A Student's Plea for Librarian Etiquette

The following letter was found on the internet...

Dear Abby:

I have been thinking about writing this letter for a long time. I'm a
sophomore in college.. I take five classes and work part-time at a gas
station. Maybe I'm not as studious as I should be, and I probably
should know how to do research for my papers, but when I go to the
library, you'd be surprised by some of the things that I see - so I
have written:

A Student's Plea for Librarian Etiquette

Please treat me with respect. I may not be as educated as you, but I'm
trying. Maybe I don't know when Nixon was President, or
that "carcinoma" in another word for cancer, or what a "peer reviewed"
journal is, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid.

Please give me priority. I'm sure you have lots to do (so do I) but
could you keep an eye out for me when I come to the desk for help.
Libraries are intimidating to me and it takes some courage to ask for
help.

Help me ask the question. Sometimes I'm not exactly sure what I want
or need. Because you are more experienced and knowledgeable, I'm
hoping you can counsel me. Please don't start grilling me about what
I want, or where I've looked, or what class it's for. Talk WITH me
about why I am here; then talk TO me about what approaches to take.

Please don't show me everything you know about cataloging, or indexing
or databases. I'll probably forget it anyway because, unlike you, I
don't need to know this everyday. I don't want to be a librarian; I
just want to get on with my paper.

Give me some assurance that you are doing the best you can. You know a
lot, but you can't know everything. If you aren't sure that the
answer, advice or referral you are giving me is right, could you let
me know? I don't mind hearing that.

Please don't restrict everything I can do in the library. I use a
Yahoo account because I can store my papers there and keep a calendar
and check my email. My campus email doesn't do all those things. If
you lock down access, I can't do my work.

Please don't create a double-standard. I know I should be using the
library for academic reasons, but sometimes I just want to read the
newspaper, or play a game, or talk to my friends, or shop online.
These are the same things I see the library staff doing sometimes. The
only difference is that they're getting paid for it.

And, by the way, a simple "I'm glad you came by. Let me know if there
is anything we can do to help," makes my day.