Customer Service and Marketing
In all professions, especially with children, there needs to be a sense of welcome and an offering of great customer service. Martin (1982) said it plainly, as it is stated in our text (Thomas, Crow, Franklin, 2011), that the school librarian should be positive, respectful, accept and value interests, rights, and needs of all students and staff. He should also make sure not to call students names, shame them, interrupt, or criticize. I will add a personal action to avoid, too, and that is dramatically shushing the students in the library or in an angry or annoyed tone, tell them to be quiet. I had experienced that in the more traditional school library as a child. I like how the slowly, yet surely, transformation of school libraries are getting away from the dramatic shush, and heading more toward a contemporary and socially active one.
According to the Alabama’s School Library Media Handbook for the 21st Century Learner (2008), the facility should be pleasing to the eye and inspire the pleasure and enthusiasm of reading, encouraging students to visit and become life-long learners. Like any business, encouraging anyone to come into a store means creating a pleasing and secure environment and experience.
I mostly enjoyed the section, Information Seeking as a Social Activity. Even through assigning homework as a teacher to my students, I encouraged parental or sibling involvement. Not to copy, of course, but to get new perspectives and to build relationships. According to Todd and Kuhlthau (1995), who are cited in our text (Thomas, Crow, and Franklin, 2011), the primary concern is the relationship between student attitudes and the library’s resources. Winograd and Gaskins (1992) addressed the fact that the focus on being “high touch” as much as “high tech” is adamant, and a new slogan for me. They are both equally important, because without the security that comes from someone who helps a student, the task at hand will not be as successful.
It is unfortunate that Millennials have a negative connotation of school librarians (Radford 2006) and vice versus, calling them screenagers and other stereotypes. Honestly, one can say that every generation has its shtick. Marketers use those elements to make money and to create success for themselves. School librarians should do the same, and in turn, create success for the students.
Works Cited
Alabama’s School Library Media Handbook for the 21st Century Learner. (2008). Montgomery: Alabama State Board of Education.
Martin, B. (1982). Interpersonal Relations and the School Library Media Specialist. School Library Media Quarterly, 11, no. 1, 43 – 44, 53 – 57.
Radford, M.L. (2006). Encountering Virtual Users: A Qualitative Investigation of Interpersonal Communication in Chat Reference. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57, no. 8, 1046-1059.
Thomas, N., Crow, S., and Franklin, L. (2011). Information Literacy and Information Skills Instruction, Applying Research to Practice in the 21st Century School Library, third edition. Chicago: Libraries Unlimited.
Todd, R.J. (1995). Integrated Information Skills Instruction: Does It Make a Difference? School Library Media Quarterly, 23, no. 2, 133 – 139.
Todd, R.J., & Kuhlthau, C.C. (2003). Student Learning through Ohio School Libraries: Background, Methodology, and Report of Findings. Columbus: Ohio Educational Library Media Association.