On occasion, patrons are mischievous and intentionally provocative. However, in some cases, a patron who seems rude or offensive to the librarian does not intend to offend. People express themselves in different ways, and what is offensive to some may be a common mode of communication to others. A patron who seems incoherent isn't necessarily being rude; children, ESL patrons, and patrons with communication challenges might chat with a different sentence structure. In other cases, a patron may be frustrated about having to wait for an answer, or his previous session did not go well. Similarly, a patron who logs in multiple times is not necessarily rude: he may not have gotten the answer he was seeking the first time.
In all of these cases, it is important to provide professional level reference assistance to those who seek it. If the patron is asking a reference question, then the librarian should assist the patron in a professional manner. Use the reference interview to help clarify the intent of the question. Try to engage the patron with positively phrased statements, such as: "I can help you find information online; what kind of information do you need?"
However, librarians do not have to communicate with patrons whose language or behavior is offensive, abusive, or insulting, including communication of a sexual or too personal nature. If this occurs, first warn the patron that this behavior is not acceptable. Remind the patron that this is a library reference service, and that if the behavior continues, you will have to disconnect. Ideally, the librarian's response should be phrased positively and should end with a direct question asking if the patron is willing to continue the session in an appropriate manner. Use your professional judgment to determine when patrons are simply being rude, or when their behavior is unacceptable.
If the offensive behavior persists, then send the patron a message stating, in essence, "This is a library reference service. When you have a reference question, we will be glad to help you. Goodbye." Then disconnect.
Many libraries offer scripted messages that make it easy for chatting librarians to handle these types of situations in a professional manner. Consider this session from Maryland:
Patron: info about loyalists from maryland
Librarian: Hello and welcome
Patron: hi
Librarian: Hello! Welcome to our chat service. My name is Jane, and I am a librarian from the XYZ library in <state>. No one from your library is available at the moment, so I will be assisting you now.
Librarian: Can you tell me a little more about what you need?
Patron: i need to now how loaylist lived in maryland
Patron: you are a poop
Librarian: I do want to help you with this, but you'll need to demonstrate some patience while we search. We aren't able to tolerate rude behavior on this service. Should we continue or just end the call now?
Patron: sorry
Patron: sorry
Patron: ihate you poop poop
Librarian: Sorry, but since you insist on using this kind of abusive language, I'm going to need to end the call. When you have an information question and can use appropriate language, we will be glad to help you then. Goodbye for now.
For more examples, please visit section 4.5.1 of the 24/7 Reference Collaborative Policies and Procedures document: http://questionpoint.pbwiki.com/247-Policies#45TypesofPatrons
Questions or comments about this post? Other suggestions on how to approach this session? Comment below or email Susan McGlamery at [email protected]
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