“loose cannon” kate talks about reference/information/knowledge services in terms of Starbucks or specialty restaurants, making several good points that should be considered by circulation staff as well as adopted by reference staff. I’ve always been of the opinion that anyone who works with the public in a professional capacity should have a job as a cashier in a convenience store or a McDonald’s drive through or some other “service” position.
Service is just the starting place.
kate says:
[Watching the Starbuck's manager] made it clear that while service has been a major influence in the recent evolution of libraries, it’s only a starting point for us, not the goal. Intensely good service should be a basic tenant of the library- it’s the 1.0 bedrock of all things 2.0. But it’s not going to make us special for long- evolution keeps happening.
Where do we go from service? The answer I keep hearing is “community.” The library is no longer a one-way information flow. We’ve ditched the “prostrate yourself at the desk and I will help you” attitude and we’re headed towards “hey, let’s all get smarter together.”
