This insightful book shows you how to deal with an issue as old as the library profession: interacting with problem patrons. It looks at this fact of life that affects almost every facet of library work and provides practical solutions--some developed within the field and some borrowed from other professions--that will improve reference services for those you serve and make the work of your library staff less stressful, more productive, and increasingly meaningful.

Helping the Difficult Library Patron: New Approaches to Examining and Resolving a Long-Standing and Ongoing Problem examines:

• the nature of the problem from historical and demographic perspectives
• ways of dealing with the problem in academic and public libraries
• competency-based training techniques that will empower your frontline staff
• the impact of new technologies such as cellular phones and the Internet and ways of dealing with the new breeds of difficult patrons that come with them
• solutions from our colleagues
• what we can learn from the perspectives of others--psychotherapists, businesspeople, and corporate managers--you even get a Zen Buddhist viewpoint!
• effective ways to utilize community resources such as campus and local police
• and much, much more! Nowhere in the library literature have so many practitioners and educators combined their efforts to examine and provide solutions to this ageless problem. Library administrators, staff, and educators will find Helping the Difficult Library Patron a matchless resource!