But how does it make you feel…?
An article on Yahoo talks about the most disliked words derived from the internet. I have a deep hatred for the word “blog”. I find it ugly and almost an onomatopoeia for something worse than it is… I have heard a couple of librarians say they deeply dislike the term “stacks”. Then we have the patrons who confuse the words “reference” and “reserves” among other things. How often do we have a patron ask what a “periodical” is? The Yahoo article is a reminder that words can instill feeling as well as meaning. Beside trying to untangle the confusion of library-speak for patrons (again, I ask you would a patron prefer the term “information commons” or “computer lab”?), maybe libraries should also engage patrons regarding how the words we use make them feel? Do words like “reference”, “circulation”, or “periodicals” intimidate patrons? Could these words be contributing to library anxiety? Who knows unless we ask….
So leave a comment with the “library words” which make you cringe (I vote for Circulation).
Tags: coherence, context, names, words
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