Subject: Close Encounters of the Referential Kind
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Sun Mar 30 2003 - 02:51:36 EST
"Weird (But True) Reference Questions,
or,
Close Encounters of the Referential Kind"
[public edition]
Part 2: Actual Reference Interviews reported by
American and Canadian library reference desk
workers of various levels.
Patron: "I'm looking for a book."
Mental answer 1: "Well, you're in the right place."
Mental answer 2: "Here's one." (Hand over nearest
volume.)
Audible answer : "Can you be a little more specific?"
=====
Patron: "I got a quote from a book I turned in last
week but I forgot to write down the author and title.
It's big and red and I found it on the top shelf. Can
you find it for me?"
Mental answer: "Books classified by color are
shelved downstairs in the [non-existent] third
sub-basement."
Audible answer: "What were you looking for when
you found the book the first time?"
Patron: "Do you have anything good to read?"
Reference person getting her audible and mental
answers mixed up: "No, Sir. I'm afraid we have
75,000 books, and they're all duds."
=====
Telephone patron: Do you have books on leaves?
Library worker: Nope, we keep them on shelves.
=====
Patron: "I am looking for a globe of the Earth.
Ref: "We have a table-top model over here."
Patron: "No, that's not good enough. Don't you
have a life size one?"
Ref (after a short pause): "Yes, but it's in use
right now!"
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