Another Day at the Reference Desk

To continue Ellen's post of Monday, September 22, here is a rundown of questions patrons have asked today at the Reference Desk:

4 people asked for the location of and for help with Consumer Reports; one wanted stove ratings (called "ranges" for some reason by CR); one wanted car ratings (the April issue plus a separate CR car book); one wanted information on window replacements and one patron just wanted to know where the CR are shelved. FYI: BHPL also gets CR online through EBSCO database or JerseyClicks.

Several non-Berkeley Heights residents wanted to know how to use our internet computers (just register your hometown library card at the Circulation Desk and then the barcode will get you into BHPL's internet computers.)

Phone calls: several title checks including for CD's of Rimsky-Korsakov's music and bios of Audrey Hepburn. FYI: our catalog is available online, but we do catalog searches and set books aside for patrons who call. BHPL subscribes to thousands of musical recordings which can be listened to online through our website.

2 requests for language tapes: Italian for one patron, Hebrew for another. (We also have downloadable language audiobooks from NetLibrary.)

Request for 2007 tax tables.

Various "directional" questions: "Where is the...?"

Various phone calls about BHPL's hours today. (We don't have a phone menu, humans answer our phones except during closed hours.)

Various office supplies requests: stapler, staple remover, white out, pens etc.

Photo-copier help.

High School reading list books. (Someone's procrastinating!)

Pretty routine so far...