Marian the Librarian (#23)

Do you have a question for Marian? 
Send it to the editor, Deanna Briggs, dbriggs@copyright.com to forward to Marian.

Dear Marian, 

Reading that letter from Doesn’t Want to Share Her Toy brought to mind my own situation. I must be the last person on Earth whose primary phone isn’t a mobile phone. Now that it’s getting dark earlier and my car isn’t as reliable as it once was, I decided to finally buy myself one for emergency use in case I run into any problems during my commute. Now, my coworkers insist I should give them the number so they can reach me in an emergency if they need to. I have no plans to carry the phone all the time or to keep it on. I told them that and that I refuse to give them the number. They’re very insistent on it, though. I don’t know why they need it. I’m not on any emergency call list or anything like that. I can’t think of any reason why they’d need to call it. Do I have a right not to give them my number? 

Unlisted Number 

Dear Unlisted Number, 

I can certainly understand your desire to keep your cell phone number to yourself and not use it for work, especially since you don’t plan to use your phone regularly. It sounds to me like you have a right not to give them your mobile number. It seems like you’re doing them a bigger favor by being upfront with your plans not to use your phone regularly and refusing to give them your number than by giving them your number when you don’t plan to use your phone. Messages they might leave for you going unanswered could cause bigger problems than you not giving them the number in the first place.

If this situation escalates to a point where you feel like you have to give them your number, just remember that you’ve given them fair warning about not using your phone regularly. They might soon learn on their own that it’s not the best way to reach you in an emergency anyway.

Good luck,
Marian

Dear Marian,

While we’re talking about mobile devices, let me tell you about a problem I have with one of our student workers. She has this tiny little computer like nothing I’ve seen before. It fits in her pocket. Apparently, it works with the campus wireless Internet access or something like that because it seems like she’s always chatting with someone with it. It drives me nuts! I think it interferes with her productivity and definitely makes her seem less connected to the people around her. I’ve seen her whip it out of her pocket while she’s shelving, type into it, then put a book away and repeat the process. She uses it at the circulation desk. I’ve even seen her take it out during staff meetings and use it. I’m not her manager, so I can’t ask her not to use it. Her own manager doesn’t seem to care.  Is there anything I can do? 

Annoyed by a Tech Gadget

Dear Annoyed by a Tech Gadget,

It sounds like the student is doing a lot of multitasking. Some people think of online chatting as being similar to having a conversation at work. Others think it’s more along the lines of a personal phone call. Perhaps you should look into your employer’s policy regarding personal phone calls, chatting at work, or some similar behavior. You also might want to make sure she’s not legitimately chatting with anyone at work. Instant messaging is becoming popular in many environments. Are you sure she’s not doing something as innocent as finding out what her next task should be? Also, since she’s using something like a personal data assistant, she could be doing more than chatting, say scribbling something on her grocery list—something many of us do at work.

Remedying the situation might be as simple as letting her know it’s bothering you. Maybe she doesn’t realize someone sees her do it and that her behavior is problematic. She also might not be aware of how much she’s doing it and how disruptive it is to her workflow. Depending on the nature of your environment and your relationship with the student, it might be wise to talk to her manager before talking to her directly. Her manager might not realize how problematic her behavior is and might want to do something to address it. If ultimately the manager doesn’t want to do something about her tech gadget, you just might have to get used to being annoyed.

Good luck,
Marian

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