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Date:         Mon, 5 Oct 1992 23:01:00 EST
              <CIRCPLUS@IDBSU.BITNET>
From:         "W.C. DIVENS" <N93774@PITTVMS.BITNET>
Subject:      Late night waxing philosophical....

Part of the problem seems to be in comparisons.  We at Circ look for
some other library function to compare with.  Inevitably, it it the
other end of 'public service': Reference.  But there is really no
comparison to be made, because the functions are so dissimilar.

Reference is a service that begs appreciation, for the result of good
reference service may be a publication, a completed project, a good
grade.  That kind of stuff makes people appreciative.  I have seen
Reference librarians (in the space of a year) get flowers, candy,
invites to the family bungalow in South America, etc.  Their business
is providing the goods.  And when they are delivered well, appreciation
follows.

Circ, on the other hand, is in the enforcement end of things.  The
rewards for a job well done have to be found, for the most part,
within.  There is also a tendency to seek rewards quantitatively with
a measurable increase in a stitistic.  But few patrons will truly
appreciate a job well done, simply because that job, if it is indeed
well done, may end up costing them money.  Hardly the stuff that
brings a box of See's Candy.  This is not to say that excellence will
necessarily breed confrontation, for there ARE many aspects of Circ
that can be rewarding to patron and staff.  Perhaps if we were
to concentrate more on those functions, life would seem rosier.

Further, Circ is the land of rules and regulations.  We must often
enforce rules we may not personally agree with, rules that we had
no hand in designing, rules that are downright ridiculous.  Through
it all we must keep our personal beliefs hidden, at least until we can
get to CIRCPLUS and bitch about them.  This kind of stuff leads to
frustration, and burnout if there is no release.

Which is why grouping all 'public services' together under one
administrator may not be a good idea.  How many "Heads of Public
Service" that supervise both Circ and Reference came up through the
ranks of circulation?  How many came up via reference.  I would
bet that most climbed the latter ladder.  Kinda preconditions a
bad support structure for circ.  There was only one such person
in all my 20 odd years who appreciated circulation and would
back us to the hilt, despite the fact that she was basically
a reference librarian.  I still hold her in high esteem...and
measure the rest by her.

So to those who would try to compare rewards across the different
types of public service...don't bother.  It just doesn't work.

In addition, when discussing patron problems, you must also give the
institutional 'atmosphere' in which one operates.  If I were in
a library where the patron is always right, and I was told to
follow that guideline, I could guarantee satisfied patrons nearly
100% of the time.  Give them whtever they want...why would they
complain?  But in a place where you have no such latitude, sooner
or later you got "Trouble with a Capital T which rhymes with P
and that stands for Patron" (apologies to Broadway).

But please do not consture that bitching on Circplus, comparisons
to battlefields, etc. means that a person does not like the work.
Some thrive on it.  Others adjust, adapt and overcome.  If nothing
else it is a challenge.  In fact, my personal belief is that it is
the greatest challenge in libraryland today.

Rusty
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