Librarian Ref lects

On Two Decades Of Service

By Nancy K. Crevier

When Beryl Harrison started working at the C.H. Booth Library the day after Martin Luther King, Jr Day in 1990, she had already put her reference librarian degree to use at several public libraries across the country, and had spent the most recent years volunteering and substituting at school libraries here in town while raising her family.

But the C.H. Booth Library she walked into two decades ago bears only a slight resemblance to the vibrant, community-oriented gathering place the Main Street landmark has become today. The changes are due in great part to two things, said Ms Harrison: the addition that opened in 1998 and computer technology.

“I never even thought our focus would be electronic, twenty years ago. I think every generation thinks, ‘This is it. What could be better?’ We can’t imagine what will be possible,” she said.

When Ms Harrison accepted the position as the library’s first reference librarian, the entire reference department was in the room that now houses genealogy on the second floor. There was one computer with a CD-ROM received each month from InfoTrac that was just a magazine index, and one disc for searching contemporary authors that could be used in the computer.

“It was very awkward to use. We relied mostly on books, encyclopedias, microfiche film for magazine titles, and book and poetry indexes for reference. We basically used our books and telephones for information,” Ms Harrison recalled.

With no Internet as we know it today, interlibrary loans were long and complicated processes of telephone calls and paperwork.

“We grew into computers over the years,” said Ms Harrison. “I wasn’t afraid to use computers, but I wasn’t really computer savvy. I went to a couple of computer workshops, but mostly learned by doing, I guess,” she said.

The addition to the library came at a perfect time for computer use, as well. The new addition was wired for computers, with staff acknowledging that technology would play a big part in the not too distant future. Even so, the new reference department had just three Internet stations when it opened in 1998, and one server.

“Now,” said Ms Harrison, “we have ten general Internet stations and one for business. We buy fewer reference books today and more databases.”

The reference section has continued to grow, though, adding shelving to accommodate books acquired through donations, discoveries in the attic, or for special collections, such as the Newtown authors’ collection.

The reference section now encompasses biographies and the special collections rooms on the third floor as well. It can be a little complicated, said Ms Harrison, when the only librarian on duty is tied to the reference desk and a patron needs assistance in one of the smaller outlying rooms. “We direct them, and then hope that they will not feel silly coming back if they don’t find what they need….”

Card catalogs and the Dewey Decimal System disappeared with the move to the third floor of the new library addition, all of that information being made available on the computers.

“It was mourned by some of our patrons and staff, but I think that libraries are as forward thinking as any business,” Ms Harrison said. In recent years, stamped cards placed into special pockets at the back of each book have been replaced by a paper receipt printed out when a book, DVD or audio book is checked out, and overdue notices are sent via e-mail to patrons providing their e-mail information.

Customers can put books on hold and renew books online, without ever leaving home — or wherever in the world they happen to be. Downloadable books and e-books are new innovations that she would never have imaged two decades ago, Ms Harrison said, as is the wireless technology that allows patrons to use their personal computers in nearly any cozy corner of the library.

Additional reference librarians have been added over the years to assist patrons, whether they are seeking information from a book, the Internet, or from one of the library’s databases. In addition to Ms Harrison, one other full-time reference librarian is on staff, as well as three part-time reference librarians.

The staff stays current with technology through technology, attending “webinars” on site. Three or four staff members will gather about a computer to watch a seminar delivered on new databases, for instance, and pertinent workshops are also a part of the continuing education in which a reference librarian takes part, said Ms Harrison. Librarian Brenda McKinley also serves as the library’s “go to” tech person, guiding both staff and patrons through mystifying technology glitches and new processes.

“We see a lot of older patrons in the reference section, and a lot of them are not comfortable still with computers. We do a lot of one-on-one computer instruction so that people can use these stations,” Ms Harrison said.

Dealing with people continues to be her favorite part of working as a reference librarian.

“You never know what the next question will be,” she said. “It’s interesting to find out what people really need. There is no dumb question.”

Even in a world where Internet use is second nature to many, people still crave one-on-one contact. The reference librarians field about 750 questions a month, covering subject matter in all areas. The computer has made the librarian’s job easier, from that point of view, she said.

“We can answer more questions and get more details for our patrons’ questions. We do try to develop research skills in the young people who use our computers. They don’t always understand that just ‘Googling’ a subject doesn’t get them all of the information they can use. We teach them to use reliable data, and to use advance searching, for instance,” Ms Harrison said. “People will go away happy if you have steered them in the right direction,” she said, “ and it’s always a real pleasure to know that you’ve helped someone.”

People come to the library for information, but the library has also become a much more social place than it was 20 years ago.

“People didn’t come to congregate here. For one thing, we just didn’t have the space then. The addition has allowed us to offer more programs and we draw the community in more now, I think. We have a very active young adult program and the children’s department has gone through the roof with programs and circulation of materials,” she said. She would not be surprised to see an even more social aspect added to the library down the road, in the form of a café type area where library-goers could enjoy a cup of coffee and relax with a book or magazine.

“I think that would be nice,” said Ms Harrison. “I think that there are still people who think that a library is a real ‘hush-hush’ place, a little intimidating, and that has not been true for a long time. A library should really be a part of everybody’s life.”