"Secret Shopper" RA interview

I went to a branch library in a nearby city, early afternoon so that I could hopefully catch the librarians during a slow period.  And except for a couple patrons at the public computers, it was indeed pretty empty.  I took some time to wander the shelves and get familiar with the building.  There were some "new" shelves, some shelving for paperbacks, and then the regular fiction.  Other than some end cap displays of random books, there was an empty wire rack labeled HOT READS.  I found no best-seller signage or read-a-like pamphlets, nor was I approached by any staff.  But working in a branch library myself, I know it can be difficult to leave the desk when there are so few staff available.

I approached the main (and only) desk, where two librarians broke off their conversation to quickly ask if I needed help.  I acted a little embarrassed, as if I were asking a dumb question, but: "That's not a dumb question at all!  This is the fun part of the job."

I had the almost undivided attention (the male librarian got called away once to help with a computer question) of two librarians for my RA interview.  I was asked what was the most recent series I had finished.  I had answered the detective series by J.K. Rowling, so I was asked if I like mysteries.  The other librarian asked what the second-to-last series was that I had read...to which I had to answer was the fantasy trilogy Red Rising by Pierce Brown.  I wanted to avoid saying I liked fantasy, because that is often a niche interest.  But the male librarian perked right up and began asking me about several series, giving me facts about different authors and publishers.  Throughout this, the female librarian was on the computer to "see what we have."  She never shared what she was looking at, nor did either librarian ever consult a print resource.

Both librarians were concerned that I leave with multiple books by multiple authors, as I had originally told them I was leaving on vacation and needing reading material for the plane.  (A white lie--I will need reading material for a plane trip, but not for another six months.)  "We wouldn't want you to get twenty pages in, hate it, and then be stuck with it as your only option."  I felt like they were really concerned with finding me books I could love.  I'm not sure if either were formally trained in Reader's Advisory, as I was never asked about appeal factors.  The recommendations were good ones, but they were based solely on what genres I had said I enjoyed, and the librarian's personal experience of what he had enjoyed.

Overall, I felt the experience was a positive one.  I was reminded of the importance of customer service.  The reason I left feeling good about interview was because of how the two librarians put everything down to help, and the way the one librarian shared the history of the different series he recommended.  The only downside was that I was never introduced to any resources.  Were I a normal patron, the only thing I could do the next time I went to the library would be to approach the desk again.  So I was also reminded of the need to be transparent with my patrons about the process of finding book recommendations.  Not because I don't want patrons to approach me with questions, but because I don't want them to feel helpless whenever their 'to-read' stack hits empty.