Imagine the following scenario. You are sitting at the reference desk on a normal, albeit busy, weekday afternoon. It is your second week on the job with the ink barely dry on your MLS. Voices quietly murmur as patrons collaborate for different purposes. All computers are in active use, and assistance is requested steadily. There is nothing out of the ordinary until a disheveled patron approaches the desk during the second of your three-hour desk assignment.
With a toddler in tow who is gnawing on a well-worn paperback, the patron asks in a loud voice for books on abortion for her daughter. The teenager is standing slightly apart and jabbering on her cell phone beneath the sign that says ‘No Cell Phones Allowed.’ You cannot tell if she is overweight or pregnant. You cannot tell if she is the mother or older sibling of the child chewing on what appears to be a library book. Simultaneously, the printer starts spewing pages of garbage, and your backup is on break. You have been on duty at the desk without a rest and you will have to lead a program at the end of your shift. To top it off, a sick family member continues to text you.
What do you do? How do you keep your composure? This was never covered in library school, and there is no one around to guide you or offer assistance.
This is where Applied Theatre, or Theatre in Education would have been of great use. This session will explore how applied theatre techniques and processes can assist librarians, educators, and others who work with the public to deal with the unexpected.
About the presenterSara Rofofsky-Marcus
Sara Rofofsky-Marcus is a Contributing Methodologist for the EdD program at Walden University, as well as an adjunct instructor at several other universities, including the University of Maryland and Ashford University. Her research interests include public history of underrepresented groups and integrating theatre and information literacy into all aspects of the academic journey.