Secret Shopper

I went to the Kokomo Howard County Public Library downtown branch. They remodeled recently, so it felt new to me. The reference desk was located upstairs (with no signage as where to go) and was called “Information.” The librarian working was getting up and helping other people, so she was easy enough to approach.

I told her I was looking for a good book to read, and she asked me what kind of books I enjoyed reading. I responded by telling her I read all over the place. She then asked for something I had read lately, and I told her The Thorn Birds.

She asked me to come around the desk so she could show me how to do a search. She did a title search for The Thorn Birds in her catalog, and then showed me to look at the right side of the page for similar books and authors. There was a list of suggested books and suggested authors. I later discovered this list was created from Novelist. She asked if I saw any I’d like to read, but the descriptions were too small for me to read from where I was standing, so I instead asked her if she knew any of the authors. She said no, because she normally reads nonfiction. However, she chose one she’d heard of and asked if I wanted help finding it, and then took me in the stacks. The book wasn’t there. As we walked, she clarified that I liked classic epic family sagas. When we went back empty handed to the desk, she asked her fellow librarian for suggestions based on the idea of “classic epic family sagas,” not the book I read. She explained to me that the other librarian read more fiction. This librarian immediately said, Pillars of the Earth, and then continued to ignore us. The librarian took me to get Pillars of the Earth, and we went back to the desk because she remembered that the first author was probably shelved in Romance. She asked me if that was okay (without any description of what that entailed), and I said probably. She also mentioned that she normally read Evanovich, but that would be less literary / well written and I probably wouldn’t enjoy it.

When she was double-checking the location of the first author, we talked a little more about what I liked in the Thorn Birds. I said a lot of my favorite books had sad endings, and she responded by mentioning that I’d probably like the Bronte sisters, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but she bet I’d already read them. I said I’d loved those books, and she nodded. She took me to Romance to grab the first author suggested. Then she wrote down the other titles and authors listed in the catalog and said, “I hope you find something you enjoy reading.”

I walked out with Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (suggested by librarian 2) and This Calder Range by Janet Daily, the first in a long series, and two lists of author names.

It turns out that This Calder Range is the sequel to This Calder Sky, although the plot line takes place before This Calder Sky. The appeal terms are all great for this book; it’s a character-drive family saga with a dramatic and romantic tone. I might like it. On the other hand, the second librarian’s sort of random suggestion of Pillars of the Earth is way off. This book is characterized as plot-drive, fast-paced historical fiction, and from the description is not what I was looking for.

Other than I felt like I walked around a bit more than I expected, I kind of enjoyed this interaction. The librarian who helped me was smiling and friendly. I could tell she honestly wanted to help me. However, our brief encounter with librarian 2 shows just how bad my experience could have been if I had interrupted the person who was working busily on the computer instead of waiting for the librarian who was helping everyone. I was kind of surprised the librarian only used one tool and didn’t modify her search when she discovered other titles I enjoyed. From my experience with NoveList, its suggestions can sometimes bit a bit off. However, I think I left with an okay book, but I’m not sure it was exactly what I was hoping for. It may lean more to the romance side and farther from the dramatic family saga, but I wouldn’t really know until I read it. However, the cover is a bit telling that I probably wouldn't like it. So despite the fact it was a fun experience, I don't think it was a success.