Secret Shopper

For my secret shopper assignment I went to my local library. I chose this library because on the occasional trips I take there, they are brief. Therefore, I knew even if they did recognize me, they do not know me.

When I arrived I immediately headed for the reference desk. I went to a woman sitting at a computer, said hello, and asked if she could help me find a good book that was historical fiction. She replied by asking if there was a specific area I was thinking. I answered that I usually like stuff about wars. As she was looking on the computer another librarian came behind the desk. The woman I had been talking to asked the new librarian how to narrow down the results she was getting because there were too many. The new librarian said that it needed to be narrowed down to a specific war like the Civil War or Vietnam War. The first librarian turned to me and I replied that the Civil War was good. 

In the end I was recommended one book. The librarian had offered to help me find it, but since she had written down information for the book on a sticky note I said that I could find it on my own. I was feeling nervous during the conversation and kind of wanted to just get it over with. While I am okay when a patron initiates a conversation with me at work, I still get nervous being the initiator. Yet, this does help me understand my patrons’ feelings when they see me at the circulation desk.

Overall, I did think it was a pretty smooth interaction. The librarian was kind to me and I appreciated her offer to help me find the book. Yet, I do not know what she was using to help me. I suspect it was the catalog, but they do have access to Novelist. Whatever was used the librarian was struggling with it. I think the interaction could have been improved by explaining to me what was going on, offering me more than one option, and maybe even showing me how to find books with the catalog or Novelist. Novelist is a great tool and more people should know about it. If a library has access to it, they should promote it.