Coffee Shop Librarianship

I am a Librarian. Apparently, that label applies, everywhere I go. Guess it's the same for all of us.

Yesterday, I was sitting in my local [CoffeeShop], enjoying a fine lovefest with a wonderfully seductive Guatemalan brew (is there any other?), when I overheard the following:

Waitress: What's new, dude?

Dude: I hate government websites. Ever try and use one?

Waitress: No ... why are they so awful?

Dude: I need to get a certain legal document, but I can't find it anywhere online. And really don't want to pay for some ripoff lawyer to find it for me. So much for easy access, huh? Bunch of pricks.

Something in that conversation made me spring into action. It was like I saw a beam of light in the sky, outlining the symbol of a question mark, which I suppose is the librarian's equivalent to the Bat Signal. Before I knew what was happening, I was on my feet and on my way to save an individual from the ever-dreaded Lack of Information.

G: Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Today's your lucky day; I might be able to help you out.

Dude: Huh? Who the fuck are you?

G: I ain't Alice, Smokie (he actually got the joke). What was it you needed, if you don't mind me asking?

Dude: Oh ... uh ... it was ... er ... I have a legal issue I'm dealing with, but the law was amended recently, and I need the old statute and summary of changes in order to make my case. Why, are you a lawyer or something?

G: Even better. I'm a librarian.

Dude: [blank stare]

G: Li-brar-i-an. I work downtown at [Library]. We have copies of every statute, and all the amendments, in our reference area. Won't cost you a dime ... well, other than the photocopier fee.

Dude: You guys have that stuff? I thought you were just books, you know, like romance novels and shit.

G: Most people do, dude. Most people do.

So, the dude thanked me and went on his merry way. It struck me, as I walked out of [CoffeeShop] to head into work, that librarianship doesn't really end when the refdesk shift is complete; our workplace duties become ingrained, and a part of our daily lives. This is frightening -- it might actually mean that I enjoy what I do for a living!

(Although, deep down, despite the occasional rant which may seem contrary, I actually do enjoy helping others learn -- including such idiots as FakeTits and The OWG. If I can somehow, in some way, aid in their development from Idiot to Less Of An Idiot, I figure I'll have done the planet a huge favor in the process.)

Later in the day, I asked the ref staff if anyone had come in for any legal documents, and they mentioned that some dude (yes, they called him "dude" also) had photocopied a number of statutes a couple hours earlier. Cool, another person who now knows the library is more than just books! One by one, we'll eventually convert them all.

(Geez, now I'm starting to sound like the government!)

So keep an eye out for that Bat Signal -- er, Lib Signal, that is -- you never know when you will see that giant question mark lit up in the sky, signalling your call to duty to inform a lost soul of the breadth of information available at the library.

Tell Me Why ...

... every ILS has to suck?

Seriously. They are horribly designed systems, built low and sold high. Every last one of them.

It's funny; we, the librarians, are the information professionals. We are the specialists. Yet the tools at our disposal are clunky, look awful, boast few convenient or efficient features (the inability cross-check records by address or phone numbers comes to mind), with inner settings which are nearly impossible to modify.

Perhaps the companies that build these things see us bent over the table and are able to recognize a good thing when they see it. Shame on the buyers in our field for being so stupid as to accept a raw deal, and not demand better.

"We've always bought from you, so we'll continue to buy from you, and simply keep our hopes up that you'll come through on your promise to deliver a better product."

You had them at "we'll continue", folks. Now they have your money, and since they're assured it will continue to come in, they have no incentive to produce a better product ... just minimal upgrades to ensure that you - the loyal (re: stupid) customer - remain a sucker.

Demand better. Please. For all of us.

Of course, the buyers aren't the ones who use the ILS, so none of this really matters anyway, does it? They don't catalogue new items. They don't track down misuse, run suspensions, or deal with fines. They don't build catalogue interfaces, or run code to set catalogue options and functionality. Nope. They manage budgets.

You've got to love the fact that the purchasers don't even use the products themselves. Middle management must be one plum gig, throwing money at items whose value you will never actually be able to judge. Sounds like such fun ... so much room to be a complete and utter dick. Where do I sign up?

Lately I've been pushing for [Library] to adopt an OpenSource ILS, but the idea isn't selling. Namely because it's free, and of course we all know Management Logic dictates that the word "free" automatically means it cannot possibly be a decent product.

(Want a fun day at the office? Try teaching Admin about the benefits of OpenSource. Just try to break the "more expensive equals better product" mentality. It's a challenge right up there with completing the Rubix Cube, and sitting through any Pauly Shore movie.)

So where do we go from here? Nowhere, it seems. After all, it's difficult to move when you're bent over the desk taking it up the rear from [Vendor] on a monthly basis.

Public Service: proudly keeping idiots in charge since the dawn of government !