How to handle difficult situations

Jennifer Steward, a Circulation Analyst with Multnomah County Library, is posting today about dealing with difficult patron situations. She and Lisa Canavan presented on that topic at the 2011 OLS-SSD conference.

"There’s a problem with my library card!"

Does that make you cringe or prepare for battle?

Perhaps there is a third option? What I try to do is guide the patron to a place where we can work things out together. Here are two things you can do to guide interactions toward collaboration and not let them spiral into real problems.

Set the tone.
Your goal is to be calm, polite and helpful - even if the patron isn’t. The patron will usually rise to your standard. Try not to absorb any anger/fear/anxiety that comes your way. By setting the tone, you are also teaching the patron how to treat you.

Be aware of feelings – both yours and the patron’s.
Think about your feelings. If you seem fearful, some people may bully you. If you are dismayed that patrons get fines, you may seem judgmental. If you are determined to prove that you are in the right, you may seem combative. What do you need to do to get into a collaborative place?

Think about the patron’s feelings. What looks like anger is often fear. Does the patron think she’s "in trouble" or fear that she won’t be able to use the library? Does she need to connect with you emotionally – by being listened to or reassured - before she can hear the practical options available to her? What does she need from you to move from conflict to collaboration?

While some patrons may be too upset to follow you into collaboration, you may be surprised how many will. For me, it is also important to know that even if things don’t end well, I know that I remained polite and respectful, even under pressure. Woo-hoo!

For more information on customer service and collaboration, try Great customer connections by Richard S. Gallagher and Radical Collaboration by James W. Tamm and Ronald J. Luyet.

I hope I don't ever do this...

One of our past presenters, Sam Wallin from the Woodland Community College in Woodland, WA, has some absolutely hilarious videos on his YouTube channel .  They are called "Libraryland!" and are "little shows about working in the public library."  If you hit play after following the link, it will play the entire series for you. Most are under a minute and well worth watching. Sam was part of the Marketing Your Library: Strategies for the 21st Century presentation at our 2011 conference.

It was hard to choose just one for an example, because they're all good, but I 've heard people do this before:

Oops!

Which of these videos made you laugh the hardest? For me, the laughs were cumulative - the more I watched, the funnier they got.

Have any of you used YouTube as a marketing tool for your library? How has it worked for you? What strategies have you implemented from this conference session?

Why you should attend a book repairing session

Today's guest blogger is Melinda Williams with Multnomah County Library. Melinda has been both a Library Page and Clerk during her tenure at MCL. We are pleased to have her writing about Basic Book Repair for Libraries.

I left the conference full of energy and excitement about how I can apply the information I learned to my library life. On of the key things I wanted to review were my experiences in the book mending workshop. My main goals for the conference were to gain a more in depth understanding of book mending, learn more about how other libraries function, and network with support staff outside MCL.

The book mending workshop was educational and entertaining. My expectations were that we would specifically focus on the how-to and not the why of book mending but I was pleasantly surprised. I appreciate that the instructors, Carolee Harrison and Kristen Kern from PSU, spent time explaining book preservation theory and gave us preservation resources. A few key repairs that I think will be useful on a daily basis at the branch are reattaching loose pages and repairing a loose book cover or back. The workshop focused mostly on repairing hardback books and the materials needed in a repair kit. I was curious about repairing paperbacks but the instructors mentioned in passing that paperbacks are generally created from low quality materials and therefore repair is not cost effective. I would recommend the book repair workshop to anyone who is interested in the preservation of books in a broader sense.

I was also excited about the opportunity to network with other support staff about their experiences in their library systems. I was able to do this by volunteering to staff the registration/raffle table during lunch as well as chatting to people in my book mending workshop during breaks. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to learn about how people came to be clerks, pages and library assistants and their duties on any given day.

Why it's good to create a triangle in your workplace

Today's guest blogger talking about our recent 2011 Conference at The Oregon Garden is Rinny Lakin, a Library Clerk with Multnomah County Library (MCL).

Did you ignore the announcements for this amazing conference because you assumed it was another exclusive club for librarians? Read on! Oregon Library Association’s Support Staff Division is here for support staff (us page, clerk and LA types) from all over Oregon! Now that you know this conference was meant for us and our statewide equivalents, did you know you have missed the last 17 of them?

SSD is here to serve us paraprofessionals all year long. In addition to the yearly conference, SSD provides viable options to stretch your wings outside your role at your library, if you so desire. You can become involved and really shine. I was dazzled to see so many MCL staff involved in organizing and presenting at the conference and beyond. There are over 80 current members, yet 140+ people were at conference!

Director of Tualatin Public Library Abigail Elder gave the keynote address titled Growing Optimism. I found it really encouraging to be reminded that I have the power to become an expert on a topic, digging roots deep, seeking mastery. What really appeals to me about improving my professional offerings this way, is that I do not need to ask permission. I don’t need to win the approval of every co-worker and boss ahead of time nor navigate red tape. These are value-added hobbies I can education myself about (she used knitting as an example, she knows which co-workers can answer knitting questions and recommend knitting resources). Why didn’t she use gardening instead? I have dabbled with my genealogy hobby, but it hadn’t even occurred to me that I could become a resource!

Managing Stress for Healthy Workplaces presented by Philip Mandel- Communication & Stress Management Expert
This dude wrote “Getting Things Done” and “Nuts & Bolts.” We talked about ways to manage stress that we probably have all heard. Breathing out for 6 seconds and inhaling from the soles of your feet up to your collar bones creates the quieting response. Acupressure stress relief points; getting enough water and sleep etc. He also talked about altering our perspectives while being criticized and different ways to work on our brains. Work on our brains!? Yes. People respond to their maps of reality. If you change your map or reality, you change your emotional state. I hope to remember his suggestion to put this on your map “behind every behavior, is a positive intention”.

