Helping the Difficult Library Patron: New Approaches to Examining and Resolving a Long-Standing and Ongoing Problem / Edition 1

by Linda S Katz

Overview

This insightful book shows you how to deal with an issue as old as the library profession: interacting with problem patrons. It looks at this fact of life that affects almost every facet of library work and provides practical solutions—some developed within the field and some borrowed from other professions—that will improve reference services for those you serve and make the work of your library staff less stressful, more productive, and increasingly meaningful.

Helping the Difficult Library Patron: New Approaches to Examining and Resolving a Long-Standing and Ongoing Problem examines:

• the nature of the problem from historical and demographic perspectives
• ways of dealing with the problem in academic and public libraries
• competency-based training techniques that will empower your frontline staff
• the impact of new technologies such as cellular phones and the Internet and ways of dealing with the new breeds of difficult patrons that come with them
• solutions from our colleagues
• what we can learn from the perspectives of others—psychotherapists, businesspeople, and corporate managers—you even get a Zen Buddhist viewpoint!
• effective ways to utilize community resources such as campus and local police
• and much, much more! Nowhere in the library literature have so many practitioners and educators combined their efforts to examine and provide solutions to this ageless problem. Library administrators, staff, and educators will find Helping the Difficult Library Patron a matchless resource!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789017307
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/15/2002
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.38(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Nature of the Problem: Definitions, Scope and Extent, Historical Perspectives, and Diverse Clientele
• Problem Patrons: All Shapes and Sizes
• The Problem Patron: Is There One in Your Library?
• The “Problem Patron” Public Libraries Created
• Historical Perspectives on Problem Patrons from the British Public Library Sector, 1850-1919
• Difficult Library Patrons in Academe: It’s All in the Eye of the Beholder
• The Difficult Patron in the Academic Library: Problem Issues or Problem Patrons?
• Personal Safety in Library Buildings: Levels, Problems, and Solutions
• Old Problem for New Reasons: Overcoming the Challenge Presented by Mentally Ill Library Users
• “The Homosexual” as Problem Patron
• The Difficult Library Patron: A Selective Survey of the Current Literature
• The Problem Patron in the Electronic Age
• Do We Really Have an Internet Problem? Statistics, Credibility, and Issues Concerning Public Internet Access in Academic Libraries
• Problem or Challenge? Serving Library Customers that Technology Left Behind
• E-Problems, E-Solutions: Electronic Reference and the Problem Patron in the Academic Library
• The Problem Patron and the Academic Library Web Site as Virtual Reference Desk
• Managing the Use of Cellular Phones in a Small College Learning Resource Centre
• Providing Solutions to the Problem Ideas from Other Professions and the World of Library and Information Science
• How Psychotherapists Handle Difficult Clients: Lessons for Librarians
• The Common Sense of Customer Service: Employing Advice from the Trade and Popular Literature of Business to Interactions with Irate Patrons in Libraries
• The Customer Is Always Right: What the Business World Can Teach Us About Problem Patrons
• Zen and the Art of Dealing with the Difficult Patron
• Healing After the Unpleasant Outburst: Recovering from Incidents with Angry Library Users
• Gypsies, Tramps, and Rage: Coping with Difficult Patrons
• Help Yourself: Front-Line Defense in an Academic Library
• The Difficult Patron Situation: Competency-Based Training to Empower Frontline Staff
• Core Competencies of Front-Line Employees: The German Contribution to a New Service Culture
• Partnership with Community Resources—Campus Police: Revisiting Policies to Reflect the 21st Century
• Index
• Reference Notes Included

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Bradley A Long, MSLS (Central Michigan University)
Description: This is an overview of how to deal with one of the most frustrating problems facing any public services librarian, the problem patron.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide guidance for any librarian who may deal with a difficult patron. It looks at the nature of the difficult patron, along with issues related to dealing with newer technologies as related to library patrons. This book also addresses how to effectively deal with such problems. Readers will not be disappointed with this book.
Audience: This book is intended for any librarian who deals directly with library patrons. The authors of each chapter effectively combine their real world experience with excellent research on this challenging topic.
Features: This is an excellent overview for effectively dealing with most patron-oriented problems. It covers direct patron interactions, patron behavior problems, electronic environment situations, and general customer service skills. Even though it does not directly address situations that are unique to medical libraries, it is an excellent book for all public services librarians.
Assessment: Even though this is a repackaged thematic journal issue, it serves well as a standalone book on the subject. Even though there are many other books and journal articles on this subject, this one is an excellent addition to this body of work. Furthermore, it successfully updates this body of literature with current issues facing today's public services librarians.

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