I have visited the venerable Library of Congress several times, and never had anything to complain about. The guards are generally nice, the tourguides and tours are excellent. Obtaining a library card was also not a difficult experience. However the Copyright Office, located within one of the LOC buildings is a bit different. The online site for the LOC is excellent and the Copyright Office website is fairly self-explanatory, but we decided to visited the office in person because there were some detailed questions regarding a book project that I thought might be better resolved face to face. Well, we were in for a mild surprise.
When we walked into the well lighted room, it was just like an ordinary office, except there were two desks side-by-side each staffed with a representative. One was busy with a customer and the other was on the telephone. When she got off, she invited us to sit. She did not look very friendly, and I had barely begun talking about my project when she snappily demanded, "What is the point? Please get to the point!" I told her I was providing her background information necessary to get to the point. She impatiently announced she needed to get a fan and rushed away to her cubicle to get a fan, the size for airing a room and plopped it onto her desk. When I remarked that the fan was a bit big, just to try to make light of the situation, she did not have a bit of a sense of humor but opined that the office did not provide her a minifan like the other customer service representative had. Anyway, we started to discussing my book project again, but like the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland, she again broke off somewhat madly after I had only spoken two more sentences with, "Get to the point!" She was so impatient that I stood up and told her we would wait for the next representative. She looked like she was having some sort of fit. She forgot all about her fan and began packing up to leave her desk, stating "I don't normally work at the desk" and "my mother is very ill" and "I have to finish with the last customer" and "I haven't finished with the last customer yet." Then she marched off, apparently having forgotten to bring her fan with her since it was still at the desk...The other representative was helping an AA person and since he was an AA that seemed okay, afterall, that AA person had also regarded us with impatience. All of this had transpired within 5 minutes, but we were left sitting there about ten minutes when another representative showed up, who was very helpful. At least he undertook to answer all of our questions for even while being a bit blustery and sweating a little, he was reasonably patient and helpful with a bit of humor. When we departed I nodded goodbye to the other representative but he ignored us.
So what is the point is that we traveled a long way to have some (what we felt) challenging long-standing issues addressed, and were grateful we had a specialist capable of answering our questions, but were sorry that it took a bit of insisting to obtain good service. The other point is that maybe it is better to try to figure everything out by one's self either online or with a phonecall since the setup is pretty impersonal. A third point is that one wonders how much it would cost to redesign the front area so that there might be two separate front service consultation cubicles separated by office panels for privacy. (Not more than a several hundred dollars?). We did not feel a sense of privacy with a couple walk in customers impatiently waiting and the representative at the next table obviously listening in. There were only two walkin customers during the time we were there, but one (an AA) was heaving loud sighs and swearing mildly under his breath as if all our questions were stupid or of no importance. Of course they get some types, even at the Library of Congress, who are vaguely upgraded versions of the deranged who hang out at more modest libraries. And one cannot tell what project may be contained in a deteriorating plastic bag, but no doubt it is always as worthy as anyone else's. And like everywhere else, the library staff are generally ridiculously kind and patient with these sorts also.
So it was all very exciting!) Good luck to us all!)