Just a question
At the information desk, patrons often interrupt when I'm helping another patron, saying, "excuse me-- I just have a question."
When you're in a store and can't find anyone to help, sometimes you can cut the line of people waiting at the check-out line if you just need to know where the bathroom is, or what time the store closes, or something quick-- just a question. And even then, the people in line usually give you nasty looks.
But in a library, at the reference desk, this is all we do, is answer questions. I could understand if they were cutting the line just to ask a directional question, like where the bathroom is, but often they're cutting the line to ask for help with their homework or for help finding a book.
So, now that information (answers) can be bought and sold like a commodity (answers.google.com and others...) , how do we value what answers are worth? Some patrons think "just a question" isn't even worth waiting on line for, and other people will pay for answers on google.