16
Update: I was at the library in Springfield and noticed everyone was using the self-checkout.
The staff told me they only have one person at the main desk now because of it. Do you think this is better or worse for helping people find what they need?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
hall.alex1mo ago
Exactly, that's the whole problem right there. It looks fine until something goes wrong. My local branch did the same thing last year. You end up with a line of five people all waiting for the one worker to fix a computer, explain a fine, or find a book the system says is in but isn't on the shelf. The self-checkout is fast for easy trips, but it really cuts the help for everything else.
5
avery6291mo ago
The Springfield library still has that one main desk person for a reason. Most people just grab a book and go. The real issue is when someone needs help with a research project or the copy machine jams. That single staffer gets swamped. It's not a crisis, but it's a clear drop in available help for anything beyond a simple checkout.
3
kelly_miller801mo ago
Yeah but the thing is, that one person at the main desk was never meant to do all that. They used to have two or three people back there, even on slow days. One to handle checkouts, one for the phones, one for questions. Now you got one person trying to do everything at once while the self-checkout machines sit there looking pretty. It's not that the worker is bad at their job, it's that they're set up to fail the second anything goes sideways. That's the real drop in help right there, not the number of staff but how they're spread out.
6