Skills for reference staff

[Christy Wrenn]

> Ruth Hartman - Adult Services - Ventura Library System wrote:
> > An interesting issue has surfaced on Cristal-ed, and I'm curious as
> to how
> > people on this list would respond.  How much technology should a
> reference
> > person be expected to learn?  The argument of some staff is that
> they need
> > only be able to use the computer to access material, but anything
> > "mechanical" is not their responsibility.  Should they be expected
> to do
> > maintenance, rebooting, simple repair, etc.?
> > Ruth Hartman
>
> As someone else said, I can't imagine NOT doing basic trouble
> shooting.
> In my previous job at a university branch library "they" slowly
> insinuated a computer lab into my library yet there were no on-site
> computer people. It came down to either calling them and waiting and
> telling students "no, I just can't fix that little problem" and
> feeling
> like I was failing them in service OR learning to do it myself.
> Needless
> to say, my clerk and I got VERY good at fixing the little problems
> that
> arise. Only total meltdown was really worth a phone call and making
> the
> computer unavailable for use. Annoying as it could be to have to deal
> with the small problems I just couldn't possibly NOT help in the best
> way I could to get computers working for the patron. That was, and is,
>
> after all, my primary goal. Connect the patron to the information. :)
>
> Of course, don't ask me to repeat that in a couple weeks. I've just
> been
> made manager of a business school library/LRC where there has NEVER
> been
> such a thing so I'm starting from scratch. Which is, of course, why
> I've
> been reading this list for about a month now. :)
>
> Susan Gilkeson
> cowgal at ptd.net
> (no, that's not my work email.. they don't have that yet.. this is
> gonna
> get frightening..)

 Webrlibrary members,
    In response to the two above comments, I have two questions to
ponder.
1.  What if you come from a large library that requires you only to do
Reference Searching?
      You have a systems person on duty to rely on.
2.   What if you have a Reference Librarian who "just is not
mechanically inclined"?
       I should clarify this question by saying this person gets upset
when a >C prompt appears on the
       screen.

    Please feel free to reply to the list.
--
Christy Wrenn, Coordinator, Public and Tech. Services
Centenray College of Louisiana -\-
Magale Library
cwrenn at beta.centenary.edu