Librarian: The original search engine

by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian

“Google can bring back a hundred thousand answers; a librarian can bring you back the right one.”  This quote has been attributed to author Neil Gaiman and to librarian Diana Tixier Herald, but this librarian must admit the irony of having trouble finding the right source.  Herald, who is known as genrelibrarian on Twitter, was attributed by The Guardian newspaper as the source. She has set the record straight and said that she merely retweeted Gaiman’s tweet.  

Neil Gaiman is known for being very conversational on Twitter (he even answered a question of mine once), so I’ve asked him on Twitter if he would set the record straight, as well, and tell us whether he quoted someone else.  Twitter as a new research tool?  You go where you can find answers.

In the last two weeks I’ve had a string of people apologize to me for taking up my time when they’ve asked if I knew where to find some information they needed.  Let me set the record straight: helping people find information is part of my job.  

It’s not a big part of the job in a library of this size.  We don’t have a reference or information desk where a librarian handles questions all day, like they do at Willmar or St. Cloud or Ridgedale libraries.  But public libraries are always supposed to be places where you can ask for help to find information. 

Some of us at the Litchfield Library have had specialized training on handling reference questions, the librarian term for requests for help finding information.  Jan and I each completed a course on that many years ago.  I took a graduate school class on reference last year.  Others on our staff, like Mary and Linda, have had years of experience digging for answers for people.  We don’t always find the answer, to be honest, but we can help you figure out where to start and find good sources, and sometimes we can put exactly what you need in your hands for you to take home. 

Just try not to ask your question of the person shelving books, even though that may be the least intimidating way to go.  Reference questions aren’t part of that job, although she can tell you where to find a specific book.

I might look busy (it’s a busy library!), but I really do hope you’ll ask me if you need some information or some books on a subject.  A library staff member said to me lately, “You like the challenge, don’t you?” I do.  Rather than it being a bother, it is an interesting challenge to find something you’re seeking.  And it gives me a sense of purpose when people go away with some books and printouts on a medical condition they’re dealing with, or some contact information for a difficult insurance issue, or some resources for a college paper they’re writing.  I’ve had people shake my hand in surprised gratitude after finding what they didn’t think they could find.  It makes my day. 

We can’t give medical or legal or tax advice.  We’re not experts in these things.  But we can help with finding print and reliable internet resources on whatever subject you need, and then you can read it and interpret it for yourself.  Always consult an expert, your doctor, lawyer, or tax specialist, when it really matters that you understand things correctly and have the right answer on these kinds of issues.

 The next time you need some information help, think of the library.  You don’t have to go it alone and just Google it if that leaves you buried in a pile of possible answers.  We often use Google, too, but we might have some good ideas you wouldn’t have thought of to help you find just what you need. 

Your Privacy, A Librarian's Duty

by Beth Cronk, Litchfield head librarian

I’m going to take the same route as my last column and give you a quick explanation to a common question first.  We have changed the link on our Chamber of Commerce library page so that it now leads you to our blog.  I know this has confused some people, because the “Litchfield Public Library” link used to lead directly to the Pioneerland catalog.  But it makes more sense for a link about the Litchfield Library to lead you to further information on our library, and I’d like our patrons to get familiar with going directly to http://litchlibrary.blogspot.com/ as our primary website.  On our blog, you’ll see “Library Catalog” as a choice on the right side of the screen.  This link will lead you to the catalog and the ability to view your account.  You can add either the Litchfield Library site or the Pioneerland catalog, or both, to your favorites on your computer, and then you can go directly there without following such a long path.

The main topic I want to cover today is privacy and how it applies at the library.  Maybe you’ve gotten frustrated in the past about not being able to check out a family member’s books with your card or without a card at all.  Part of the reason we require a card is to make sure that the person checking things out is the person to whom the library account belongs.  If someone comes in and claims that they’re you or that they’re checking things out for you, and we go along with that, you could have books or movies checked out on your card without your knowledge.  The other risk is that we could check things out to the wrong John Smith if we look you up instead of using your card.  If you think of it like a credit card, it may make more sense that you need to have the card with you.  You’re financially liable for the materials you check out.

But beyond identity issues, there are also privacy issues.  The books you order with your card are your business.  Most of the time spouses wouldn’t need to keep library books a secret from each other.  But can you imagine a situation in which someone is looking into divorce without having brought it up to their spouse?  Or a woman who is in an abusive relationship who is checking out self-help books on getting out of such a situation?  We certainly wouldn’t want to hand those items over to their partners, not knowing whether or not they need to be kept private.   Or just imagine that, when we call your house, we tell the person who answers which books have come in for you  --  but it’s your mother-in-law who answers and you’ve ordered books on pregnancy when you haven’t yet shared the fact that you’re pregnant.  Or if someone’s child is in the library picking up their own books and they ask, “Does my dad have any books in?”, we could be violating his privacy by saying yes and handing over a book that he ordered on cancer or another health concern that he has not told his child about.  Now if that child comes in with Dad’s card and says, “My dad has a book in and he asked me to pick it up for him”, we can certainly send that with the errand runner.  

Pioneerland Library System has a patron confidentiality policy in place, and all of our employees are bound by that.  We cannot share with anyone, not our spouses or our best friends – or yours--, what you checked out at the library, what materials you ordered or looked at, or what reference questions you asked us.  If you have to worry that we’ll tell people what you’re researching or reading, you might not come to us to find information.  That would be a barrier to your freedom to read and to your access to information. 

The American Library Association’s Code of Ethics states:

We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted. 

Librarians are ethically required to keep your information requests and your check-out history private.  It is no one’s business what you research, what you order, or what you’ve checked out from the library.  This is why we cannot bring up a list of what you’ve checked out in the past.  Unless you enable check-out history on your account, once you return it, it disappears so that no one could ever access it. 

ALA’s statement Libraries: An American Value says, “Free access to the books, ideas, resources, and information in America’s libraries is imperative for education, employment, enjoyment, and self-government.”  I take that principle of protecting your privacy to protect your freedom very seriously.  It’s important for our democratic society.  Librarians don’t have quite the same legal privilege as lawyers and doctors as far as protection of the professional-client relationship.  But if you come to me with an information request, I promise I’ll keep it just between us.  It's my duty as your librarian.