Some observations I have made in the past few months while working as a GA at the library:
1. Patrons, especially students, prefer dropping the books in the "Book Return" box rather than handing them over to a real person when the books are late / overdue. They also don't like admitting / asking for help if they have forgotten their account passwords - even if it means they have to come to the library every 2 weeks to renew their books.
2. While using the online catalog to place holds / request books, patrons tend to request several books simultaneously, i.e., they don't visit the library catalog everyday but when they do, they place requests in bulk. They pick up books in bulk too.
3. Not everyone wants to ask for help when they have misplaced / lost something - even if it is valuable but replaceable !!
My inferences: It is always better to ask the students if they know (and inform them anyways) about available resources. Many of them are probably too shy to ask for help. Of course, greeting them with a "Hello" and smile helps !!
Having met quite a number of students (under-graduate and graduate), I would give myself a overall "B+" or an "A-" when it comes to how well-informed I was about the Engineering library resources and how well I utilized them. Of course, after having started working here, (I would like to believe that) my grades have improved to an "A" :)
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