How to handle this next time?

[O'Dell]

I wonder if it may be useful to let her know that you have a program you need to start in 5 minutes, and quickly give her some basic pointers/direct her to a useful internet site etc.  Then say "The program should last about 50 minutes, but if you'd like further help, I'm happy to assist you then.  Otherwise, if you have other things you need to do, let me know when you can come back in, and I'll schedule some time to help you out."

This is the best way to handle it. Give her heads up about your schedule and then at the end of your time with her use any of your other options: find someone else, direct her to a website or her own users manual, etc.

And it's not your job to teach someone how to use their own devices, other than how they use them with your e-book system.

[whiterose]

Some of our patrons do not even know how to use email. Some have never used a computer and expect us to fill out entire job applications for them- we cannot and will not.

Usually there would be another librarian staff member available- but my boss was at a meeting with her boss.

I will give the person my schedule next time. While I showed her some of the steps, what she had printed out was a list of links that she thought were the step by step directions.

Library assistants can offer patrons limited assistance- but the more difficult questions (such as yesterday's) are for the librarians to answer.

So I am glad that I did not do wrong in letting her know that I had a program to start immediately.

I have answered questions about every subject you can think of- and then some.

[It's good to be Queen]

My library offers one-on-one help for setting up your Kindle or Nook to borrow from the library.  I am pretty handy with a computer, but had problems following the instructions on the website and making it work, so I ended up going in to the library and having someone help me.  The web page was pretty specific that you needed to either call and set up an appointment or, if you just dropped in,  be willing to wait until the appropriate staff person was available and that not all staff were trained to help with e-readers.  Maybe your library could change it's policy to that and publicize it. 

I think you did fine, the program needed to start on time and if I didn't have time to wait I would have just come back at a better time.

[Pippen]

Who gets a new toy and doesn't make the effort to figure out how to work it on the most basic level? It like someone going to a car yard, buying a car and then telling the sales person "Right. Now teach me how to drive."

It sounds as if her requirements were far outside your job parameters. But at least she was understanding of your other commitments.

[blarg314]

I would help her as I was able, but would excuse myself when it was time for the children's show, or if there was a backup of other patrons.  "I'm sorry, but I'm scheduled to do X now/I need to check out some books for a while but will get back to you in a few minutes".

There's also nothing wrong with saying "I don't know how to do that myself - there's a library computer where you can look up a tutorial". And possibly later suggesting the library have a page with detailed instructions for each type of ebook.

In other words, be helpful, but not to the point of neglecting other patrons, or your other duties.

The Kindle is a bit of a grey area, because it is directly related to using the library. For things like filling out job applications, or using email, that really isn't in the library's job description, and offering services like that is more than a library is generally able to offer.

As an aside - I would say it's reasonable to expect a patron to know how to load books onto their eReader, and how to read them. I would not expect them to, on average, understand why you can't read a Nook formatted eBook on a Kindle, due to the combination of technical details, and the fact that the restriction exists solely for commercial reasons.

[wonderfullyanonymous]

I'm with those who say to direct her to the computer, give her a couple of basic directions, and tell her to feel around the site. I am horrible in new internet situations. Everything from looking around to downloading leaves me panicking. The directions that are on the site and on my nook are idiot proof.

Some things just need to be learned by the individual person. You are there to set somebody in the right direction, not babysit.

[thedudeabides]

You definitely need a hard copy reference that you can give people or know where they can easily access one.  It's one thing to be walking someone through how to download a book to their ereader.  It's a different thing altogether to walk them through how to use the ereader in the first place.

[wonderfullyanonymous]

You definitely need a hard copy reference that you can give people or know where they can easily access one.  It's one thing to be walking someone through how to download a book to their ereader.  It's a different thing altogether to walk them through how to use the ereader in the first place.

The Kindle and Nook, both come with step by step instructions, that to me, at least, are written for someone who has never had a computer type, devise, ever.

