Libraries throughout the state this year are starting to track the time staff spends teaching or tutoring patrons on one-to-one basis.
Patrons’ need for one-on-one time with staff has prompted at least one local library to add a part-time position. The La Grange Park Library is hiring an information technology assistant to work 25 hours a week at $15 per hour.
“We have days where people have scheduled appointments and other people drop in and need significant help,” said Gabriel Oppenheim, director of adult services. “The entire day can disappear in a flash and I haven’t even had time to check my voice mail.”
Libraries are reporting the figures for inclusion in the Illinois Public Library Annual Report.
Jeannie Dilger, director of the La Grange Public Library, said one-on-one learning is when a staff member spends significant time tutoring or teaching a patron on a specific subject. The library counted 53 one on one sessions in April, 98 in May and 278 in June.
She attributed the spike in June to students being out of school.
Ted Bodewes, director of Thomas Ford Memorial Library in Western Springs, said it, too, sees more patrons seeking one-on-one help, especially involving computer use, handheld devices or digital downloads offered by the library.
The adult services department averages between 800 and 900 patron interactions per month or 25 to 30 per day, he said. Of those interactions, about 55 percent are reference questions, 35 percent are customer service questions such as signing up for programs or looking up account information, and about 10 percent are in-depth instructional interactions.
Karen Keefe, executive director of the Hinsdale Public Library, said it has only about one patron a month who schedules time with staff to work on a specific problem or question. They have not yet tracked drop-in sessions.
“It would help us be to be sure we have enough staff at the right times,” Keefe said.
To handle the demand for one-on-one instruction with a patron, the Western Springs and La Grange libraries periodically hold sessions specifically for people who want to schedule one- on-one help.
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“This is a very popular option for our patrons who know that they will need extra time and assistance during their library visit,” Bodewes said.
Kyle Peebles, communications manager for the Illinois State Library, said the idea to track one-on-one time was suggested by the Illinois Public Library Annual Report Advisory Committee.
“The librarians can use this information to compare with other libraries across the state as well as see what services are being offered,” Peebles said.
Peebles said it will help libraries determine their needs and how to allocate staff time.
Chuck Johnson, digital services coordinator at the La Grange library, said technology questions have spurred the increase particularly since the library has a studio that contains professional level equipment for video and sound production, as well as a range of editing software.
Kate DeVries, pastoral associate at St. Francis Xavier Parish in La Grange, said Johnson’s instruction has helped her complete a variety of projects including editing three hours of footage from the church’s 125th anniversary.
“If he hadn’t walked me through it, I wouldn’t have been able to sit there and do it myself,” De Vries said.
She said Johnson put answers to her questions in a binder that other patrons can reference.
“It was a win-win because I was able to help him understand where people like me would have questions,” she said.
Susan Wisthoff, who lives in La Grange and works at the library’s circulation desk, is using Johnson’s help to transfer tapes of family videos to a digital format.
“He makes it really simple,” she said.
Johnson doesn’t expect the desire for one-on-one learning at libraries to decrease.
“As we become more of a community center, we become more of a tech center,” he said.
DeVries appreciates Johnson’s instruction.
“It’s important to have someone to go to when you’re stuck,” she said. “It means you can keep moving forward with your project.”
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