.::

Information, Now by Wil Weston

While reading the editorial section of the newspaper a few years ago I ran across a piece by BobGreene called, "Why is patience no longer a virtue?" In his column he said, "... that we now find ourselves in a culture where we can go anywhere instantaneously, with a tap on the keyboard."! I realize that most university faculty and many, many frustrated students might disagree; such ideas have promoted a cultural need for instant gratification. This need for speed has recently revealed itself in the accelerated expectations of library patrons doing research; these expectations have created new levels of stress for the reference librarian.

Nevertheless, they remain relatively patient while you ask j your questions, but as soon as I you move toward the reference stacks, some simply lose heart

and make state- ,

ments like "I'll just choose a different subject" or "I'll come back later." Sometimes I it helps if you tell them it will only take a moment; sometimes it doesn't. Is Patron Expectationthis the fault of the patron "... it seems that the more information that is or the reference librarian? available to us, the less well informed we become." No, it is usually neither. Is -Jeremy Rifkin, this simply a result of modem Entropy: A New World View society's emphasis on efficiency and speed? Well, Our speed obsessed life, reflected in our support yes, at least partly. The real problem is of fast food, instant meals, quick oil changes, express lanes, even minute rice catapults us forward through the inability to cope time, ideally we save time, but that isn't always the with society's expeccase. Our lives are compressed into amazingly com- tations of speed and pact, action-filled waking hours. The end result of this efficiency. In often is not more leisure time, but the perception of David Shenk's less of it. Wehave gotten used to living in the second, Book, The End of Patience,he says, "As we speed it up, so now a minute or more seems like an eternity. "Why we also speed up our expectations. As long as you are must I wait," we scream at our microwave ovens. This psychologically running in the technology rat race, you heightened sensitivity reveals itself through-out our will never, ever be winning that race-you will always daily lives: the tapping of feet in store lines, the strum- be losing it."2The need is for us to come to terms with ming of the desk while waiting on a slow internet con- our expectations. nection, the repeated button pushing on elevators, or Librarians are equally victims of this acceleration some of the silly,foolish and" down right" mean things of time. In 1991,Charles Bunge wrote an article called that occur during rush hour traffic. Do any of these "CD-ROM Stress" that commented on how reference things empower us? No. They simply cause more anxi- librarians find CD-ROMusers "impatient and demandety in ourselves and others, or occasionally result in ing". Especially worrisome was the tendency for the users to define their information need in terms of what physical harm. This impatient behavior is often shown by the typi- was easily obtainable from an electronic source.3 Now, callibrary patron. Often by the time they come to the 10 years later, this impatience on the part of the patron reference desk they have been frustrated by dead ends, has gotten worse with the library's Internet access. missing books, incomplete references and useless Web Often, to our dismay, it has been exacerbated by those sites. Generally,they are ready tojust throw in the towel. who claim that" everything you need is on the Internet" I have long believed that one of the many roles of the and by others who have ridiculously questioned why librarian is similar to that of a police psychologist. We we need libraries anymore in this "electronic age". both "talk down" our respective clients, although the Patrons regularly ask for just "any full-text article" librarian's patron isn't usually armed. Unfortunately, online about their subject. Is this quality information the reference interview often seems to cause further seeking behavior? No, of course it is not and patrons stress. Questions like, "What are you looking for ex- are doing themselves a real disservice. But a lecture actly?"or "Where have you looked?" may result in them on how someone is a victim of accelerated expectations quietly gnashing their teeth. Perhaps, this is because and "everything" is not on the Internet is the last thing we are just reminding them of their earlier frustration. the patron wants or needs.

.... ..., r 0 c: (ii" 0)" ::1 Q) r 5' .., Q) .., (D' (/) (f) c: 3 3 (1) .., N 0 0.....

Christina Maslach, in Burnout:The Cost of Caring, calls burnout, a state of "emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment" that occurs among individuals that work with the public. It is a psychological response to chronic emotional strain of" dealing extensively with other human beings, particularly when they are having trouble or having problems."4 This type of job stress can only become intensified by today's hyper-culture, where there is the expectation of an instant correct answer, and then compounded by the additional stress of feeling that you might not have adequately answered someone's question. Keeping the Stress to a Minimum "We shall survive it only if we move beyond personal tactics to social strategies - providing new support services for the change-harassed individual, building continuity and change buffers into the emergent civilization of tomorrow." -Alvin Toffler,FutureShock The Burned Out Librarian "If over-stimulation at the sensory level increases the distortion with which we perceive reality, cognitive over-stimulation interferes with our ability to think. " -Alvin Toffler, Future Shock

T'""

a a N

.... Q)

E E

::J

en en Q) .;:: co .... ..0 :::i co c co :112

::J

-I0

00 ,..

