On Thursday, May 24th I had an opportunity to sit in on a round table discussion. I was a little hesitant at first, having never participated in an open format discussion before. I selected the topic "Apple Store Vision for Libraries and Services" as it seemed like it might generate a lot of discussion.
The first aspect that was covered within our group was the idea of wearing uniforms and/or name tags and the benefit of having a library greeter in much the same way that the Apple store has a greeter.
Those on the pro side of the argument stated that wearing a name tag meant that they were easily identified by library patrons and that it eased library anxiety for the patron by knowing who to approach. Those on the con side wanted to remain more anonymous (one individual had been stalked by a library patron in the past), and questioned why do we need name tags when we sit at a service desk? Personally, I have always been on the pro side of this issue and happily wear my name tag with pride. I am not so sure how I would feel about a uniform...
We then chatted about the idea of a reference triage point person. Dr. Michael Eisenberg had promoted the idea in his keynote address of having a point person, similar to an Apple store greeter, who would be responsible for directing individuals to the appropriate service desk or individual. You need this, go here kind of idea. We questioned the viability of utilizing a business model in a library. Some individuals felt that they were inundated upon arrival in an Apple store and that there was a sense that you had to get in and out as quickly as possible. The individuals in my group felt that the personal connection was incredibly important and that it might not be possible utilizing this model.
More discussion is required!
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