I usually have a hard time comprehending written instruction, and usually have to be walked through something at least once, to get it. A friend of mine, who has a kindle, has the same issue, and both of us agreed, the instructions were very easy to follow.

[whiterose]

It was a Kindle Fire.

Kindle books are in a different format than regular e-books for regular computers, Nook, iPad, and other tablets. Hence she may have had difficulty finding out which ones were for Kindle.

But she also had trouble understanding that the list of links she had been given was NOT a step by step instruction manual or sequential links one right after the other. Some people need step by step directions and to take things one step at a time- while I jump into things holistically and may not necessarily follow every little detail along the way  So I wondered if it was me or a communication breakdown.

But I am glad to hear that I did the right thing and that I was not rude.

[O'Dell]

Shame she has a Kindle. I have a Nook. I didn't need help getting started with it, but if I had there are people at the B&N stores that will help and even classes. The people that sold it to her are responsible for walking her thru if she needs it. Not public employees or even employees of another company.

[BeagleMommy]

DH got a Kindle last Christmas.  It came with a step-by-step guide on how to begin using it as well as a website for instructions.

I believe there's also an "E-Books for Dummies" that could be helpful.  Otherwise, I think the OP did just fine.

[jaxsue]

Some of our patrons do not even know how to use email. Some have never used a computer and expect us to fill out entire job applications for them- we cannot and will not.

Wha?? I know, there are some true Luddites but would I, as a business owner, even want to hire someone who is this level of ignorant? Most jobs require some tech knowledge. Part of applying for a job is showing some knowledge from the start.

I'm not referring to people with disabilities who truly cannot, but about people who can and choose not to.

[Layla Miller]

Some of our patrons do not even know how to use email. Some have never used a computer and expect us to fill out entire job applications for them- we cannot and will not.

Wha?? I know, there are some true Luddites but would I, as a business owner, even want to hire someone who is this level of ignorant? Most jobs require some tech knowledge. Part of applying for a job is showing some knowledge from the start.

I'm not referring to people with disabilities who truly cannot, but about people who can and choose not to.

Heck, I've had to help people who barely knew how a computer mouse worked.  As in, I'd tell them to right-click on something and they'd stare blankly at me until I pointed out that the mouse had two buttons, and I wanted them to click the one on the right.

Or the person who would open a document they'd e-mailed to themselves, make changes, close the document, and then go back into their e-mail to re-open the original document and complain that their changes hadn't been saved.  Oh, that one took a long time to explain.  I recall using more than one metaphor before they understood what had gone wrong.

It can be a crazy world in library land, but at least it keeps life interesting. 

[jaxsue]

Some of our patrons do not even know how to use email. Some have never used a computer and expect us to fill out entire job applications for them- we cannot and will not.

Wha?? I know, there are some true Luddites but would I, as a business owner, even want to hire someone who is this level of ignorant? Most jobs require some tech knowledge. Part of applying for a job is showing some knowledge from the start.

I'm not referring to people with disabilities who truly cannot, but about people who can and choose not to.

Heck, I've had to help people who barely knew how a computer mouse worked.  As in, I'd tell them to right-click on something and they'd stare blankly at me until I pointed out that the mouse had two buttons, and I wanted them to click the one on the right.

Or the person who would open a document they'd e-mailed to themselves, make changes, close the document, and then go back into their e-mail to re-open the original document and complain that their changes hadn't been saved.  Oh, that one took a long time to explain.  I recall using more than one metaphor before they understood what had gone wrong.

It can be a crazy world in library land, but at least it keeps life interesting. 

I believe you.

My mom was a librarian in the pre-internet days, and even then she had stories about how ignorant some people could be. 

[Giggity]

It was a Kindle Fire.

Kindle books are in a different format than regular e-books for regular computers, Nook, iPad, and other tablets. Hence she may have had difficulty finding out which ones were for Kindle.

BTW, the easiest way to identify Kindle books is to find them on Amazon. Amazon doesn't sell anything non-Kindle.