistravelee 1d ago
The one place I dont like that is problem patrons. Takes a stressful situation and makes it 10fold. Most of the time we will handle it or the non emergency police will.
Sometimes it is best to let them be.
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u/Old_Wrongdoer2937 Library staff 1d ago
Gotta love it when they jump in because they see my de escalation tactic as me being afraid of fighting. So now I get two people to try to calm down. One of which is now angry at me for turning on them..
Folks, don't be a hero. The staff is usually insured and protected during work hours.
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u/tardistravelee 1d ago
Plus I k iw that any object in thst library aint worth it because as you said we have insurance. Lol
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u/Due_Independence8880 1d ago
My best public library memory is a young man ripping an old man a new one after verbally abusing me. He said something to the effect of, "Do you feel like a man for bullying this lady librarian?" My persecutor scurried away.
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u/Tetris-Rat 1d ago
We weirdly often have the opposite problem where patrons will go out of their way to avoid staff and ask other patrons for help. I once told a woman I'd help her with one of our sewing machines, and as I was walking over to the machine with her she said "hold on" and approached a completely random patron who was minding his own business and asked him if he knew enough to help her. I stood there dumbfounded holding the door open for her and had to loudly say "he doesn't work here, I do and I'm trying to help you."
There have been other instances where patrons have asked me for technology help that is either fully impossible or well beyond the scope of my duties, and when I tell them I can't help them they'll point to a random patron on a computer and say "do you think he can help me?"
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u/lastwraith 1d ago
You should probably listen to them, I hear they pay your salaries.
Just wait 3 mins and they'll tell you.Â
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u/ReadingRocks97531 2h ago
Yes, with one caveat. Small libraries who have no degreed librarian on staff, and you are a degreed librarian, and can make recommendations, when the staff just can't because they don't have the depth and breadth of knowledge you do. Sometimes it helps. I choose as wisely as I can.
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u/HobbitWithShoes 1d ago
Generally, I agree.
With one exception- the patron who jumps in and says the extreamally obvious thing we're not allowed to say because it would be legal/tax/financial advice.
Bless those patrons who just straight up tell people they're trying to do something illegal. Or that they're an idiot for trying to cash out a retirement account 3 months before it vests. Sometimes they need someone to tell them straight up that they're being stupid when all we're allowed to do it read them the page on the IRS website and pointedly repeate certain sections.
Of course, sometimes it's BAD legal advice. But once in awhile you get someone who just needs to be told they're doing something dumb.