Throwing Up Patron Roadblocks
The other night while working the reference desk I had an encounter with a longtime patron that still has me thinking. This particular patron has been a heavy user of the library in the seven and half years I've been here, and probably was long before I came. She recently moved to a new community that is very close to us, and has subsequently been less than impressed by the not so stellar service she has received at her new library.

This patron came in Monday night not to check out books, not to use the computer, and not to get help with a research question. She came in specifically to ask me (the poor unfortunate librarian at the desk) why she is receiving such craptacular service. To be fair, she didn't say that she is being treated rudely or anything like that. What my former patron was upset about was a service that her new library was flat out refusing to offer her: interlibrary loan.

Whenever this patron has asked for a book that the library does not own they tell her that they can't get it for her. She isn't asking for books that are new, out of print, or really, really rare (the usual reasons why libraries can't ILL materials), and her new library doesn't tell her why they can't get the items for her. They just tell her no. So she asked me, "Why can't my library get me the things you use to get for me all the time without any problems?" which was quickly followed by "What should I do to change this situation?"

In all honesty, I didn't have a good reason as to why this library can't do any ILL requests for her. They are in the same library system as my library, and they have access to the same resources I do. We live in a state that is very into reciprocal borrowing. If we don't have an item, it generally doesn't take a lot to get it. The only way I can't ILL an item for a patron is if 1) no libraries own it or 2) a few libraries own it but are unwilling to send it. The type of books this patron usually requested do not fall into either one of these categories. If I had to guess why they won't ILL for her, I would probably boil it down to laziness or ignorance. Not that either one is a good excuse, but I could easily imagine some of the staff at this library thinking to themselves, "I don't want hunt down this ILL request. It's too much work (which is so not true)." I also wouldn't be surprised to learn that the staff there had never been taught how to do ILL, In that case the blame doesn't lie with the staff but the library director. So I recommended the patron do the only thing that seemed logical: talk to the director. I don't know how much satisfaction she will get from that library's director, but I hope for this patron's sake that some change does occur at that library.

I haven't been able to get my former patron out of my head since her visit Monday night. As far as patrons go, I think she is a rarity: the patron who is willing to stand up for their rights as a library patron. I probably won't get any fans for saying this, but there are so many libraries out there who treat there patrons horribly, whether it be by denying them basic services, not considering their request/suggestions, etc. And at the same time I think very few patrons stand up to their libraries and say, "Wait a minute. This is a service you should be providing me. Why aren't you?"

And that has left me wonder exactly what is a library's responsibility in empowering patrons to the point were they are willing to advocate for themselves? Because as I see it, so many patrons out there won't, and that's a shame.