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The purpose of the paper is to explore the research on the personality trait of customer orientation (CO) and consider how it may be applicable to customer service work in libraries.

The paper reviews business research literature on CO and relates it to library science literature on customer service.

CO is a measurable personality trait that is shown to predict customer service behaviors in service employees. Research also shows that CO is associated with customers’ perceptions of service quality.

Libraries should prioritize CO in their hiring, training and recognition processes.

CO is a well-researched personality trait in the business literature. The original contribution of this paper is to report the research on customer orientation, relate it to similar concepts in librarianship and suggest ways libraries can integrate an awareness of CO in their human resources processes.

Using I Am Different!: Can You Find Me? allows students to explore multiple languages and cultures as they peruse the text to find similarities and differences in the illustrations and languages presented. This lesson introduces various cultural concepts while concentrating on linguistic differences, allowing students to think critically as they examine their own language, as well as others. Students create a class video after they explore the content of the trade book and related resources and teach their classmates about different languages. Students will expand their learning and apply critical thinking as they note similarities and differences in many ways, including the differences in the languages discussed within the text.

Medical errors in obstetric departments are commonly reported and may involve both mother and neonate. The complexity of obstetric care, the interactions between various disciplines, and the inherent limitations of human performance make it critically important for these departments to provide patient-safe and friendly working environments that are open to learning and participative safety. Obstetric care involves stressful work, and health care professionals are prone to develop burnout, this being associated with unsafe practices and lower probability for reporting safety concerns. This study aims to test the mediating role of burnout in the relationship of patient-safe and friendly working environment with unsafe performance. The full population of professionals working in an obstetrics department in Malta was invited to participate in a cross-sectional study, with 73.6% (n = 184) of its members responding. The research tool was adapted from the Sexton et al.’s Safety Attitudes Questionnaire – Labor and Delivery version and surveyed participants on their working environment, burnout, and perceived unsafe performance. Analysis was done using Structural Equation Modeling. Results supported the relationship between the lack of a perceived patient-safe and friendly working environment and unsafe performance that is mediated by burnout. Creating a working environment that ensures patient safety practices, that allows communication, and is open to learning may protect employees from burnout. In so doing, they are more likely to perceive that they are practicing safely. This study contributes to patient safety literature by relating working environment, burnout, and perceived unsafe practice with the intention of raising awareness of health managers’ roles in ensuring optimal clinical working environment for health care employees.