2020-05-22 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 5, Issue 8

Featured Story

How My Reference Interview Skills Help Me Play Video Games, Especially The Witcher

This main article is full of references to the Witcher series that spans across multiple media, including books, video games, and more recently, a streaming show on Netflix. I’ll be writing this based largely on the latter two, as I’m currently playing Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and watching the show. Witchers are augmented humans whose job it is to hunt monsters. This post is somewhat sardonic; however, integration of learning involves recognizing concepts as they are presented in varying formats. I learn best when I can apply novel concepts to existing understanding, such as the way I play a video game.

References interviews are an essential part of all public-facing library roles. As explained in the Reference Interview module of the Alternative Basic Library Education (ABLE) training, the reference interview centers around five key steps: encouraging a patron to feel comfortable in the library, discovering the information the patron needs, finding that information, making sure the patron’s needs have been met, and teaching the patron to be an independent searcher. Reference interviews benefit from library staff asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing what they’re hearing from patrons, and double-checking for accuracy. Information is gathered from multiple sources.

For Geralt of Rivia, the main character of the Witcher video game series, and other witchers like him, the information needs are rather consistent, and the format is somewhat predictable. People are disappearing or dying under mysterious or supernatural circumstances. Lacking the ability or understanding needed to investigate or dispatch the problem themselves, the townspeople send out a call for assistance. Somewhat similar to what we deal with in libraries, the problem exacerbates from ignorance; the locals do not fully understand the forces of evil that are plaguing their homes, turn to superstition and quick assumptions, and/or try to face a threat that is far outside their abilities.

In order to appropriately prepare for the upcoming fight, a witcher must have information. They need to gather stories and prepare. From my perspective as a library worker, this is where the fun begins. In a roleplaying environment, I now have the option to seek to understand the totality of the problem facing a specific community and make Geralt an embedded librarian with a sword, which is secretly what we all want, right? However, there are limitations based on Geralt’s personality. The first point I mentioned earlier- encouraging a patron to feel comfortable- is generally out the window. Geralt is intimidating, to-the-point, and abrasive. I’ll do my best to direct that positively, but where I can really shine is in the information stages of discovery and application. I can, for instance, choose to run headlong into danger and fight a monster without any kind of preparation. Instead, I look for witnesses, delve deep into their stories, and ask questions for further clarity. It’s like detective work that’s more solvable and gives the community direct benefit.

By directing Geralt to use his vast experience of the nuances between similar ambiguous threats and pointedly cutting through misinformation, I’m able to get a more holistic understanding of the upcoming battle. For someone doing reference work in a library, the tools of our trade and resources at our fingertips include online databases, integrated library systems, and research skills. Witchers rely on other tools, namely swords, weapon oil, meta/superhuman abilities, and magic. In-game, the information for which tools are right for each job is generally gained after your first encounter with a specific foe, but similar enemies have similar weaknesses. So, drawing from previous experience, you can anticipate the needs for future circumstances and prepare in that way, such as when you have to answer the same reference question in ten different ways every day.

After the battle, Geralt gets a predetermined payment for services rendered, and usually lets the townspeople know what the problem really was, how he solved it, and how to prevent it from happening again. Thus, the service to this community is ended and he moves on to the next task.

Playing video games should center around fun, and the ways people have fun is highly varied; for me, fun is leaning on what I know best and feeling comfortable, so having library skills bleed into my playstyle is enjoyable. It helps me to learn and to recognize my own strengths. For others, this might feel like taking work home with them, and it’s always, always okay to roleplay as someone completely different than yourself when in a single player game environment. I feel my reference interview skills are better because I use them generally, and am always interested in how other denizens of Libraryland use techniques learned through libraries in different avenues of life.

– Donovan Kay, Capital High School

Fail Forward

We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.

Name that Computer

While working on what we call “Tech Desk,” we get all kinds of computer, device, and phone questions. Our most common “question,” which really isn’t even a question, is “I have prints on computer XYZ.”

I say “computer XYZ” because we have had several different scenarios with identifying which computer patrons were using.

When I first started working in the library our computers were named after Star Wars characters. While all of us nerdy Star Wars fans really liked that, several of our patrons were indifferent to the names and didn’t really appreciate telling us that they had prints on Han or Leia or BB8.

We also had some named after authors, which most people had a difficult time mixing up with the current author that they were reading, or their favorite, or whatever the case may be. “I have prints on Asi-moff? No, Orwell? No I think it was…”

After our big expansion, we added more computers and named them after different lakes. Our library sits on the edge of Lake Pend Oreille, so of course we had to name one of our computers after our beautiful lake. Again, patrons had difficulty, mostly trying to pronounce the names. It’s pronounced Pond – er – ray, not Pend Ori – e – ell.

Finally we decided to just name the computers “1,” “2,” “3,” etc. So simple! Now patrons just had to tell us which computer they were using and we could release their print job. Perfect, right? Nope. Now they just point and say, “I was on that computer over there.” *sigh*

What did I learn from this? It didn’t matter what we named the computers, patrons were still going to be confused… or indifferent to our IT manager’s clever computer names for which we were so proud of. Well, at least they’re in the library and that’s what counts!

– Vanessa Thiele, East Bonner County Library District

Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you? What about a new idea, book, or resource that you want to share? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who or what they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!

When I Grow Up!

When I grow up I want to be Caldwell Public Library! These are just a few of the ideas I have seen from Caldwell that made me say ”I wanna do that!” They have clever and unique ideas that provide so many services for their community. Go Caldwell Librarians!

– Rasheil Stanger, Valley of the Tetons Library

SPLAT explores the ever-evolving library world and supports library folks as they adapt to meet the needs of their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at splat.lili.org

SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-00-19-0013-19). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.