SEAALL: Negotiating with the Bizarre

SEAALL Session C2
Negotiating with the Bizarre: Strange Questions at the Reference Desk
Friday April 13, 2007

Speakers: Sharon Blackburn, Reference Librarian, Texas Tech School of Law Library
Amy Hale-Janeke, Head of Reference Services, U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal Law Library

Notes:
"Patrons of differing outlooks on reality" - Unshelved

Amy and Sharon's patented bizarre questions pyramid:


Note: most murdered attorneys work in family law

Slain in the spirit at the reference desk

Ways to tell the difference:

1. dress
2. smell
3. excessively suspicious (low cowboy hat in TX!)
4. unusual perceptual experiences (listens to no one, invisible friends, rapidly shifting eyes)
5. claims to be special
6. sudden mood swings
7. inappropriate personal questions
8. difficulty staying on point (can be a symptom of meth use)

Be the voice of authority if they are inappropriate

National Alliance on Mental Illness or Mental Health America (formerly National Mental Health Association) can provide guidelines and speakers for librarians.

Treat the question seriously

Treat the patron respectfully

Clarify

Two ways to handle:

1. Factual ("Dr. Phil")

• bottom line
• takes less time
• sets out choices
• 1 in 4 responses
• they don't usually come back

2. Empathetic ("Oprah")

• validating
• emotional connection
• takes more time
• leads to choices
• patron usually leaves calm
• patron will usually come back

Solutions:

• treat bizarre questions routinely
• use creative solutions: step into the alternate reality, treat routinely
• take them to the resource
• the benefits of watching sci-fi! (Sharon)
• tell them it's a secret
• practice saying absurd things with a straight face (if you can do Monty Python's "Dead Parrot" sketch without cracking, you're ready)

Remember:

• never argue
• repeat, repeat, repeat (policies, limitations, etc.)
• colleagues
• boundaries

Dealing with feelings; think about more positive reference experiences

Thoughts:
Talk about practical! This session was it. As a new reference librarian, I'm sometimes uncertain how to best deal with the more challenging pro se patrons. After listening to Amy and Sharon, I won't hesitate (because it doesn't feel "nice") to categorize them using the bizarre questions pyramid. I'm convinced there's something to being honest with myself about what kind of problem I could be dealing with.

Though the session title focused on the bizarre, and the tips like dealing with people who may not be all there by stepping into and answering from their alternate reality logic may well come in handy in extreme cases (which I hope will be few and far between), I think the sorting out of sane patrons is just as valuable. I've seen that dealing with the law as a layperson can be incredibly frustrating, and figuring out how that frustration is manifesting itself--anger, stubbornness--could be very useful for finding the best way to help a particular patron.