Library staff are poised to answer any and all questions, and if they don't know the answer, they'll find someone who does. Sometimes, however, questions take more time than we can reasonably give when other patrons are waiting in line at the Service Desk. These are most often technology-related in nature but as diverse as traditional reference questions.

To meet the needs of our patrons who feel more comfortable with extra time, we began offering 30-minute, One-on-One Tech Help sessions in December. This way, there's no pressure: a patron can arrive at his/her arranged time, retire to a study room with our Tech Tutor, and receive the help they need. We've scheduled staff to be available during this time in excess of the two assigned to the Service Desk, so we're not asking other patrons to wait. It is simply an additional way to engage with the community. 

Our current Tech Tutor, Laura Felter, has kept meticulous notes. Since we began in December, she's offered 14 sessions. A sampling of the issues tackled:

• A patron migrating from a flip phone to a smartphone and wanting to learn the ins and outs: swiping, accessing wifi, setting up their email, finding apps.
• Learning about file management and photo storage best practices
• DVD external hard drive vs. cloud storage
• Facebook issues: multiple profiles, setting options, etc.

While our Tech Tutor is indeed tech-savvy, just like with any traditional reference question we won't always know the answer. But showing patrons how to research the answer and when to call for professional reinforcements (one of the sessions ended with "time to call Apple Support") teaches our community to fish, as the saying goes.

The easiest way to make an appointment for a help session is to call the Library. We look forward to helping!