I am lucky enough to have secured a professional placement for ETL527 in a regional public library. On my way down to Cooma today I had the opportunity to kill some time by visiting the public library in Kingston, ACT. It is a different affair to what I am used to in a public library: a single shop front lined on both sides with tall shelves with low browsing boxes and ottoman seating between. In the children’s section, there is an abundance of front facing shelving that seems to be monitored closely by the 3 staff members. Practically as soon as a book is taken down from the shelf, another is put in its place. This seems a mixed idea. On the one hand, the shelves always look tidy, appealing and well organised (full looking and in rainbow stripes). Ideal for browsing and very appealing to children. Perfect when the patron is looking to be inspired. However, if a patron was looking for something particular, it would be quite difficult to find. I expect this indicates that most of the junior collection users are not looking to read something particular, but come to be inspired to read – to find literature appealing and interesting. There is a strong shopping vibe here. Patrons borrow impulsively. I have taken a book down to browse. It was replaced swiftly and now I can’t see where the rest of the collection is to reshelve it. It is clear that it would be unusual here for people to take books off the shelf to browse and then not to borrow them. I will try it again and see what happens.

Same result: A staff member came almost immediately, book in hand, and replaced it. I am left to wonder if this is the whole collection, or if more is stored out the back and used to replenish shelves as needed. What would be the purpose of this? I would love to engage a staff member in a conversation to find out, but they are busy and actively ignoring me. I do not feel welcome here nor encouraged to stay.