HELPING PROBLEM PATRONS 1

Helping Problem Patrons

Abby McLinden
Ivy Tech Community College
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Through the course of this module I’ve learned more about what kinds of difficult patrons

I will have to deal with in my career, and some ways on how to deal with them. I’ve come to the

conclusion that when dealing with difficult patrons, it’s more important to make them feel heard

and valued than actually do anything to show it.

I’ve chosen to pair my demographics and situations in these ways. A mentally

handicapped patron insisting they’ve returned a material, but it’s gathering overdue fines. A

child wants to check out more DVDs, but the ones they returned are still in quarantine and so

their card is marked as unable to check more out. And finally I’ve decided to talk about if an

elderly patron wants to see another patron removed, despite the other patron not being disruptive

enough to deserve that.

Mentally handicapped people can be some of the more difficult to deal with. Most people

are able to get on a similar enough wavelength that communication isn’t difficult. But mentally

handicapped people have enough trouble with their own reality to try to adjust to someone else’s,

so it’s our job as people who can adjust to do it for them.

In this instance let’s say the patron has Down’s Syndrome, and has checked out a movie.

Our system hasn’t registered it as returned, so it begins accumulating fines for the item. The

patron comes by the library and attempts to check out a couple books and another movie, but

can’t because the fines have accumulated too much.

As mentioned in the Garner article, sometimes Down’s Syndrome people have trouble

speaking. Their mouth muscles can be underdeveloped, and they also can struggle to find the

right words. It’s important the library staff stays calm, and gives the patron time to speak and

explain their side of the situation They returned the material. The library staff explains the
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system doesn’t recognize it as returned, however they can go double-check, perhaps it was

missed. Make sure the patron understood, giving them time to process what was said.

So the patron understands and is all right waiting a minute while the library staff

investigates this. I’m going to assume library policy allows that particular staff member to leave

their spot at the desk for a moment to check out on the shelves and in the back room for the item.

In this case, lets say that the staff does find the DVD case—and a note saying the DVD was not

in it upon being returned.

I’m going to assume policy would have been to call the patron to inform them, but

someone made a mistake and the call didn’t happen. I’d calmly explain the situation to the

patron, and apologize for the misunderstanding. Again, make sure the patron understands,

without talking down to them. People with Down’s are capable of understanding, they just take a

little longer sometimes. For this situation it could be resolved by forgiving the fines accumulated

and renewing the item. Now the patron has time to find it at home and return it without

accumulating fines again.

Perhaps as a ‘special needs’ person myself this kind of patron does not seem intimidating

to me. I have autism and adapting to other people’s ways is my everyday life. There’s no

significant difference to me to dealing with someone with Down’s and a ‘normal’ person. Either

way I have to go out of my way to be someone they understand.

The next situation I chose was explaining to a child why they can’t check out any more

DVDs. This situation is pulled from the interview I did with Michael Miller at the Goshen Public

Library. They have a limit of six DVDs at a time, and a policy of not handling returned materials

for a few days in order to prevent the spread of COVID. Some patrons have the problem of
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having checked out all six DVDs, when they return them they are not able to check any more

out.

As the textbook says, it’s important to engage children directly. I’ll assume the parent is

involved, but is encouraging the child to do the talking since they’re the one who watches the

DVDs. The library staff would need to respond to the child in return. Explain the quarantine

policy in age-appropriate language— I might say don’t use the word ‘quarantine’ but in today’s

culture it might be a word that’s entered children’s vocabulary at a younger age. Apologize for

the inconvenience, and possibly suggest checking DVDs out three at a time so they can get more

the same day they return them.

Children aren’t all that difficult to talk to, at least in my opinion. They’re smart little

people and they can grasp things easier than some expect. Treat them with friendliness and

respect, and roll with whatever they blurt out.

The last situation I chose to go over was an elderly patron wanting another patron

removed. Most of the tips the textbook had on dealing with the elderly focused on the physical

pains of getting old, and little on the mental. I’ll assume this patron is mentally capable, but uses

a walker to help get around. They were driven here by a family member, and left while the

family member ran off.

The patron this elderly person is having problems with is obviously homeless. They’re

sitting in one of the chairs, but they stretched their legs out so far that the elderly patron cannot

get around them.

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To handle this, I would explain to the elderly patron as gently as I can that the library is

for everyone, and we cannot kick someone out for being homeless. However I can speak to them

and ask them to sit up properly so the elderly patron can get through.

This might be the sort of situation I’d have the most difficulty with. I like to find

solutions to problems, but this kind of situation feels like one where the solution is not having

one. As I said in the beginning of my paper, the solution is making everyone feel good about

little-to-nothing being done.

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Garner, J. (2018). Down Syndrome: How to Support a Person With It? Retrieved September 25,
2020, from https://www.halza.com/en/downsyndrome/