West Boylston’s fiscal year ended in June, as did the Assistant Director’s position at our public library. I’ve noticed something different during my two evening visits this month.
As I checked out a few books at the front desk, the staff person was distracted by the phone ringing, presumably because there was no longer a colleague alongside to answer it. Another distraction occurred as a patron walked in and hastily asked (of no one in particular) where a meeting was being held. Here again, with a colleague close by the attention of the person helping me might not have been diverted by this inquiry. But this time it was.
These disturbances, though minor, displaced the subtle acknowledgement I treasure with every library visit — the split-second pause and glint in the staff member’s eye that conveys I’ve been seen and valued as an individual.
The Beaman Memorial Library is small and has “run lean” for years, so I’m sure the loss of the Assistant Director position, let alone the person who held it, has been very difficult for the remaining staff. I know they’ll adjust and continue to do an outstanding job delivering material services. My grave concern is that our local funding crisis has compromised their ability to do what distinguishes our library from big-box bookstores or supermarkets. To keep our library open, we’ve had to eliminate the staff’s time (and psychic space) to:
- pause and listen to patrons, and discern the real question when we cannot effectively articulate it;
- register which individual they’re assisting and point out a new acquisition or program of interest, or ask about a relative or neighbor;
- have “learning moments” to help them grow and feel good about their jobs, like working alongside a patron to explore a database, or talking about a reference question afterwards with a colleague.
These are the subtle qualities that have made our library wonderfully unique and transcendent. In the sixteen years I’ve lived in West Boylston, our library has never been rich — but it has also never seemed poor. I’m concerned that this year we’ve dipped below the poverty line, which is a tragic way to live for very long.
