Kid: Do you have any chapter books about unicorns?
Confused old man: You called and you said my movies had come in. Where are they?
Phone call: I heard an author is going to come out and talk about her book. Do you have the book?
A regular: Do you ladies have today's newspaper?
Volunteer running a kid's program in the program room: Can we borrow the blocks from the children's area? The kids are demanding them.
A million different patrons: Can you look up my library card number so I can get on the computer?
Patron using a garbage bag as an emergency poncho: Somebody told me, and I understand this might not be true, that I can get copies of something from my email here at the library. Can I do that, and if so how do I go about it?
Excited patron from nearby senior living place: Are you the one who came to my house!?
Chatty guy who always wants to tell me about his religious experiences: So, the boss is on vacation. Are you the boss now?
Grandma: When is your storytime? By the way, I am also a children's book author. I'll leave this copy of my book for you to look at while we are in the library.
Same grandma, to kid after kid has thrown a block and narrowly missed her head: If you were to say sorry to me, I might just be able to find it in my heart to forgive you.
Random kids: When are there going to be Legos at the library again?
Family of patrons who are a constant irritant to the staff: We definitely returned the Curious George movie you're saying we have checked out.
Youngest kid from that family is trying to climb right up on top of the reference desk. I stop him but I know as soon as I turn away he's just going to start again.
Confused teenager: Can I register to vote here?
Fun regular: Can you please request the movies Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man for me? My wife and I watched the Avengers and she never watches movies, and she wants to know who all the people in it are.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
Friday, October 5, 2018
Too much excitement
It's been a big week for me and for Mystery Library. I haven't been writing about it because it makes for boring blog material, but recently I applied to be a branch manager at a sister branch of Mystery Library and I just found out that I got the job (hooray!). I'm looking forward to it but it's going to be a crazy transition because Mystery Library is still understaffed and my boss is taking a long-planned international vacation (I don't resent her for this at all, it's extremely well-earned, just rough timing).
I won't be moving to my new branch--which I'm going to call Walnut Bluff because it has one of those comically nature-y names for an urban area--for a few weeks, but I was asked to come in for the 8 AM monthly meeting of all the branch managers to see what it is like on the morning that I normally work the evening shift, so I got to work an 11-hour day yesterday, which was exhausting but went by surprisingly quickly.
The most dramatic thing that happened was that I made my first ever 911 call in my capacity as library staff member! Fortunately for me I didn't have to make a judgment call about if it was the right thing to do. A patron came to the desk and said "I think I'm having a heart attack. Could you call for medical assistance!?" The paramedics came really quickly so I am optimistic that the patron will be okay--he was still conscious, standing, and breathing when they took him off to the hospital. It's weird to think I may never know!
Here's what was also weird:
I was convinced by TV that the first thing the 911 operator would say would be "911, what is the nature of your emergency?" but instead she said "911, what is the address of your emergency?" Fortunately I was only taken aback for about a half second. I've always worried that I'd freeze in a emergency, so this was a relief.
A group of kids who were too young to know what was going on kept trying to talk to me while I was on the phone and it took their adult ages to catch on and shush them.
My coworker who was on the desk with me is very new, so she is still concentrating hard on all her tasks, so she didn't even notice that I was on the phone with emergency services until I said "I am on the phone with 911. I need to go out and meet the paramedics so I need you to take this phone call." She was a good hiring choice, though--she picked it right up.
Our first aid kit has Tylenol and Advil in it, but no Aspirin.
I won't be moving to my new branch--which I'm going to call Walnut Bluff because it has one of those comically nature-y names for an urban area--for a few weeks, but I was asked to come in for the 8 AM monthly meeting of all the branch managers to see what it is like on the morning that I normally work the evening shift, so I got to work an 11-hour day yesterday, which was exhausting but went by surprisingly quickly.
The most dramatic thing that happened was that I made my first ever 911 call in my capacity as library staff member! Fortunately for me I didn't have to make a judgment call about if it was the right thing to do. A patron came to the desk and said "I think I'm having a heart attack. Could you call for medical assistance!?" The paramedics came really quickly so I am optimistic that the patron will be okay--he was still conscious, standing, and breathing when they took him off to the hospital. It's weird to think I may never know!
Here's what was also weird:
I was convinced by TV that the first thing the 911 operator would say would be "911, what is the nature of your emergency?" but instead she said "911, what is the address of your emergency?" Fortunately I was only taken aback for about a half second. I've always worried that I'd freeze in a emergency, so this was a relief.
A group of kids who were too young to know what was going on kept trying to talk to me while I was on the phone and it took their adult ages to catch on and shush them.
My coworker who was on the desk with me is very new, so she is still concentrating hard on all her tasks, so she didn't even notice that I was on the phone with emergency services until I said "I am on the phone with 911. I need to go out and meet the paramedics so I need you to take this phone call." She was a good hiring choice, though--she picked it right up.
Our first aid kit has Tylenol and Advil in it, but no Aspirin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)