Catching Up with Caught in the Act

Here are your coworkers who were Caught in the Act last fall:

Jeff was caught in the act of being conscientious and generally awesome when he tried to ensure that someone had not been improperly charged. A patron wanted to check out a book he had found in the stacks when Workflows notified Jeff that the book had not been discharged. Jeff had the presence of mind to realize the patron who previously had the book might have gotten a late fee and brought his concerns to Christina. There is no better customer service than taking care of our patrons, and just doing the right thing.

Rachel was caught in the act of being indispensable. Rachel spent the fall as a reference assistant but had just come from a summer of filling in at the circulation desk, which meant there really wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She put those skills to work numerous times, never hesitating to step in when things got hectic, or to help problem solve when complications arose with the new reservation system, which she had more experience with than almost anybody else on staff. Having Rachel at the desk was like having another supervisor, and she made everybody's jobs easier. Thank you, Rachel!

Celeste was caught in the act of going out of her way many times to help a patron in a what turned out to be a customer service marathon. One evening last fall Celeste took a call from a patron who wanted to confirm that we had a certain book and that we could set it aside for him while he traveled from Indianapolis to pick it up. This began an Odyssey that included several phone calls, a trip out into the night to go find the patron when he had difficulty getting to Business/SPEA from the Wells library, and a tutorial on how to find an electronic copy of the book he wanted when our copy turned out to be the wrong edition. All throughout the evening Celeste dealt with the patron with seemingly inexhaustible patience and kindness -- a model of customer service if ever there was one.

Walt was caught in the act of updating the password page in the green book at the reference desk because it was badly needed. The page itself had a number of sometimes confusing handwritten updates that needed to be cleaned up and recorded in a brand new page. This is something that perhaps even the writer of this blog may have been meaning to do for quite a while but hadn't gotten to. Walt took it upon himself to do this unprompted by anyone else, simply because he noticed it needed to be done. Thank you, Walt!

Farewell, Ethan!

On Friday morning we say goodbye to someone who is one of everybody's favorites, whether you have known him for a long time or short one: Ethan, or the Professor, as some of us affectionately think of him. Many of us have had the pleasure of seeing this normally quiet soul light up whenever the conversation intersects with any of his varied interests (especially history!), and we have been invariably rewarded with wide ranging discussions that are as fun as they are illuminating. His assertion that he was very worried about nationalism when he was nine managed to be simultaneously hilarious, slyly ironic, and completely serious: quintessential Ethan. But we will let the man speak for himself:

"I will always appreciate having had the opportunity to work with all of you (and many others) over the seven semesters. While I could, obviously, wax nostalgic regarding the well-known pleasures of checking rooms and scanning keys, I think it's more important to say that I will miss being part of a happy and supportive community like the one we have here at the library. During my first few months of college, my shifts here were one of the few times when I felt as if people knew my name and cared about my everyday life. I'll always be grateful for that and -- absorption in my homework notwithstanding -- I have generally tried to be similarly, supportive, friendly and open while working with others ever since. Have I always been that way? Probably not. But, if I had any advice, it would be (and, I am aware this echoes a long-standing refrain among graduating PSAs) to take the time to talk and laugh with your coworkers; I think it does a tremendous amount of good. In the immediate future, I plan on taking my commitment to academic rigor and passable friendliness to the next level by becoming a high school teacher."

Ethan will soon begin serving as a student teacher in order to complete his degree and embark on a career teaching history to high schoolers. He has been with us for a while, and it will be hard to say goodbye, but we can take comfort in the knowledge that there are generations of high school students to come who will be lucky enough to have Mr. Worthington as their teacher. Best of luck Ethan!

Spring Scheduling

I've placed spring scheduling forms on the table in our break space.  Please pick one up and fill it out once you have your class schedule determined.  Then put it in Danielle's mailbox, or give it to Matt or Danielle.


The schedule won't be finalized until December, by which time everyone should be registered. 

Customer Service 1.3

Good job to everyone who emailed me!  You all had some great suggestions of how she could change her body language and/or expression to seem more inviting to patrons, including:

• Looking up from her work
• Smiling
• Making eye contact with the patron
• Being more open, rather than hunched over her work
• Clearing as much of the things on the desk out of her way as possible, to remove barriers between her and the patron

Customer Service 1.2

Take a look at this picture.  She’s working at a library desk just like you.  Does she seem approachable?  Send me an email (dmgunkel@indiana.edu) to tell me what she could do to be more inviting to patrons. 

Birthday Treats

Happy October Birthday to Jeff (1) and Marsha (19)!  We'll have treats on Thursday, 10/26 to celebrate. 

Customer Service 1.1

In Japanese, the word for customer is “o-kyaku-san,” which means “a visitor in your home.”  When at the desk, it’s easy to forget about all of these visitors, especially when most of them will never come talk to us.  But we still need to treat them like guests, and there are two simple ways to do this.

First, appear welcoming and approachable. 

Second, remain aware of your surroundings and be ready to give a guest your full attention.  During your shifts think about how your actions, body language, and expressions convey this.