Welcome to year 2! What an appropriate time to share the 2nd part of my Q&A feature.
Describe/define a positive public service attitude.
This should be much shorter than the last one! The qualities of a positive public service attitude are:
Approachable. I personally find nothing worse than walking into a library and passing a desk where the worker’s face stays glued to a book or a monitor the whole time and never turns to look at me. Be the first to make eye contact. Appear to not be busy (even though we always are!).
Engaging. Patrons not only need to feel like they can approach you, but they need to feel like their encounter with you mattered. This is particularly true of patrons who just want someone to talk to. Don’t just sit there nodding; interact. Ask questions back and probe deeper. Laugh at their jokes. Make sure they know who you are, so they will come back and ask for you next time.
Flexible. Does your patron want a charming “bed side” manner, or a “just the facts” manner? This is why I don’t include friendly or professional on this list, because you have to be able to judge what kind of engagement each new patron might want and be flexible enough to become that in an instant,
and switch it up fast if your initial impression was wrong.
Proactive. Do you see that patron over there in the stacks who looks confused or frustrated? Then why are you still seeing the patron over there? Librarians need to be free to leave their desk area,
intercept patrons wherever they are, and engage them on the spot.
Follow-through. Your public service attitude does not need to end when the patron walks away. Do you have contact information for that patron? Follow up. Get feedback on if the situation was fully
resolved. Offer to help with their next problem that comes up.
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