Getting an apology right in public service

I was recently on a train after major signal failure at Ashfield.  The announcement on the train clearly stated :

We apologise for this disruption.

This was an an apology.  It would not have been an apology if the guard said we apologise if there has been a disruption (or inconvenience or other similar term) - which can occur.  Of course there was a disruption, the train was late, all the trains were late, so the apology was great because it acknowledged that.

Keep this in mind when making apologies at work, otherwise, it can sound like blaming the victim.

If you say we apologise if there has been a disruption (or inconvenience or other similar term) it can sound like there is an obliviousness to the delay, or whatever else is being apologised for.  If you are apologising, then make an apology, don't hedge your bets.

A few thoughts on the book Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS by Rose L. Chou

Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS by Rose L. Chou
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is yet another interesting publication from Library Juice. The title of the book gives you a strong idea of what the content is. This is a book for many library staff to read, as it provides helpful information, and some strategies for making improvements in the library as work place and the library as library. This is a book about collections, services, maker spaces, readers' advisory work and much more. I have lots of notes in this book to follow up on. I keep deleting other sentences, because the most helpful thing I can say is, go and read this book.

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a few thoughts on the book Reference Librarianship & justice: history, practice & praxis

Reference Librarianship & Justice: History, Practice & Praxis by Kate Adler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is yet another impressive Library Juice publication. It explores reference and information services provided by libraries including public libraries using a social justice approach. Different theoretical frameworks are used for each chapter, but they all relate to how social justice is addressed by libraries. There is a focus on information for people who have been silenced, and who are powerless.

In the forward it says 'as described by this book, reference work advances the work of social justice through collecting and making accessible materials pertaining to groups who would normally be erased or dismissed, as well as through the people in doing such work, such as approaching reference work through a lens that seeks to humanize what is sometimes a dehumanizing process, the vulnerability of having a need and asking someone to meet that need.'

This book is important for highlighting that reference and information work can have a social justice role. With the many changes to reference and information services that role is by no means certain, and many of the service changes seem designed to remove that service for the community. This book reminds us of why the ability for someone to come to the library and ask a question, or the library to go out and about to help people with their questions is important, and can be literally life changing.

Reading this books challenges one to look at how reference and information services are provided at your own library, both in and outside the building. Whose enquiries are you privileging?

This book is not always easy reading, but it is well worth reading. I have many ideas I want to follow up on as a result of reading this book.

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A few thoughts about The library book

The Library Book by Susan Orlean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a history of the Los Angeles Public Library, focused on the central library building. It is both about a library fire, and not about this. It contains interesting descriptions of daily work of public libraries, and shows some of the collections and services provided by Los Angeles Public Library. It highlights the importance of qualified and experienced library staff. Selected resources used for the research are listed. There is no index. This book is likely to appeal to people who enjoy descriptive accounts, and I really enjoyed many parts of this book. There is an interesting section on the early librarians who ran the Los Angeles Public Library - not all were librarians and there were some dastardly deeds as at least one librarian was forced out of her job.

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