I had a long, feverish illness last week that allowed me to have a dream that addresses a policy that most libraries have not yet covered. With the Library Bill of Rights under consideration (see ALA: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/index.cfm)Namely, Part I Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves... And Part III A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
I'm talking about zombies here, but you get the idea. Probably because I felt terrible myself and was too ill to go to work for 3 days I felt some compassion for a person who has fallen victim to the flu or even a brain altering craving for human flesh, either way, the librarian must serve the community and the information needs therein.
Probably because I loved Zombieland, I created some rules and policies of my own, in my dream. Any patron will need to stand 3 feet away from the librarian during the reference interview. If the person, zombie or not steps toward the librarian, the librarian stops, raises her hand and announces that the boundary is being crossed. If the patron persists in the invasion of space, then a warning dart is administered. If the patron is clearly out of control, AKA a Zombie, then there is a gruesome procedure required. I will leave this to the policy manual writers for detailing, but let's just say that Game-Over Graham probably addresses this in his book "The Black-belt Librarian."
Feel free to use this policy, or a version of it in your next revision of a library policy manual. I hope you don't need it, but you never know.
In response to the suggestion of a 24 hour university library, one person suggested "it starts next week and will be staffed by volunteer zombies. They are up all night anyway."
ReplyDeleteSo maybe I need to consider that libraries need some of the staff to represent the needs of the zombie patrons... Zombie staff at night? At Thames Valley University they just hired a security guard to run the library at night.