where the flower of knowledge is blooming… much is needed!
Librarians have masters degrees. Most people don’t realize that the people who check your books out to you at the circ desk probably aren’t actual librarians.
That’s weird. I’ve had librarians reccomend me books by the same author, or say, ‘Oh, I love her too-she’s my favorite author!’ or whatever. One knew I loved to read V. C. Andrews books back when I was in high school and always made sure to let me know when a new one was coming in.
Depends on what materials you’re talking about. If it’s like the situation you mention Guin, then it’s perfectly acceptable. OTOH, the student I had doing research on “erotic body suspension,” I helped her to the best of my ability, but I damn sure didn’t make any comments.
I guess 'cause the research I do is primarily historical, a “Good luck!” (which I get from time to time from librarians and archivists) isn’t a bad thing.
I like the alternative I also hear, and which I use myself: “Good hunting.”
I wish they would enforce something like that when it comes to supermarket check-out people. 
Oh well, yeah, that makes sense. The author in question was Mercedes Lackey.
I went to library school from 1988 to 1990, and I never heard anything like this. Although I’m sorry to say I interned at the central reference desk of a certain major American urban public library, and there seemed to be an unwritten rule that reference librarians cop an attitude with the library users and while answering their questions basically act snotty toward them. I never fit in there because I like to be nice and friendly and chat with people who were interesting if it wasn’t busy. I remember the head of reference giving me dirty looks every time I spoke to a user in a friendly way. :wally
I don’t remember the specific phrase “good luck” ever coming up in my library career, but I didn’t do much reference, mostly cataloging and specials.
Once an old man asked me to find a book written by a World War II in the Pacific doctor that mentioned him favorably. He had been the doctor’s commander on Iwo Jima. He didn’t know the author or title. It took me about 2 minutes to locate the title in Bowker’s Books in Print, then another 10 seconds to get its location in our local holdings, and soon sent him happily on his way to find the book, Doctor on Iwo.
That was the happiest moment in my library career, one of the times when I felt like I did some good. These are the things that last a lifetime after one has left the career. It happened because I was nice to a veteran.
As a few of the posts above indicate, the reasons appear to be some hypersensitivity to what someone MIGHT think or feel upon hearing such a comment. When the libraries begin to insist their employess modify their common courtesies in deference to such concerns, we’ve lost another battle for reason. In my opinion, our country has, in many places, gone overboard with the sentiment of “What if someone found xyz offensive?” There’s nothing wrong with being considerate of another’s sensibilities, but when well-meaning support is suppressed because SOMEone might take offense, well, jeez. Can’t someone use just a tiny bit of common sense?
I’m not going to argue that hypersensitive deference to avoid hypothetical incidents is in general a good thing.
But I will say that in my case, I believe the rule (and one or two others like it) was implemented in response to an actual incident (or incidents) in which an offended patron raised holy hell with the library director. That’s not the sort of thing a library wants happening when it’s facing staff cutbacks if an upcoming levy issue fails, which we were, on a virtually continuous basis.
Merde does mean “good luck”, not “get lost” or anything like that. Of course you wouldn’t say it to Chirac. Only to a peer.
I occasionally wish patrons good luck, depending on the circumstances of their information search, their attitude, etc. I guess I usually wish them luck when I’ve exhausted my own resources and have to refer them on to another source (e.g. a larger, more well-stocked library, a different organzation, etc).
I was taught that we are supposed to end our reference interviews with the rather stuffy “Does this competely answer your question?” but I usually substitute more natural-feeling things like, “Is there anything else I can help you find?”