A Journey into Oz.
For my secret shopper assignment I chose to go to IMCPL Central branch. I walked around looking lost hoping that a librarian would find me and assist me in my search for a good book. When no one came to my rescue I took it upon myself to find a librarian. The elusive librarian was spotted with the help of a library clerk.
I have always been intimated by the size of the Central Branch and often feel lost in the big branch. I spent most of my time trying to find the fiction section and a librarian who could help me. Once I found one I told her that "I was looking for a good book and could she recommend one for me." She than asked," what kind of books do I like, and what was the last book I read?" I told her that I like mystery and suspense books and the last book that I read was Hunger Games. She than took me to the new fiction section and recommend some books from that section that she thought I might like. I noted that the librarian did not use an sources or reference tools.
I want to see if she could be prompted to use the tools of her trade if I questioned her further. I asked her how she stays up to date on all the latest books. She told me that they subscribe to book reviews magazines. I than asked her if I could see one which she responding by getting a Library Journal to review.
Overall I felt that the librarian could have used more sources and questioned me more on what I liked. She could have given me a book lists which was readily available but she just showed my the new books and left it at that.
That was a pretty lazy attempt at connecting the reader with the right book.
ReplyDeleteI thought so as well, I thought if I kept prompting her she might use the tools of our trade but she didn't . It was a bad experience. I did go to the Haughville Branch after the assignment was over and did the same thing there which I got a much better result.
ReplyDeletethe librarian actual seemed interested in helping me and use novelist. I was very pleased with the experience