I have heard a lot of libraries from a lot of different types of libraries say smugly or proudly that they don't shelve books. That's a clerk's job.
Sure, clerks were indeed hired to reshelve, check patrons out and do other tasks that it doesn't require a degree to do. That frees up librarians to do more complex tasks like reference work, instruction and purchasing. That's what we get paid the big bucks (ok, moderate, non-inflation adjusted bucks) for!
But there is value to pitching in with those more mundane tasks on occasion. It's not only good for staff morale, to know that librarians will come down from their lofty chairs at the reference desk to help reshelve the 300 or so children's picture books that were returned just before story hour. And patrons see our shiny happy faces in other places in the library. They have increased confidence in us because they know (and we know) that we are capable of doing anything in the library, including being able to replace a lost card while the clerk is away from the circulation desk. It means that we're open to all of our customers' needs, and they don't need to be shy to ask, because they may be asking the "wrong" person for help with a particular thing.
It gives us more opportunities to interact with customers. When we check out their books, we see tangibly what particular patrons are interested in, and what is circulating. When we shelve books, we also see what is circulating, and we also see what materials are NOT. It can help us come up with strategies either for weeding, or for promoting lost gems.
Going into the stacks for more than just pulling books provides exposure--patrons see us out and about (thus making us less intimidating), but it exposes us to how the patrons are using our collection. Are they NOT checking out graphic novels, but there are plenty of patrons sitting in various nooks and crannies, polishing off Strangers in Paradise and Blackest Night? Are they not using the furniture for its intended purpose? Are there places that need furniture, or spaces opened up?
Getting out in the stacks, and out of the common areas can give insights into all this. When we walk through common areas without actually "using" the library, we don't see what patrons see--we see what we intended them to see, regarding configurations and the environment. Is it super-convenient to have chairs on the end of (or in the middle of) rows? Do you often find patrons sitting with a multitude of books on the floor, between the wall and the last row of books? Is it because the nearest table is too far away?
And patrons can ask questions they might not have asked otherwise. They may decide going to another floor, or another part of the building to ask the reference desk a question is too far to go, and may frustrate themselves further by looking for things (thus creating a negative connotation with the library in their mind), or they may just forget about it, and skip getting information or resources that a librarian could have easily provided.
Getting out and about gives us opportunities to connect with our customers in new ways too--if you see someone grabbing the second book in a series, you can ask if they've read the first. They may no know they're looking that "Bloody Red Barron" is the follow-up book to "Anno Dracula," and they'll be disappointed a few chapters in, to make that discovery--and even more disappointed when Anno Dracula has been checked out by the time they return. This makes them feel like they can't navigate the library, and it's too difficult, and so they'll just go to Amazon--or if they don't have the money, go to nothing at all for those resources.
Say your patron HAS read Anno Dracula. Have you read it too? Can you have a conversation about it? Can you find out what other things they like to read? Maybe they have a complain that they love steam punk fiction, but your library has none, and so they have to borrow or buy all of that stuff on their own, and the only thing they check out at your library is the vampire fiction. Maybe they've heard others complaining about the way the science fiction section is organized, and feel that since there is so much fantasy, it should have its own section, or a sticker to denote that it's fantasy, and not scifi. Maybe they really like the layout of the Young Adult room, and wish adults had a space like that, too.
Librarians do most of their work based on best guesses. We look at statistics and user behavior and make a best guess as to what a popular book or collection would be, what would be the best way to lay out space and organize collections, etc. But we don't really know first-hand. We pour over our statistics (which is right and good--most organizations, libraries included, live and die by statistics), but there are so many things our statistics CANT tell us. They can't tell us about items we DONT have, and how they would be received by patrons. They can't tell us that people absolutely hate those hard backed chairs, and prefer stools. They can't tell us that no one actually uses the study rooms, except to make out in.
Won't patrons say something to us about this stuff, if it's important? Maybe. Maybe they don't think it's important enough to mention. Maybe they think it's not important enough to US, for them to mention. It may slip their mind, or they may assume we just don't operate that way. Getting out there to shelf read, or reshelf books, or to weed gives an opportunity for insightful conversation, and off-handed gems of knowledge. It lets us develop real relationships with customers, instead of just an information exchange transaction at the reference desk.
It makes us look friendlier, it may even make us BE friendlier, since we know our patrons are keeping an eye on us all the time. We may develop real friendships. Shy or reluctant patrons may grow in confidence that we're here for them, and we're not a hurdle to get past.
Plain and simple, people need a reason to come back. We need to show them why we're of value, and help them feel welcome and important to us. Making ourselves more visible and more approachable is a terrific first step. Seeing how patrons behave with our space and our collections "in the wild," is invaluable because it helps us calculate future improvements. At the end of the day, good mojo begets good mojo--patrons who feel cared for both in the type of materials and the type of services we provide will come back, and tell others. And that's just good advocacy.
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