June 14th, 2008 Brian Herzog
The phone rings, and a male patron asks:
Patron: Hello, do you, I, have you got, um, wifey, at the library?
Me: Ah, I’m sorry, could you repeat that please?
Patron: Is wifey, at the library?
Me: Well, I don’t know, but if you describe her, I can walk around and look for her.
Patron: What?
Me: We don’t have a paging system, so I’ll have to walk around to check and see if she’s here.
Patron: She? No, I mean wifey. For my computer. Can I use wifey access at the library?
Me: [pause] Oh, yes, we do have wi-fi access here…
…and I went on to describe what we offer. The patron wasn’t nearly as entertained by this misunderstanding as I was - in fact, I think he thought I was an idiot. Oh well; at least we eventually straightened it out.
When he came in later that day, I was able to help him connect his laptop to the library’s wireless network, so that may have restored his faith in librarian competency.
Regardless, I’m going to take advantage of Jessamyn’s incredibly timely post about better publicizing library services (not to mention linking to them so patrons can find local wireless access when the library is closed).
See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question, Technology | 2 Comments »
June 7th, 2008 Brian Herzog
When you’re a librarian, even your friends are patrons. A friend of mine asked me this in email:
Do you know how to remove nail polish from a wooden table?
Ha. I mean, this is definitely serious, but still, it’s kind of funny. Anyway, the library has a bunch of “how to clean anything” type books, but their suggestions varied greatly. They all said not to use nail polish remover, but beyond that, they suggested using more nail polish (with the theory that the wet on the dry would make the dry wet again and thus easier to clean off), vinegar, dry cleaning powder, etc.
Since none of these seemed like sure things, I went online to see what else was available. I found two websites with suggestions, and it seemed that mineral spirits was safest way to go.
I emailed all of this to her, including the two urls, and she replied:
Okay, now, this just pisses me off - I went to that same wiki answers site and had NO LUCK outside of “nail polish remover.” Ha - how do you find this stuff? It’s a gift.
It’s not a gift, it’s library school training, and the fact that finding information is what I do for a living. To the people that fear Google will replace librarians, I simply say, no, it will not.
And here’s something else Google can’t do: after emailing what I had found, I kept checking through our reference books. Eventually, I found the Stain Buster’s Bible, which suggests using amyl acetate (banana oil) to remove nail polish from finished furniture. It says to get the chemically pure kind (from a pharmacy), but to go easy because it can also remove the finish.
I emailed that, too, but haven’t heard back yet if any of these methods worked. I’m hoping “the patron” will provide a full report in the comments section.
See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question | 3 Comments »
May 31st, 2008 Brian Herzog
As I’m sure you’ve heard, gas prices are on the rise. Stations around here are still hovering in the $3.90 range, but $4.00/gallon can’t be far away. I am sure that’s what prompted this week’s exchange:
Patron: Can you tell me about, gas prices… and, um… fuel economy… ?
Me: Well, maybe. What kind of information are you looking for?
Patron: C’mon, you know, gas prices, and tips, and stuff. Is it real?
After a bit more of this, I learned that the patron:
- received an email forward from a friend with driving tips that claim to save gas, and also a list of gas stations that sell gas made from oil from Middle Eastern countries,
- wanted to know if there were real driving tips that could save gas, and,
- wanted to see national gas prices and find the cheapest gas in town.
I’ve seen the gas imports email before, and lately have been seeing and hearing gas saving tips everywhere. We started searching the internet for information about driving tips, and found lots. Here’s my attempt at organizing those that look reliable:
Driving Tips To Save Gas
Gas Price Listings
Other Fuel Economy Information
Of course, the best tips are to drive less (by walking, biking or riding public transportation), or buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. None of those were practical options for the patron, so he was pretty happy to get this list when I emailed it to him later that day.
Tags: auto, autos, car, cars, driving, economy, efficiency, fuel, gas, gasoline, libraries, Library, public, Reference Question, tip, tips See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question, Resources | 3 Comments »
May 24th, 2008 Brian Herzog
A patron called in and asked for a listing of all the public access television stations in Massachusetts. She said she had an idea for a show, and wanted to see about getting it on the air.
In our reference collection, we have the Directory of Massachusetts Broadcasters, from the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association, but it didn’t seem to list public access stations. I called them and spoke with someone who checked with their assistant director. The word was that they do not deal with public access, and they suggested calling a local station and asking if they had a directory.
We do have a local cable station in town, Chelmsford Telemedia, but they patron said she had tried calling them but couldn’t get through. We’ve got a pretty good relationship with them since they film lots of programs at the library, but when I called everyone was out of the office, too - those are four hard working guys.
So, continuing on, I tried the Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media, which is also in our reference collection. This looked like it had what the patron wanted, but also listed a lot besides public access stations and seemed difficult to sift through.
Next I tried the FCC and Massachusetts State government websites, thinking they might provide a list, but couldn’t find a simple list. Then it was onto the general internet, using searches like “list of public access stations” and “public access television massachusetts,” and found:
All of these listed more or less the same stations. I called the patron back to let her know what I found, and she was happy to hear about the online lists. I sent her all the urls in an email, and also said that if she comes to the library we can help her look through the Gale directory.
I never heard back, so I take that as a good sign - the online lists got her off and running on her project, and she was just too busy to reply (whereas I usually hear back right away if the information is not helpful).
I still feel like there should be an official government source for this type of listing, but I still have yet to find it through any official channels.
Tags: cable, channels, libraries, Library, local, public, public access, Reference Question, stations, television, tv See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question, Resources | 1 Comment »
May 17th, 2008 Brian Herzog
I was traveling most of last week, so this week’s reference question is actually something I was asked outside the library (and hear often, as I’m sure most librarians do):
Aren’t you going to be out of a job when computers replace books?
There’s lots of answers to this, but I was happy to illustrate my point with a quote a book.
In Douglas Adams’ Mostly Harmless, two characters are comparing astrology to the science of astronomy. One of them makes the case that its rules and methods is what gives astrology value, because they serve to bring out the information someone is seeking.
“It’s like throwing a handful of fine graphite dust on a piece of paper to see where the hidden indentations are. It lets you see the words that were written on the piece of paper above it that’s now been taken away and hidden. The graphite’s not important. It’s just the means of revealing their indentations.”
I immensely enjoy books, and don’t think they are going anywhere any time soon, but this question implied that libraries are just book warehouses. In fact, libraries aren’t about books at all - we are about information, and access to that information.
Printed and bound books are just one form of “graphite dust” that can be used to reveal the important part - the information they contain. E-books, newspapers, websites, DVDs, journals, mp3s and paintings are also types of delivery media for information.
As long as there information, there will be a need to organize it, convey it, give it context, and help others use it. Talk about job security.
See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question | 1 Comment »
