RA Secret Shopper Experience

Unfortunately, I currently reside in a country where public libraries are non-existent, and academic libraries are only to be used by students. In this Middle Eastern island, there is a huge public library attached to the Grand Mosque, and I have tried to conduct my reader’s advisory secret shopper assignment there, however, I was horrified by the unconcerned attitude of the staff and the limited collection to publications in Arabic and the dominance of shelves of Islamic Studies content everywhere. Therefore, I have decided to use the library on the US Navy military installation base for this assignment.

My feelings exactly at the library by the mosque

The base library consists of two floors, however, due to the scarce number of employees (only one librarian and two volunteers), the librarian sits downstairs and leaves the floor upstairs unattended. Each floor can only be accessed separately through an exterior stairwell. Every time I visit, I notice that the librarian is always busy running around and assisting people.  I had trouble finding where collections were because there were no signs, but the librarian was very helpful and explained to me where everything was.

The librarian sits at a desk and it is the first thing visitors see when they come in. Although she has no MLS, she has been maintaining the base library for years. The volunteers are also non-MLS.

I sat on a bench for a while reading a book but listening in to conversations around me. A group of kids approached the librarian and started chatting. The librarian was so good with the kids and she made them laugh as they told her stories about their day. Later, she discussed some books that she has on order and thought they may be interested in because they enjoy Pete the Cat series.

A few service members approached the desk and asked for assistance with the printer/copier. The librarian was happy to help. Other questions to the librarian were about getting a library card, or checking to see if items were returned to the library.

I genuinely needed a young adult book to read, and I decided to use this excuse to speak to the librarian and see if she can help me. She was extremely busy, so I felt bad when I was asking her questions. I asked first if she can help me find a good young adult book. She responded with, “You mean children books?” and I said “No, teens.” Instead of recommending a book, she told me where the collection was instead. She went with me to the shelf and pointed to the collection saying that for sure I would find something good to read there. I completely understand her response being the only librarian and lacking RA tools and databases. 

The librarian demonstrated excellent personal qualities suggested by Bopp in the book “Reference and Information Service”, because she was service oriented, patient, persistent, sensitive, self-controlled, flexible, had a sense-of-humor, had good judgment, had knowledge and confidence. I also admire her passion about the library she manages, and her willingness to stay open during holidays to accommodate armed forces personnel. So in truth, even though I did not get a good RA recommendation, I do not feel bad about it. I enjoy this library a lot and thank God for it in a place where reading and libraries are not appreciated. 

References:

Bopp, R. (2011). Reference and information services: An introduction (4th ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited.