Is There a Limit?

A patron walks into a library, walks up to the counter, and tells the librarian, “I need to build a tree house.” So the librarian does a quick catalog search and finds three books with step-by-step directions for a variety of cool tree house designs. Then the patron says, “I’m not real comfortable with books. Would you read them for me and tell me what they say?” So the librarian does. The patron proceeds to run across the street to the hardware store, buy all the necessary materials, and bring them back to the library. “I’m not very good with my hands. Would you build the tree house for me?” So the librarian does. Sound ridiculous? I think most people would agree that it does.

So why, then, does the same scenario not seem outrageous to people when it applies to computers? From sending and receiving emails to writing resumes to doing taxes, patrons are not satisfied with the library simply providing access to the information. They want the librarians to do the actual work for them. I try to draw the line at providing step-by-step directions, even if it means reading the website and making sense of it for them, but there have been a few instances where the person was insistent enough that I actually gave in, took over the computer, and did the work for him or her. It’s tax season right now, so most of the demands relate to taxes. I’m sorry, but we’re librarians, not CPAs. We’ll gladly do what we can to help, but we won’t do your taxes for you just because a computer is involved in some way.