Wecan easily discern the patron's stress; the need for and expectation of instant gratification by the patron in our current rapid, packaged society is the origin of their stress. There is little that the librarian can do to alleviate the pressure that the user feels, but this speed sensitive patron is now creating a new source of stress for the librarian. This stress arises from the librarian's desire to fulfill the patron's needs and the feeling of failure when the patron has given up before the librarian has even a reasonable chance of helping. As soon as the unfulfilled patron walks away the librarian often considers this some sort of failure on their part. "1 didn't do the best that I could." or "Maybe there was something I could have said." This unnecessary guilt often results in even more stressful behavior, such as trying to be too quick about providing an answer which will eventually result in errors or trying to help more than one person at a time, which could also result in errors. The other extreme, lethargy and unwillingness to conduct a full reference interview may be just other symptoms of the same problem. These are all signs that the librarian is "burned out."

There are a few steps that can be taken to help alleviate this stress for the librarian and in some cases, for the patron. The most obvious step is to adjust the reference desk schedule. Make sure that the desk is staffed at the busiest times of the day with at least two librarians and a backup, a librarian on call. Additionally, care should be taken that no one mans the desk for too long during the day and that librarians are assured a break after their shift. The break will give the librarian time to relax and refocus. Take special note to make the desk schedule as regular as possible. A librarian suddenly re- ..Ah membering that he has to work the reference desk and then rushing to get there is rather frustrating and sets the tone of behavior at the desk. Regularity of duties promotes a pattern of orga-

nized behavior with fewer surprises. The second step is to stop the negative self-criticism. When a patron is aggravated, look closely at the situation and determine if something constructive can be done to change it. If the situation is beyond control, tell the patron what will have to be done to answer his request. When the patron cannot wait to see if there is an answer to his question and leaves, do not spend the next hour mulling over how he could have been stopped. Short of telling him exactly what he wanted to know instantly, his answer could not reasonably have been found. Finally, librarians can practice reference roving, asking patrons if they need help before they find the reference desk and stammer out their need for help. In a survey performed at Boston College the librarians found that three fourths of the rover interactions lasted less than five minutes. They effectively guided their patrons to the desired information or suggested the correct search strategy at the beginning of their search process. Thus, they saved time and prevented the librarians from having to run between the reference desk and workstations. The result was that the patron's search strategy was more efficient from the start.s Roving allows time for more in-depth help on an individual basis and provides the opportunity for a proactive approach to alleviating some of the potential reference desk stress. Another benefit is that the reference rovers often get a better understanding of how effectively the electronic resources are being used. Referencedesk stress and "burnout" will probably never cease being problems plaguing the public service librarian. The speed of life and rapidly changing landscape of information science also show no signs of slowing down in the near future. Stephen Bertman, a professor of classics, said that we would ultimately have to "adapt to our new found speed."6 The role of the librarian in this new, dynamic, hyper-culture of the present and future holds many unexpected joys and stresses forthe profession. However, unlike many other professions, I believe that we are one of the few that are well prepared to respond to the rapid changes waiting for us in the future. Notes IBob Greene, "Why is patience no longer a virtue?" Editorial (Syndicated Column) ChicagoTribune 5 Sept. 1999 (Article also appeared online in the Jewisll World Review, Sept. 9, 1999 at "http:/ / www.jewishworldreview.com/bob/ greene090999.asp" http://www.jewishworldreview.com/bob / greene090999.asp)

-

2{)avid Shenk, The End of Patience: Cautionary Notes on the [nfonnation Revolution. (Indiana. University Press,

Bloomington 1999)p. 41-42 3CharlesA.Bunge, "CD-ROMStress." LibraryJournal116 (Apr. IS, 1991)p.63 4Christina Maslach, Burnout: The Cost of Caring, (Prentice Hall, New York 1982) p.3 5Adeane Bregman and Barbara Mento, "Reference Roving at Boston College." C&RL News 10 (Nov. 1992) p. 635-636

65tephen Bertman, "Hyper-culture-stress:

How fast

times are transforming America." Vital Speeches 65,7 (1999) p.204

Jeremy Rifkin, Entropy:A New World View. (Viking Press, New York 1980) p.170 Alvin Toffler, Future Shock. (Random House, New York 1970)p.350,397 Wil Weston is an engineering librarian and bibliographer at the University of New Orleans.

A LibrarianJs First

Choice for...

CoverCraft. & PaperbackTrade Books Thousands of professionally-selected

titles

The largestselection of Dictionaries & Reference Books ~ CD

An authorized reseller of Accelerated Reader. Software & Books

r 0 c: w' oj' ~ Q)

r a= .., Q)

..,

CD' (/)

Perfection Learning@ CORPORATION

(j) c: 3 3 CD .., N 0 0 ~

--