Management musings 8: to see ourselves as users see us …
| Pages | 338-339 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120210432318 |
| Published date | 01 September 2002 |
| Date | 01 September 2002 |
| Author | Maurice B. Line |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Managementmusings8:
toseeourselvesas
usersseeus...
MauriceB.Line
Ifweheararecordingofourvoicesweare
nearlyalwayssurprisedbyhowwesound:
deeper,orshriller,orfaster,ormoreabrupt,
ormoremonotonousthanwewouldever
havebelieved.Wehearourownvoicesfrom
insideourheads(asreflectedbyour
cheekbones,infact).
Inthesameway,ourbehaviourisalways
seenfromtheinside.Wecanneverseehow
weappeartoothers.Wecanvideo-record
physicalaspectslikeourgestures,
mannerisms,stance,andsoon,butallthis
doesnotadduptohowwecomeacrossto
others.Howoftendowesayofotherpeople
whobehave(asweseeit)irrationally,
over-emotionally,evenbrutally,``ifonlythey
couldseethemselves...''?Muchmoreoften
stillwefeelthatwayaboutothers.
Thisappliesasmuchtolibrariesandtheir
servicesastopeople.WhendrivingIamoften
confusedbyroadsigns:Iseesignstotheplace
Iwanttogetto,thenatajunctionor
roundaboutthesignscease±doIgostraight
on,ifthereisindeeda``straighton''?The
signingispresumablydesignedbysomeone
whoknowstheareawellandcannotimagine
howitmayappeartoastranger.(Ifitisn't,it
mustbedesignedbyasubtlesadist.)The
sameistrueofsupermarkets,railwaystations,
almostanythingonecanthinkof.``Don'tthey
testtheirsystemsonoutsiders?'',Ialwaysask.
``Butstaffaretrainedtodealwith
complaints'',itmaybereplied.Yes,theyare:
trainedtocalmdownangrycustomers,but
notalwaystoanswertheactualcomplaintsor
toputthemselvesinthecomplainant'splace.
SeveralyearsagoIwasinJamaicaatan
internationalconference,towhichanAmerican
hadcomefromNashville.Whencheckingin,he
washeldupbythemaninfront,whowasbeing
veryrudetothewomanbehindthedesk.She
dealtwithhimverycalmly,eventhoughhe
continuedtoprovokeher.WhentheAmerican's
turncame,hecongratulatedthewomanonher
calmnessunderfire.``But'',shesaid,``weare
trainedtodothissortofthing''.``Yes,Iknow,
butthatmanwasbeingsooffensivetoyou
personally''.``Well,there'sonethingIknowthat
hedoesn't.He'sgoingtoMiami,buthisbaggage
isgoingtoTokyo.''
Librariesareamongthemostcomplexand
confusingofinstitutionsaccessiblebythe
public:thosenotfamiliarwithaparticular
library,eventhosewhohaveusedother
libraries,canbebewilderedbythebuilding
itself,thelayout,thearrangementoftheir
stock,thecatalogues(especially),thevarious
Theauthor
MauriceB.LineisaConsultantbasedinHarrogate,UK.
Keywords
Libraries,Management,Libraryusers
Abstract
Librariescanbeconfusinginstitutionstousers.Discusses
thedifferencesthatmayexistbetweenthewaysinwhich
thestaffandusersperceivelibrariesintermsofdesign
andlayout.Suggestswaysbywhichthestaffmaybetter
understanddifficultiesthatusersface.
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338
Library Management
Volume 23 .Number 6/7 .2002 .pp. 338±339
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120210432318
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