We get questions….
Posted by: Barbara Bibel
Questions keep us in business. I am sure that most of us became reference librarians because we love looking for answers. We would be excellent detectives if we ever decide to change careers. Our patrons expect us to find the answers and even hope that we will do their assignments, but there are some questions that don’t have answers. We love them dearly and do not laugh until the patron is gone. Here are some classics from my years on the desk.
“Why was Mozart a genius?” When told that I could not be sure, but that he came from a musical family, the patron said, “So do I, but it didn’t work for me.”
“I need a picture of Jesus and one of the Garden of Eden.” Numerous patrons have made this request. When shown art books, they demand photographs. When told that the camera was not invented unitl 1826, sometimes the light goes on.
A definition of trisexual.
Some middle school students needed information about “the effects of pollution on orgasm”. When I asked if perhaps they meant organisms, they said, “Whatever.”
An elderly woman called and wanted to know what country mummies came from and how long they lived. When I explained ancient Egyptian funeral practices she said, “You’re lying. I saw them on T.V. last night. They wear white bandages and they limp.” A related question came from someone who wanted detailed instructions about how Egyptian embalmers removed the brain through the nose and a source for obtaining the hooklike tool that they used. Oh, do we wish we could ask why they want to know….
Someone complained about the fact that the Bible is given the L.C. classification of BS and the fact that books about psychology are classified with those about witchcraft in both Dewey and L.C. And you thought that cataloguers did not have a sense of humor!
“Why are the books about chaos next to the books about order? It’s not right!” This was an inquiry from our resident schizophrenic.
A former colleague handed me the phone and said, “This patron wants to know something about adrenal glands and he doesn’t like my answer. You’re the medical librarian, you help him.” A reference interview elicited the fact that he wanted to know how to play dreidel. I gave him the rules and brought my colleague a dreidel, which still lives at our reference desk.
There is never a dull moment at the reference desk.
July 1st, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Great anecdotes. I recently had a middle school student ask me to help her research the dildo bird. Sometimes the hardest part of a reference interview is keeping a straight face.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:33 am
I am currently a library student in San Jose State University’s Special Session (online).
However I was in funeral service for 31 years. I graduated from Cypress College Mortuary Science Department in June of 1981. I cannot think of any place to obtain the hook like insturment the Egytians used. Mortuary Science Schools are required to include the History of embalming in their courses. This can be interesting, but really has nothing to do with modern embalming. Modern embalmers do not remove the brain. However when a pathologist does an autopsy he or she does remove the brain of examination. The method is to make a coronal incision, reflect back the scalpe and use a power saw (the kind used to remove a cast from your arm or leg)to saw off the calivarium. The poor embalmer has to put it all back together. To prevent leakage from the head the brain is placed with the rest of the viscera in the ventral cavity.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:15 am
Trisexual might be considered a little slangy, but the word has been around for years. An online search turns up a couple definitions.
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:44 pm
These anecdotes are funny, I admit. But I don’t think librarians should be so quick to deride patrons. It sounds catty. It makes librarians seem insufficiently busy.
Some of the worst spellers I know are librarians, by the way. I could show you hilarious examples. But I won’t.
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:26 am
Another question!
Where is the book that has the answer to every question?
What they wanted was one of those books on pros and cons of moral issues that freshmen are inflicted with.
July 6th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Some of your anecdotes and examples seem almost familiar…and fun. Our world would so dry and humorless without the (often amazing) gaffs we all can make when asking for information. My favorite questions and requests received while on the reference desk: 1)”I need an actual photograph of the sinking of the Titanic. And not some drawing.” 2)I need a WD40 [tax] form.” 3) “This is a library, right? (Yes)You’re a librarian, right? (Yes) So…(sound of baby carrier being thumped onto the reference desk)Watch the baby!” There are more, and I treasure every one of ‘em.
July 6th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
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July 9th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
My very favorite question ever (and granted, I’ve only been in the field 3 years) was a gal who asked me where to find “the Korean bible.” The reference interview led us to realize she did not want the bible written in Korean… But the Koran.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:25 am
My story is of a caller who wanted to know when Maureen Stapleton died. A simple question now, but this was about 1990. It is difficult to prove that someone has not died, but I did find a reference to her being in a play about 6 months before. The caller insisted she was dead (it had been several years since her character on “All in the Family” died) and quipped that perhaps I expected to see her and Elvis having lunch. From the sound of the voice and the noise in the background, I suspected this to be a bar bet. Oh well, you can give them the sources but you can’t make them believe you.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
My favorite was a little 8 year old boy who wanted a book on how to draw stick figures. Just think about it…
July 10th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Classic. I think the responses to this post are great, too. I especially like the one that describes the actual process of embalming. I think this shows the dialectic of reference work. The point was that it was comical. As the dutiful MLS student he is, John could not resist giving an excellent and complete explanation. I do think it is OK to laugh at patron miscues. It is cathartic and funny.
Thanks for the Laughs.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Thank you for a very “entertaining” 10 minutes. I think we have the “best” stories and none are more funny (and puzzling, and fustrating, and heart-warming…etc) than the real life encounters we have everyday. I love my job as a high school librarian because there is never a dull moment just as you said. I am also a adjunct professor at Arcadia University where part of what I teach is “the reference interview.” I can’t wait to share some of these posts next semester.I look forward to reading many more of your blog posts!
July 15th, 2009 at 9:39 am
My favorite question is “In Voodoo, how do they bring the dead back to life?” I was a very new, very young reference librarian when I got this question–it made me realize that I wasn’t always going to be able to find answers and that the range of questions was far more extensive than library school had led me to believe.