Castles Against Ignorance: |
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The book is written with each chapter having a dramatic story, followed
by professional comments and exercises to practice skills. Below are samples
from some of the chapters with the dramatic element seperated from its
professional counterpart with the +++ symbol.
It was the mother of all thunderstorms outside. The patron, with shoulders stooped against the whipping lakefront rain, quickly crossed the dark street and went toward the lights of the library. Taking care across the wet tile, he headed up the stairs to the second floor reference area. Doing her repetitive tasks, wanding book after book into a computer database, the librarian sat straight up with her shoulders back, listening to the storm drumming against the floors’ windows that faced north. She liked to see the lightning. Sometimes the sky looked so beautiful, silhouetting lightning against tall gray banks of clouds. +++ Body language communicates emotion, and if the librarian can convey interest, joy, challenge, then the patron will respond accordingly. In his seminal work on body language, Julius Fast says you can project any emotion with your body. * It's not what you say but how you say it. Strong, confident, encouraging and open body posture will gain the day over ignorance. Weak, hesitant, dismissive and closed-off body language abandons the patron to the emotions you convey. You could be handing them the best document possible to fulfill their needs and they more than likely will not use it if you hand it to them while nervously shaking. You will see it on a desk, waiting to be re-circulated. Never waste an opportunity to fight ignorance. Use your posture as well as your knowledge and skills to bring enlightenment, education and, yes, even entertainment to the public. Use your energy against the inertia of ignorance. * Fast, Julius. Body Language.
There was nothing that didn’t escape his eyes. Bright squares of sunlight, silhouetted on the wall; would they be falling over people or books soon? Teenagers in their identical dress styles of long white tee shirts. Small golden leaves that had fallen in last night’s storm, still wet on the ground and coming in on patron shoes. The creative signage and suspended dragons made by the staff for a summer program. Slight gesturing at the desk as someone explained about a lost book. All formed a rich palate of different shades of the library, the various vibes, which is why he loved the place. +++ Exercise: Go into a crowded area and review your immediate space (30 yards) for 10-15 seconds. Then go somewhere else, use a sheet of paper and record how many people were in your observation area, how many of which gender, race, age group. What were individuals wearing, did they have glasses, approximately how tall were they? Weight? Hair color or hat? Do this several times over the course of a few days and you should see a good improvement in your observation skills.
She was coming back from the break room, where she’d just had a pleasurable experience, listening to the low voice of Karl Haas and the classical music spotlighted on his radio show that day. No one else had been down there, and the symphonic sounds seeped into her unconscious and followed her as she walked back to her desk, humming. Gradually fading, like a radio signal, the sounds of the room became the new frequency. Several signals were coming in, composing low octaves of intelligence. Teens were quietly discussing a Chinese history assignment, an older couple by the audio books, trying to find editions on cassette tape. Several keyboards were going at medium paces. The room was active but not overly so, and none of the streams of discussion were overlapping, breaking anyone else’s thoughts. +++ A current issue of the day is the obtrusiveness of cell phones, iPods and other personal devices. Have a policy and plan for dealing with these and all negative noise situations. In carrying out interdiction procedures and enforcing policy, know how to justify your actions in suppressing the interruptions that aid ignorance.
Winter was tough in Cleveland. Children tended to be pretty well layered. Not wanting to have to quickly put clothes on if the bus came early, he started sweating in his parka. Light beamed in on him like a Martian laser, actually covering the whole magazine area, so there was no escape. The twilight sun slowly crept across the maroon carpeted floor. Lengthening shadows from the furniture expanded on the carpeting, distorting the images of the furniture like a funhouse mirror. The glossy magazine covers lost the array of colors they had, in a white that started translucent at first, then totally covering the magazines’ faces if you looked at them from a few yards away. Light briefly wiped out the publisher, the theme, and the cover subject. It baked the pages like the student in the parka. For a second, the magazine rack was a field of sparkling hot diamonds. +++ Natural light can be inspiring, but it must be aesthetically controlled through the day as the sun passes over the building. Shading from the harshest natural light should be used like a shield for the sake of protecting the collection and our patron's eyes. Know when to draw shades. Solar energy is good, but not when it burns books, tapes or retinas.
The steps had bounce, energy, yet also a weight. The sound of them carried, like they always had, down over the ages. It was a sound that had been heard throughout human history; footsteps echoing off the ancient columns of Alexandria, off dank medieval walls in Irish monasteries, off thousands of miles of tile aisles stretched across America. It was a sound that transcended time and space. It was the slow approach of knowledge. Somehow the crowd knew that, and grew respectfully quiet. Then as the recipient watched, she could see the sun reflected brightly off the silver head of the Librarian of Congress. +++ Each employee in the library is responsible for political maintenance, not just the director. Every customer interaction counts. Any maintenance detail that affects the public will either soften or harden their attitude towards the organization. Negligence to debris, sloppy, unshelved books, anything detracting from organization allows a negative impression to be built. Every action and duty in a library has political repercussions. Nothing is more preventable, or costly, than to ever forget this. Great service equals great politics that prevent financial difficulties and create a great educational environment.
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For more information send email to info@castles411.com Castles Against Ignorance: How to make libraries great educational
environments
Last update January 25, 2008
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