If an English-speaking library visitor asks,

May I speak to a librarian?

there are two helpful ways to respond. If the staff member who is asked this question happens to be a librarian, then the answer is easy:

I am a librarian. How may I help you?

If the staff member is not a librarian, there are more possible answers. Keep in mind that many library users ask librarians questions that all staff members know the answers to, such as where the rest rooms are located or when the library closes. It is quicker to just answer the question about speaking to a librarian, rather than trying to figure out if the library visitor really needs a librarian for help. The shortest and best reply to this type of question is always:

One moment please.

This should be said while holding up the index finger to make it clear that there should be an answer to the question soon. In previous blog entries about English conversation tips for staff members, we have looked at the usefulness of being able to point and say

Over there.

Although this is a good approach for explaining where rest rooms or books are located, it is not considered polite to point at people. For that reason, it is better to learn some phrases to use when these situations occur. For example, if the library visitor who is asking to speak to a librarian is on the Underground 2 level of Pridi Banomyong Library, it is helpful to answer:

Upstairs, at the information desk.

or

Upstairs at the library entrance.

Note that it is not necessary to put together a complete English sentence in our minds with subject, object, and verb. Unlike English language classes at school and university, real life does not require us to do academic exercises. We only need to communicate basic facts to help library visitors. In English class, we might be expected to think of a long and complex sentence such as

A librarian may be found upstairs on the Underground 1 floor of the Pridi Banomyong Library at the information desk.

While this kind of answer might win praise from a teacher, it will cause any speaker of Thai English much time and effort to slowly put together the words in silence, while the visitor waits and waits for any kind of response at all. It is not pleasant to watch staff member suffer in this way, so it is much more helpful to choose the faster and more efficient path. We do not need to tell visitors that they are in the Pridi Banomyong Library once they are already there. If they do not know or care about the name of the library, this is not the time to inform them. Also, as noted before, Thai names can be very difficult for farangs to understand, especially when they are spoken quickly by Thai people. So we should avoid using names that will not be familiar to foreign visitors, especially if these names are not necessary for answering a question. We also do not need to tell visitors that Underground 1 level of the library is upstairs from Underground 2, since almost everyone will realize that this is the case. All we need to tell them is to go upstairs. Finally, we do not need to repeat the words a librarian since the visitors know what they asked about. All they need is the location.

In the two shorter phrases mentioned above, it is all right to point upwards to show that the information desk and library entrance are upstairs. Since these are things and not people, it is not considered rude to point to them. If no librarian is available for the moment, it is also helpful to say:

I am not a librarian, but may I help you?

It is possible that the visiting student or ajarn may have a question we can answer. If not, we may say:

A librarian can answer that. Would you write to our online help desk?

An example of a question that most staff members can answer even if they are not librarians would be:

How do I know what titles are owned by the TU Libraries?

While it is correct to just say:

Look in Koha.

Many universities do not use Koha and so foreign students will not know this word. They will also not know the abbreviation OPAC, or what it means. In general, Thai English uses many such abbreviations that are not common in standard English, and require explanation to English-speaking library visitors, especially those who are not librarians. To avoid this problem, just walk over to a computer with the Koha webpage on it and point, saying:

Our online catalog.

Most visitors should be able to continue from there without further help.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).