People often ask me what I like most about Japan. My answer is usually, “Things just make more sense.” Most are technology related, but the how part is a bit harder to describe without actually experiencing it. Maybe you’ll get the gist from the following rambles. Read the rest of this entry »
This is what’s left of the old RBF workroom after the fire fighters were finished with their training. Demolition of the building is slated to start on Monday.
back from Japan. AMAZING!
stats:
5 new friends met
10 lives attended
33 bands seen
20 CDs bought
9 games bought
too many meals of Go! Go! Curry
Oh, we also got new phones (not in Japan though). First impressions are good.
We made it in with a clean bill of health. yay! Lots to write about, but I’m a bit too wired at the moment. Maybe later?
My branch is currently closed so we can move stuff into the new branch. This means all of my holds have to be picked up somewhere else. Not a big deal since there is a branch right next to school, so I can stop by after class on my way back to moving my branch. Which is exactly what I did today to pick up a hold.
Here’s the positive experience part:
Since I was in a hurry, I just walked in, grabbed my hold, went to the self check, and was on my way. In and out in less than a minute.
Here’s the negative part:
I didn’t make eye contact with a single person; staff or otherwise. The money-taking machine for fines was down, so I couldn’t pay off my $3 from rentals, and was in too much of a hurry to seek a human. I had a book overdue, but the magic screen didn’t tell me that. It just wanted my $3 that I couldn’t give it, and to check out my item.
The negatives really started to nag at me. The whole experience just felt so sterile. I discussed it with my branch staff and pondered how our patrons will adjust to the new system. Luckily, our new branch geography is better suited to our patrons, and they will get the staff interaction they crave, and sometimes demand, while still being self-sufficient with the new system.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Thoughts?
Dude. You have three names. You’re blue blood, old money, landed gentry, confident, assured; perhaps a tad old fashioned but you don’t let that bother you. Let the kids go crazy with their new fads — you prefer style that’s going to last. You secretly fear you need to get out more, and you’re probably right.
Ameba is a Japanese blog service. Currently, it’s undergoing scheduled maintenance. There are a couple of reasons why this lil’ yellow guy is way cooler than the fail whale. Notice that I said scheduled maintenance. I’ve yet to encounter this guy without warning. But what really sets him apart are the comments on the maintenance announcement. When I last checked, there were at least 50 comments. The gist of most of them were, “Thank you! Do your best and have fun! We love ameba!” No, I’m not making this up. Some comments did raise questions about what modifications were being done, and they were answered very timely by staff, which of course led to more “Thank you! Do your best and have fun! We love ameba!”
This post is a response to LibraryMan.
Right now my focus is on customer service. Granted, my focus has been there for a while anyway, but it’s more prominent now for a few reasons.
1. I’m second banana at my system’s busiest branch.
2. Branch life leads to much more readers’ advisory and personalized service.
3. Everyday I get to decipher cultural and lingual contructs.
4. To say we have some big changes happening would be an understatement.
There are other things in the works change-wise as well that will hopefully come down before we reopen in the new branch. But even so, as long as we maintain our current level of service, I think we’ll be alright. It’s rare that someone leaves my branch unhappy.
Mishawaka library to add WiFi; timetable uncertain
[article link may not last more than 7 days]
Library Director Dave Eisen said he would like to provide good Internet access in the parking lot so people could use it 24 hours a day.
Assistant Director Victoria Gutschenritter didn’t see the need for that. She said the library doesn’t make books and bathrooms available 24 hours a day.
I finally popped in my copy of Rhythm Heaven*, and after a couple of missteps, I got this screen. Thanks Nintendo.
*It’s really hard to not call this Rhythm Tengoku
sjcplskagirlie