When I did, I expected patrons to ask for help with their passion projects, or with finding novels set in Prague before a planned visit. What I didn\u2019t expect were questions like, Where can I find Dr. Brown\u2019s Celery Soda in town? Or, What time is CSI: Cyber on tonight? And, What\u2019s the weather in Dubai right now? How about Jackson, Wyoming? St. Petersburg, Russia? There was even a regular joker who pretended to put in a breakfast order before asking me for directions to nearby shops; he thought it was funny enough to do this every time he called, which was quite often.<\/p>\n<\/div> I thought there\u2019d been some mistake: wasn\u2019t I supposed to be putting all my training to use at the reference desk? Wasn\u2019t I supposed to be answering actual reference questions? If you\u2019ve read my novel, How Can I Help You<\/em>, you\u2019ll know that this same thought passes through Patricia\u2019s mind when she starts working at Carlyle Public Library. The difference between her dismayed reaction and mine, though, was that I was utterly fascinated\u2014even delighted\u2014by the oddness of these questions. They weren\u2019t official reference questions, no, but they were incredibly revealing all the same: of people\u2019s habits, desires, interests, and fears. In short: a writer\u2019s gold mine. Above all, what they revealed was the human desire to connect; it was clear they wanted connection more than any information or knowledge, and that made it more meaningful to answer their strange queries\u2014unless they went too far, and asked me for medical advice re: their ‘swollen testicles,’ which did actually happen once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from that, though, my first days at work made it clear to me why I, a writer, was drawn to the librarian profession. I, too, wanted to connect; I just went about it differently. And now I relish the balance between helping patrons at the library and turning to what I previously thought of as my \u201csolitary\u201d work, my writing, which isn\u2019t, ultimately, solitary at all. I\u2019m grateful now that I was unprepared for my workplace reality; it gave me a good surprise, one that helped inspire How Can I Help You<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vervebooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_3229-1-933x1024.jpg\")
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