My Reference Desk Observation

Observation: Newton Public Library, 11:30am - 12:30pm, Tuesday June, 2 2009

I was really surprised at how many people were in the library on a Tuesday morning. After speaking with Ms. Reitzel about being a reference librarian, I watched for about an hour at who came up to the reference desk. Though it was not particularly busy with people trying to find books, but she was right about people applying for jobs. While I was there at least five different people came in to use the computers and needed help getting onto the Internet to look for jobs. "Just signs of the times", I thought to myself. Most of what I observed were people that were using computers and needing help. There were a few older patrons looking for help finding a book and the children's reference section seemed to be a lot more busy with moms and their children. I was surprised that many of the patrons were in there to rent movies and many of the questions asked were where they could find a particular film. The method Ms. Reitzel used the most was the library's online catalog to find where everything was located. I did notice that she followed closely to the RUSA guidelines while dealing with patrons. She was very polite on the phone which was far more busy that the actual desk. Many of the people on the phone were just needing to know if a book was in or to renew their rented items. I thought it was a good idea that if she did not know the answer to their question she would write it down in a log book and research it further. Then she would call the patron back with an answer. The log was great because it kept a record of what people were asking about. I noticed most were about the ESC website and how to use it. I am probably going to go back on a Saturday for a little longer to see if it is different types of people than on weekdays. Honestly, I want to see how many teenagers are in the library since that is what Ms. Reitzel said was their lowest percentage of patrons. Plus the library is trying to focus more on getting teenagers back to the library.