I interviewed Nieca Nowels, Manager of Adult Services at the Westerville Public Library where I work as an administrative assistant. First, I just wanted to say that Nieca was generous with her time in our discussion and answered all of my questions thoroughly, giving me plenty of food for thought. I am very thankful that she will be working with me throughout the semester on this project.
Our library has always been a busy one with over 200,000 patrons and a staff of about 100. With the economy in its current state, circulation has been up, and adult reference has been busier than ever. In addition to the reference desk, adult services is in charge of a technology center, running computer/job help programs, and assisting anyone in need of help of locating materials. To work in reference here is to understand that free time is infrequent.
Generally two librarians man the reference desk, each with a computer and a cordless phone. Nieca explains this multitasking as a great way to prevent them from “being tied to the desk.” It allows librarians to grab a book from the stacks for a patron while speaking to another on the phone, for example. Of course, the librarians also communicate with patrons online through a program called “Know It Now” which connects patrons directly to a librarian and/or allows them to e-mail a librarian if they don’t wish to chat. Because the librarians on-desk are often incredibly busy, the online communication is usually performed by librarians off-desk. However, Nieca notes that recently staffing gaps have made quick responses harder to come by.
Working in a public library, Nieca says, “A lot of the questions we get are not as detailed. A lot of people here are doing their own research.” Westerville, a suburb of Columbus, OH houses Otterbein College and Nieca believes that a lot of students do their own research because their teachers have done a great job at guiding them into utilizing the library’s resources. Nieca says she really enjoys helping people find new materials to read by showing them our reader’s advisory lists, which recommend authors to people similar to those they already enjoy reading.
The biggest hindrance to the reference department lately has been a lack of funds to purchase more resources. Without them, Nieca and other librarians can’t access information a patron might be looking for. Deciding what the best resources to use is definitely a challenge when crunching numbers. Nieca says she wishes she didn’t have to take cost into account, but “you can’t afford what you can’t afford.” She argues that right now, cost has to be equally as important as content. For example, while Nieca says she loves utilizing GALE, she dislikes their online formatting and the print costs are simply impossible. Weighing these positives against the negatives has become a necessity since the budget is so limited.
Nieca reiterated to me time and time again throughout this interview that a person who wishes to grow in the field of reference must be flexible above all else. “While you can learn good customer service, you can’t learn flexibility in the same way,” she explains. In the past, Nieca has worked split shifts and overtime, because when it comes right down to it, there need to be a body at the reference desk at all times. Reference librarians here are expected to work one weekend a month (we recently started closing on Sundays) as well as multiple weekends. No one in the department works 8-5, M-F. Nieca emphasizes that understanding that and being agreeable are great assets to anyone seeking to work in reference.
I look forward to working in reference this Saturday, September 26th. Since we are so short staffed, I will be working all day, from 8:30-6. My first lesson in flexibility.
