Times when I realise I still have a lot of learning to do on the job

My favourite part of my job by far is doing reference work. We don't have a reference desk, so all enquiries come to the Information Desk. So it's kinda frustrating when I've got a meaty reference question to work on, but can't devote much time to it because there is a queue of people waiting to:

1. get their newspaper crosswords photocopied,
2. have their lost membership cards replaced,
3. ask if there are any Mary-Kate and Ashley books in,
4. ask me to ring a taxi for them or
5. use the desk phone to ring home.

The reference-y things I tried to work on, but failed to have time to do properly, were:

1. Find a large, clear picture of a charging bull - unhampered by the presence of matadors, farmers, or cows. I found a guidebook on New Zealand bulls, but the animals were just standing around posing.

2. Find information on how Chinese emigration to New Zealand affected their respective hometowns in China - I'm sure the schoolgirl was supposed to work it out by reading what she already had, but she wanted something that explicitly answered the question for her.

3. Find a book containing diagrams and details of a UHF television aerial, sufficient to build one from - I did find a website all about different types of television aerials, but I didn't have time to read all the text on every page out loud to him (that's right, he claimed he couldn't read fast enough). He wasn't interested in noting the website address to read in his own time, because he was a cyber-phobe.

I suppose it didn't help that two of my customers gave up after the first ten minutes. Good info takes time...