London and the US. 2

Letter to the British Library [abridged]

from: Sidh Losa Mendiratta, architect and PhD student
to: Service Improvement, The British Library
sub.: Asia, Pacific and Africa room improvement

Dear Sirs,

I have been using the Asia, Pacific and Africa room for the last three days [...] and have found, to my disappointment, that various issues seriously hamper my academic research there - and probably that of other researchers. The British Library is proud of being an Institute for researchers, as every new member is inormed by the staff on arrival. And I believe that, in general, members comply with the Library rules and acknowledge the monumental importance of the Institution. If the users stick to the rules, it is only fair that they should expect the staff working in the library to stick to their own rules and commitments of service towards the users. In these last three days, I have found that part of the staff at the Asia, Pacific and Africa room has not carried out at leat one of these commitments and has in other forms shown un-professional attitudes. This is what happened:

1. I was informed, on my first day, that the orders placed on the computers in the room would be available within a maximum period of 70 minutes and that, when the material would be available to be procured from the main desk, a red signal light would appear in my seating place. In these three days, this light didn't switch on once. When the 70 minutes had expired, I went to the main desk and enquired and only then my requested material was delivered to me. [...] And I couldn't help but to have the strong feeling my requested material had been languishing on the main desk for quite sometime. If the signal light system is not working, users should be clearly informed.

T

2. In one situation, I requested ten items when I arrived in the morning. Enquiring after the 70 minutes about my order, I was told that six out of those ten items were not available because they were awaiting repair. I asked if I could place another additional order to substitute the six items that were not available. The staff rejected this request what I found to be unfair.

T

3. The next day, a very similar situation happened. This time, my request was only granted after the intercession of a staff member not working in the main desk.

Other un-professional attitudes:
[...]

B. One staff member dropped a heavy book as she was carrying it in a cart, behind the main desk. She failed to pick it up and returned to her working place. When a user (who, like me, had seen this) informed her of the book lying on the floor, thinking she had failed to notice it (so much was the noise at that moment in the front desk), the staff member said "It's ok, I'll pick it up later". The book fell next to a doorway.

T

I would like to express my thanks to other staff members that have been quite helpful. I would also like to make a more formal suggestion if the Library feels that it would be helpful for service improvement.

Thank you for your attention,

Sidh Losa Mendiratta
user 823680