Roll call

I just realized today that at the library, pretty much everyone is on a first-name basis. It stuck out at me because at the university in general, that isn’t the case — you call professors by Prof. or Dr. or Mr./Mrs. or Brother/Sister (we’re talking BYU, of course :)) — but here in the library, I haven’t seen any of that. Even the top-level people go by their first name. Randy. Terry. Scott. Brad. It’s all first names. Heck, I don’t even know what I’d call them if I didn’t — Dr. feels weird in a library setting, and saying Librarian Olsen is just tacky, leaving only Brother/Sister, but even then it’s BYU-only behavior.

This first-name basis thing is, for me, yet another testament to the unwavering friendliness of almost all library people. It’s so cool. You’d think that libraries would be about books, and they are, to an extent, but in the end they’re really about people.

Contrast THAT with my experience at the library.

I got laughed at– out loud– by a professor who disagreed with the political views I expressed in private to a fellow student several feet away. He looked right over at me, shook his head, and laughed heartily. And no one shushed him.

What a jerk.

Maybe this echelon of amiability is found only where YOU are, Ben.

sixline,

Political discussions in public are always risky. They always tend to bring out the best and the worst in people. I am sorry it happened to you. I know that would feel embarrassing, but the man actually embarrassed himself. I wouldn’t give someone else the awesome power of one to embarrass me also.

One person in one instance doesn’t define a paradigm. I understand what Ben is saying; my daughter’s second home has always been the library. For her the library is an adventure and a second home. I always knew that if she wasn’t where she said she would be, I could find her in the library. She knows every nook in every library and has her favorite spots. I take her for walks in the mountains; she takes me for walks in the library. From my observation, Ben is right about the names and it isn’t just for employees, just for BYU, or just in Utah. I don’t think I have ever heard Mr. or Mrs. or anything but a first name when hearing staff referred to in any library setting.

J,

1.) The political discussion was private. It was in lowered voices and we were the only ones at our table. The professor was the closest person to us by far, and he was a good ten feet off. Perhaps it was my oversight to hold it in a public place, but that doesn’t change that the professor was a jerk.

2.) My post was more tongue and cheek than anything, but thanks for the advice. :)

sixline,

My comment was in no way meant to criticize you. Only to state the fact that one needs to be prepared for the onslaught. I was a government major with a pre-law emphasis and have been toasted, roasted and taken the heat so many times that there should be nothing left of me but charcoal by now. It seems that once someone has an opinion, they automatically think that everyone else thinks like they do. If anyone expresses an opinion that is contrary to their own and they feel threatened by what they hear, rudeness sets in to shut the other person down. This supposed display of strength is actually an acknowledgement of weakness. (see Conor’s blog and notice how many people are derogatory to each other or use borrowed strength …My son’s an athlete at college X therefore I am the authority on all things political.) This behavior immediately raises a red flag in my mind and I assume that I need to source anything that person says. The professor who laughed at you was out of line. That’s why I advised not allowing the power of one to shut you down.

I am a fan of Ben’s and rikker’s exchanges. I check Ben’s blog for comments instead of checking the morning news because I like their debates. They are intelligent and I like the way they hash things out. There is no rudeness only respect. If political discussions happened that way our country would be in much better shape. I love the discourse.

And Ben…first names are great in the work place. I’m so glad that you love your job and hope that you get hired fulltime.

J,

No worries, I didn’t think you were criticizing me.

Honestly, my post was my way of teasing Ben. I’m not incensed by this professor any more, and I don’t give it a thought unless my mind is recalled to it (i.e. Ben’s post about the library scene). I just thought this would be a fun way to tease Ben. That’s all. :)

And you’re right, one DOES need to be prepared for the onslaught. And I was prepared for it– from the friend I was speaking to. Guess I should have seen it coming from other people, eh?

I have always loved the library. Maybe because it reminds me so much of my home. I shall always be thankful to have been raised in a home with floor to sealing bookshelves in every room of the house. I think some of my earliest memories were of my mother reading out loud to us.

As for libraries, and librarians…my favorite librarians were the open, friendly ones who knew what they were about.

When I knew what I was looking for I could easily go and find it. The difficulty came when the title, and author were illusive. I only had a vague recollection of the storyline of what I was looking for (whether because it was told me by a friend, or read so long ago that I could no longer remember…). I remember that occurring on more than one occasion. And where I have always been shy, and have a hard time speaking to strangers, that was never the case with librarians. I would go right up to one and ask for help. I can also say that without fail they were able to solve my problem, by letting me know just what book (and a few times old movie) I was talking about.

If I ever did have a “carrier” I think I would love to be a librarian….

How funny. I remember that once I hit something like my ‘Junior year’ at BYU, everyone was first name basis. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve thought of many of my teachers by anything but their first name. ‘Course, I was in the more liberal end of things. God Bless the HFAC.

sixline and J: LOL :) Let me rush to mention that sixline’s experience happened with a professor, not a librarian. :P No, really, not everyone at the Harold B. Lee Library is super nice, but my experience thus far has been overwhelmingly on the nice side. And especially down at Special Collections. I love echelons of amiability. :)

Julia: Yes, librarians rock the universe. :) I practically grew up in the library, myself.

Mali-Wan: Amen. :) The people in my major were super nice too, actually. But even then we weren’t on a first-name basis with the professors. (Except in one or two cases. And there was one professor whom I was always inexplicably tempted to call by his first name. One of these days I’m sure I’ll accidentally blurt it out.)