How can I feel more confident that I'm ready to handle a complaint?

Q: I am graduating with my library degree soon. The many challenges around the country over the past few years have come up in my classes. I feel great about other aspects of librarianship, but I’m nervous that I will not be prepared to handle these situations when I begin a new role as a public librarian. What can I do to feel more confident that I’m prepared to handle a complaint?

It’s great you’re thinking ahead of time about this. The excitement of starting any new position inevitably comes with anxiety, too, and the heightened tensions around book challenges in recent years can add to the worries. We have a number of posts about preparing for and responding to a complaint or challenge, but here’s a summary of a few actionable items that you can do when beginning a new position (or implement in an existing role) to help prepare for book challenges ahead of time:

Know the goals and requirements of your institution’s policies and related procedures. You should be familiar with your library’s goals for collection development, along with policies and related procedures for selection, reconsideration, and weeding. This knowledge is essential to doing your job with confidence and competence, not to mention in accordance with your institution’s expectations and board-approved requirements. You should understand your organization’s approach to collection development in broad strokes (what are the collection goals?) and details (how do we go about achieving them?), as well as how the collection supports the library’s mission in serving the community.

You should also be clear on the expectations and limits, if any, of your role at the library when it comes to responding to patron concerns. For example, in your position are you someone to whom other employees, such as clerks and pages, will refer a patron with a complaint? Are you expected to refer the patron to your supervisor or director if they want to pursue a request for reconsideration or can you give information if a conversation doesn’t resolve their concerns? This knowledge will be important when communicating with patrons and carrying out your ongoing work.
Ask questions. As you read through your organization’s policies and procedures, make note of any questions you have. These could be about specific procedures that you find unclear, or broader philosophical questions. Follow up with your supervisor to be sure you understand the library’s collection development goals and processes as well as expectations in how you carry out your work. These might include questions about language that is used, and/or processes to be followed.

You can also ask colleagues at your library how they use the policies and procedures to inform their work and, if they’ve had to respond to concerns or complaints, what they found most helpful or useful, and what, if anything, they would suggest you do to be better prepared. Are there things they found especially helpful in those moments? Collect responses and reflect on them so you’ve thought about what you might do before the occasion arises.
Practice talking points. Does the thought of having to discuss collection decisions with a patron in a tense conversation make you cringe? You are not alone. While it may seem a bit scary, think of it as a chance to have a one-on-one conversation that explains the role of the library and its collection in serving everyone in the community. Focus on getting comfortable talking about why and how library materials are chosen, speaking about the library’s role serving the entire community, and the role of choice in a library (e.g., “We know not every book will be a good fit for every child or family–the tastes, needs and interests of every family and every child in our community is so varied! Our goal at the library is to provide a wide-range of choices so that every child and family can come and find books that will appeal to them.”) When the situation arises, you can recall moments of these practice conversations and employ them in real-time.
Role-play responding to a concern. Once you have your conversational ideas down, we encourage you to role play. Ask a colleague, friend, or family member to act as a patron with a concern or complaint.

As part of that role play, practice the following:
- Thanking the patron for bringing their concern to you (because it is a good thing!).
- Listening openly and without judgment, whatever the concern. Listening is key to any meaningful conversation.
- Summarizing/restating what you heard them say (e.g., “I’m hearing you say that this book is not something you find suitable for your child–do I have that right?” After thanking, listening, and briefly sharing what you heard (giving them the opportunity to clarify), you can say more, calling on the ideas you’ve practiced conversationally.
  In articulating these, you can:
  - Affirm that you appreciate their involvement in their child’s reading (if this is applicable).
  - Acknowledge that not every book in the collection is the right fit for every child or every family, but that the library works now to make sure every child and family can find materials they will enjoy.
  - Assure them the library has policies and procedures it follows in evaluating and choosing books for the collection. And you can let them know you are happy to help them or their child find something else.

This conversation is the time to thank, to listen, and to talk in an informed yet conversational manner about the library collection. At the same time, you should be familiar with what your policies and procedures say regarding what happens next if the patron is not satisfied. This will be specific to your institution, and you should be clear on what to do. It may mean letting them know about the reconsideration process; if that’s the case, tell them about the process, what they need to do to submit a formal request for reconsideration, and provide them with the form or information on where to find it online. However, as noted in point 1, depending on your position, you may be required to refer the patron to your supervisor or the library director. And regardless of how the patron exchange ends, your supervisor should know about the conversation that took place.

Think of responding to questions, concerns, and the possibility of a challenge as part of being a librarian—an ordinary, not extraordinary, aspect of your work. Concerns, complaints, and challenges are part of the landscape of librarianship. Though we have seen a drastic increase in the number of complaints and challenges in recent years, they’ve always existed. Knowing that they will happen and that you are prepared to respond can create a confident and empowering mindset that supports you when things get rough.

Want to lean in to read and know more? Explore these additional What IFs on preparing for a complaint or challenge.