The most useful thing he showed us was when talking to a patron, to create a triangle (physically and subtly in your choice of words, especially if you are on the phone). You are one point of the triangle, the patron is another and the focus becomes the third point (be that the computer screen, a physical item, or even use your hand to represent an abstract or non-present point of focus). Now you are side by side, working together on the third point. Most of us have already experienced how much better that dynamic is when we help a patron at the check out stations, rather than opposing sides of a desk. I also learned that “Eustress” is the word for positive stress and dysponesis he used to describe “making it worse without wanting to.” Is that the correct usage?

What did you miss at the 2011 conference?

This gorgeous location, that's what. Wow, what a lovely video from myvolantis!

Do you have a library question today?

Today's guest blogger talking about our recent 2011 Conference at The Oregon Garden is Jay Hadley, an Operations Supervisor at the historic Central Library in Multnomah County, where he supervises the work of support staff. He was also our 2011 Conference Committee Chair.

"That's very interesting and thank you for telling me that.  Do you have a library question today?"

Thus was the refrain of the "What to Say: Customer Service in Difficult Situations" session at the 2011 OLA SSD Conference. The room was electric with energy and laughter, as about 80 support staff from libraries all over Oregon shared tales of their customer service experiences and practiced new techniques. Presenter Jennifer Steward played the role of a staff member trying to help a patron, and Lisa Canavan played the role of a difficult patron who kept interjecting all kinds of distractions.  Jennifer kept coming back to the refrain, of "Do you have a library question?" and the participants nodded in approval as they saw different situations handled.  Jennifer and Lisa, both staff at Multnomah County Library, also covered tips on body language and how to deal with potentially dangerous situations.  Two are better than one, so always work with your teammates for safety.

This was just one of my highlights from this conference.  It was a great day at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, with the weather reaching nearly 80 degrees.  124 attendees enjoyed the day and many had a lunchtime tour of the gardens.

Another highlight was Abigail Elder's keynote address.  As the director of Tualatin Public Library, she has worked very hard to build inroads to her community.  She says her best reference time of the week is the hour she spends washing dishes on Fridays at the nearby senior center.  She gets all kinds of questions and has built great relationships.

That's what working at a library is all about for me, building relationships with the people in our various communities.  That way we get the chance to make someone's day, which just might change someone's life!

In Praise of Standing in Line

I was only able to attend the first two hours of the SSD conference last month. Even in that relatively short time, I ended up standing in a couple of lines.

Queuing up is a standard activity at pretty much every conference. (A notable exception was Online Northwest several years ago, when the conference planners had designated one of the men's restrooms as a women's restroom for the day). We line up to get food, to visit the rest room, or visit a popular exhibitor. We frequently complain about it while we're doing it, and mention it on our conference evaluations.

Standing in line has its good points, though. Since I was at SSD for a short time, I never would have seen many of my SSD colleagues if I hadn't encountered them in the line for breakfast or the restroom. It was great to have a chance to catch up with folks I hadn't seen for a while (over a year, in some cases).

Standing in line is also a good way to meet new people. Don't be afraid to say "hi" and introduce yourself as the line snakes slowly toward the desserts. You can find out about other libraries and maybe make a new friend. At the very least, the line seems to move faster when you've got someone to talk to.

Report on the 17th annual conference of the Oregon Library Association’s Support Staff Division
July 15, 2011 – The Oregon Garden
By Susan Gilmont

I just got back from the 17th annual “Gateways” conference of the OLA Support Staff Division. It was a wonderful experience. You couldn’t have a better setting than The Oregon Garden, and our attendees were quite pleased by the venue.

One of the great things about support staff is that we have long memories. We don’t forget who helped us along the way. Thus, the conference began with a tribute to retiring State Librarian Jim Scheppke to thank him for his consistent support of support staff. Two of our past chairs, Donetta Sheffold and Jey Wann, as well as Susan Bacina, our current Chair, saluted Jim. Susan gave Jim an orchid and a loud, vulgar, gaudy trophy inscribed, “Thanks, Coach!”

The keynote address was one of the best I’ve ever heard.

Conference 2011

Growing Together: Support Staff in Action

Friday, July 15, 2011 | 7:30 am - 4:30 pm
Oregon Garden Resort, Silverton, OR
http://www.oregongarden.org/

Cost of attendance is $70 for OLA members and $85 for non-members.
We are pleased to announce our keynote speaker is Abigail Elder, recently-elected OLA Vice President/President-elect and Tualatin Public Library Manager.
Don’t miss out on this great value for important and timely sessions. Registration includes free admission to the Oregon Garden and a boxed lunch to take on a garden stroll.

Basic Book Repair for Libraries, an all-day workshop* capacity reached! Please contact Rea Andrew for upcoming book-mending workshops.

What to Say: Customer Service in Difficult Situations

How to Get the Training You Need: Professional Development Options for Oregon Support Staff

A Day in the Life of A Library Assistant

Marketing Your Library: Strategies for the 21^st Century

Technology Petting Zoo including e-readers, iPads, iPhones and more!

Managing Stress for Healthy Workplaces, a presentation by Phil Mandel

Registration is now open.  The link to the registration form is below
https://web.memberclicks.com/mc/quickForm/viewForm.do?orgId=ola&formId=101057

Registration deadline is July 8th.