Fear of the Unknown

The idea of working the Reference Desk scared me.

At my library, the Circulation Desk is right by the Ref Desk. There were many times at the Circ Desk where I’d complete my fifth interaction with an unhappy patron for the day, take a deep breath, and handle the line that had formed behind them, only to look over at the Reference Desk and be glad I wasn’t working there. Can you imagine random patrons coming up to you all day long and asking for information you didn’t know? Talk about pressure! What would happen if you couldn’t find something? What if you couldn’t figure out what they actually wanted, or didn’t satisfy their information need? It seemed like a breeding ground for unpredictable interactions! (...Says the person who had to cold-call patrons and ask them to pay for damaged books. I'm aware of the disconnect.)

Even when I first started library school and people asked where I’d like to work, my answer was, “not Reference.” How could all of these Reference Librarians I knew (including my own mother) enjoy that line of work? Just watching their interactions at the desk triggered sympathetic anxiety in my stomach. But, as I learned more in library school and talked to the Reference staff at my library (verifying that they are, in fact, sane), that edge, the fear of the unknown, started to wear off. So, when a Reference Assistant position opened up at my library, I knew I had to take it. I knew it would be a challenge, but I hoped it would be a good step along my career path.

And yes, it turns out I totally blew the whole thing way out of proportion.

Sure, the first month was a little nerve-wracking, but between my first Reference class in school and the fantastically patient and good-humored instruction of my coworkers, I fell into the Ref Desk rhythm rather quickly. I learned one of the cardinal rules of being a librarian: it’s okay not to know the answer immediately. I did not have to memorize a Farmer’s Almanac, Who’s Who of the 20^th Century, or the intricacies of MLA citation style. Nor did my MLIS coursework magically grant me telepathy for reading patrons’ minds and understanding what they were really looking for. Instead, I learned the kinds of questions to ask, and where to look and how to find the information sought. Discovering this (and hearing my Reference professor confirm it throughout the semester) eased my anxiety.

Now, I love it. I get it. I’m a complete convert; just call me Lindsay Librarian, Master Sleuth. All that variety those Ref Librarians talked about, that constant learning of new and interesting facts – count me in! Not to mention all the computer help I get to provide (nerd alert: LOVE it), and the collection development experience. These days, I look over at the Circ Desk and think, what took me so long?