I never knew I played the same role in society as a bartender. I help people order thing (books instead of drinks unfortunately!) & I listen to their problems. I never knew that my MLIS came with a gratis degree in human behavor! :)
One of my students/patrons, I'll call her Claire, came in today to check her email. No problem - all the computers were open since we don't have classes this week. She was able to log right on and take care of her messages. Of course, she couldn't just leave it at that. She had to fill me in on the latest happenings in her life - which involve her leaving her loser boyfriend who takes all her money and watches adult pay-per-view all day. As a captive audience, I got to sit and listen to her tale, and make the appropriate suggestion that it may be time for her to get closure with this relationship and move on. She's ready to do so, which is a good thing.
What I don't get is my role as librarian. I never knew that being a caring person would lead to people unloading their problems & issues on my desk. I don't mind really, but I am always surprised that they want to share them with someone they don't really know. Maybe it's just a non-biased sounding board they are seeking. *shrug* Just one of those things that make you say HMMMMM...
Who am I?
- Rachel Gray
- Rochester, MN, United States
- I am an information services librarian and also a project librarian at SELCO. This basically means I work with training and the help desk @ SELCO for part of the time, and work on a "Smart Investing @ Your Library" grant the other part. This blog will be about me, librarianship & library technology.
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2 comments:
People are always more willing to open up to a stranger, but it's for many reasons, I think:
1. Slim possibility of ever running into them again
2. No judgment, and if there is a fear of judgment, refer to number 1.
3. Strangers have an uncanny knack of being able to see the big picture when presented with the facts.
4. Since strangers have such an uncanny ability, strangers are often truthful rather than sympathetic.
Stumbled across your site while blog-surfing. Cheers!
-Em
I think librarians need to be well informed on how to leave a conversation gracefully. Where can I sign up for a class like that? I'm always stuck talk...er,..listening to people.
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