tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post109600233162807037..comments2023-11-16T18:28:45.786+08:00Comments on Rambling Librarian :: Incidental Thoughts of a Singapore Liblogarian: Differentiating the Public Service LibrarianUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-1110678069804708782005-03-13T09:41:00.000+08:002005-03-13T09:41:00.000+08:00Yes, drawing the distinction is more for staff so ...Yes, drawing the distinction is more for staff so that they could stay focus of who they are serving. In fact, on one hand, one group of the public already knew that if they need detailed or research queries, they would approach NRL direct cause they know that the resources there are more in depth. However, on the other hand, the other group don't quite know where to go. Hence, this is where our "friendly neighbourhood librarians" picture should come in. It is critical to see how we can value add our role so that our presence can be strongly felt by the community. Very much our survival is dependent on the community. Can you imagine when the community voice indicated that they can DIY themselves then we won't need the community librarian anymore. It can happen if we let it happen. The point is public librarians must be seen, heard, known, acknowledged, talk about by the community.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-1096296687826183992004-09-27T22:51:00.000+08:002004-09-27T22:51:00.000+08:00The differentiation I'm proposing is really more f...The differentiation I'm proposing is really more for staff rather than the public. We have to know where we stand, who we are, how are we different. We need not tell peopel this. What is important is that we know it ourselves first. You are right to say that the public won't care who answers their question.Ivan Chewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02727226573817276108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7424038.post-1096259997555937582004-09-27T12:39:00.000+08:002004-09-27T12:39:00.000+08:00It's an interesting positioning. But I have a que...It's an interesting positioning. But I have a question. How would the public differentiate between your definition of "leisure reading non-fiction enquiries" and "specialized reference enquiries"? Apart from fiction enquiries, which is very obvious, I can't visualize a distinctive difference. I'm trying to put myself in the reader's shoes. Is this difference in positioning very important to me? - I think not. Even if it's so different, how would it prompt me to ask questions? <br /><br />Somehow, I feel that this distinction that you are making here is boxing up the public librarian and reference librarian in two categories, but does nothing much for the public. To the public, I want my question answered at whichever library I use; I won't care whether you are supposedly a fiction librarian or specialized reference librarian. (am I right?) Meeting my needs is more important than knowing which type of librarian I am talking to. To a public user, perhaps a one-stop counter to solve all my needs when I need it is the best option. <br /><br />However, I do like the part about portraying ourselves as fallible and not Mr Know-all. The more interactive reply to user acknowledging the "process" of information search definitely sounds more palatable to the standard reply. I will adopt this straightaway and use it in my replies from now on.QQ*librarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948325834783761013noreply@blogger.com