People rarely say exactly what they mean. They'll often say some part or variation of it, but leave the pith of their meaning un-spoken. At work, this happens all the time. Someone will ask where the books about animals are, and leave it at that. Animal non-fiction spans the 590s of the Dewey. Kids love animal books, and publishers know this; there are a million of them.
Thus, as I librarian, I have to be logical: These people aren't going to want to go through every book about animals until they get to what they're looking for. Preposterous. So, I have to ask leading--even prying--questions. Questions like, "What grade is your child in? What project is she doing? What kind of animal(s) is she looking for? Your name, your quest, your favorite color?..." Et cetera. Questions that essentially ask, "Now, what are you really looking for?"
Even after that, if the book we've found is unsatisfactory, some of the follow up questions can be pretty vague, like, "Well, can you just find books about Utah in general?" This requires me to flex my librarian's muscle again: "But weren't you specifically looking for books on animals in Utah?" Yes... "So why don't I try a different search, like 'desert animals' or 'animals of the southwest'?" Utah books in general would have just given her a bunch of crap about Jim Bridger and the Great Salt Lake. Maybe seagulls.
If there is one thing I've learned about patrons during my eight and a half months as a pseudo-librarian, it's that many people have no idea what they're looking for. And even if they do know, they still don't know, because they have no idea how or where to find it.
I wonder if all of this, everything I've written, is analogous to human nature in general?
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5 comments:
The art of reference services. Many times what you are dealing with is an "imposed query." Someone is doing the information seeking in behalf of someone else or at the request of someone else. Like a kid working on a homework assignment--the query imposed by the assignment/teacher. Or a parent helping with that assignment. Or someone finding something for their boss. It's already hard enough to articulate one's own authentic questions. It makes sense that it's harder to articulate an imposed question. I do think that one of the most helpful follow-up responses is to fist speak the affirmative: "Yes, I will do my best to help you." and then a prompt, "Can you tell me a little more about what you're looking for?"
I like what you suppose about this kind of information seeking behavior in libraries being analogous to information seeking in general. I think that any time we can own our questions, we have a better chance of finding meaningful answers. A teacher can create an assignment that helps the students generate their own authentic questions about something. In life, our questions become inspired when we truly feel a need for information and then humbly ask ourselves what it is we are seeking or should be seeking. I can't imagine doing this on my own. I'm glad there are people out there to help!
yes.
I think we've all had that experience where we generate or define ideas after someone else contributes something. Hence the magic of brainstorming.
I also think, we rarely know just what we've been looking for till we find it. Often when I think I know what I'm looking for, I find that my definitions change in my search. Or I find it, but just there, beside it, is something that is really more suited to the purpose I had in mind.
I guess that means we're all a bunch of dummies fumbling around till we come across something good, eh?
Ha! Recently, one of my lesson plans for the kiddos involved a book report/project on an aspect of Utah--animals, part of history, terrain, etc. Maybe I'll revise my lesson plans or call to forewarn the libraries.
In answer to your last: most definately. This is a very intersting thing--that people refuse to say what they mean. And you know what else I've found? When people DO say what they mean, other people don't really know how to deal with it. I, for example, most always say what I mean, and I think it takes people by surprise.
I guess that's my quest in life, if you want to write that down for the next time I come into the library. ;)
I just want to say that I think librarians are part mind readers because they can dig out of me, with only three questions, exactly what it is I need--even before I know myself that that was exactly what I needed.
This is why I fully support librarians as a species. They're invaluable and yes, magically inclined.
As for people saying what they mean, don't think it's possible, because most of the time, WE DON'T know what we're thinking feeling. Silly humans. WE must puzzle everything out--usually bumbling. But somehow we manage to make it through life. WEll, sort of.
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