"Why Closing More Public Libraries Might Be The Best Thing (…Right Now)" from LISNews.
Excerpt:
"People skills are a sorely overlooked basic requirement of librarianship. A librarian could be well versed in every item in a library, but it wouldn’t matter a single bit if they lack the social skills to communicate this information with the patrons. [...] This aspect extends to our paraprofessional and support staff. In a nutshell, checking in and out materials and maintaining patrons records is trainable; finding someone who will act as an advocate for the library at the desk that most patrons interact with is not. And yet, we hire on the basis of the first part without much thought or consideration as to the face that we are giving the library by putting this individual at our most prominent position: the circulation desk. This simply cannot continue as a hiring practice."
Agree, agree, agree! Even if the author does make one of my most-hated grammatical mistakes further along: it's FEWER public libraries, not less! Argh!
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