As my days as a librarian wind down, I might do a few posts here and there about my thoughts on the profession, and what I’ve learned from the job.
LESSON #1: People don’t read signs.
We have a huge sign over our desks that says, “INFORMATION.” I wear a name tag around my neck that says “STAFF.” Our staff computers are clearly separate from the patron computers. So why is it that at least a handful of times during the week I’m asked, “Uh, do you work here?”
Though people often ignore signs, we can still try our best to make signs better. Above you’ll see a noble attempt by our graphics department. At left, the old sign. At right, the new.
This might be filed under “instructions at the point of need.”
I used to work at an amusement park, where I wore a uniform. The uniform was either a knee length sack with an apron that tied around the waist or a floor length sack with an apron that tied around the waist. The sack came in three sizes. I also wore a name tag. People used to ask me ‘Do you work here?’ all the time and I so wanted to say, ‘No, my mom whipped this up for me on the Singer. Do you like it?’ But I would have gotten fired and that would have been a big problem.
But I eventually realized it was just a way of saying, ‘Um, could you help me or answer a question?’
It’s true, it’s just a way of asking for help, but it still cracks me up…”No, mama just whipped this up for me on the Singer!”
I love the difference of the 2 signs. Classic!