tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2950724630418382322024-03-16T13:19:13.718-05:00Don't Mess with TX-LISA Library and Information Science Blog from a Texas Public LibraryEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.comBlogger672125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-20322364957433256272024-03-16T13:18:00.004-05:002024-03-16T13:18:32.472-05:00Old Woman Fan Club<p><br /></p><div style="color: black; font-family: Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">
Like many libraries, our Friends of the Library group sells books at our
locations as a fundraiser. We don't have lock boxes, so we take the
payments for the books at our front desk and lock them in a desk drawer. An advantage of this is that we can make change for patrons if needed.<br /></div>
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Nice old lady: I'm sorry to do this to you, but if I want to by a $1.00 book, can you break a $20?</div>
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Me: I totally understand, no worries. Let me check...Do you mind taking a $2.00 bill?</div>
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Lady: Not at all. I think it will be worth something someday...[pause]...I think it will be worth two dollars.</div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-67430144343919015842024-02-24T12:05:00.006-06:002024-02-24T12:05:53.874-06:00Quick reference shift<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> A man asks: Does your sister work here? </span></span></div>
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Me: No, I think I just have one of those faces. People are always asking me if I go to their same church and stuff.</div>
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Man: Seriously!? Me too, actually! Three times already this morning I've
had people ask if they know me from somewhere. I'm 51, so I don't think
I went to school with you, sir...</div>
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I told him I was excited to meet another person like me.</div>
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Later as I was passing the area where he was sitting, he held out his fist for a fist bump.</div>
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A kid asks me for help figuring out 15x12 (I show him a trick my dad
taught me, that 15x12 is the same as 10x12 and 5x12 added together).</div>
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Same kid, later:</div>
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Hi...[grabs a piece of scrap paper]...bye!</div>
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I have to tell about 50 disappointed families that tonight's storytime
is cancelled (our usual presenter and our backup are BOTH out sick, and I
could do it, but only if we wanted to just leave the reference desk
unstaffed all night). They are all so nice about
it and I can't tell if that's better or worse than people being crabby.</div>
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A break up a study-room-related incident that has escalated to one
patron threatening to sue the other for assault (don't worry, no one was
actually hurt).</div><div class="yj6qo"></div><div class="adL">
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</div><div class="hi"></div><div class="WhmR8e" data-hash="0"></div><div class="ajx"></div><div class="gA gt acV"><div class="gB xu"><div class="ip iq"><div id=":12l"><table class="cf wS" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="amq"><img class="ajn bofPge" data-hovercard-id="erumstead@gmail.com" id=":mx_2" name=":mx" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocJg8P1D1DZ6SrwmVBepzx2F91Rn8kPY8rNKO7YEJlvN=s40-p-mo" /></td><td class="amr"><div class="nr wR"><div class="amn"></div></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div><span data-is-tooltip-wrapper="true"></span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-2569136106653013532023-12-17T16:40:00.000-06:002023-12-17T16:40:27.329-06:00Why the library's electric bills are so high<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">1. Back corners of the stacks must be brightly-lit for safety</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">2. As long as the elevator exists, no one uses the stairs</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">3. Scanners. SO many scanners.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">4. No matter how many times I ask them to, staff never turn off the front desk computers at night</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">5. The patron who comes in with <i>his own power strip</i> and charges two phones, a tablet, a laptop, and a mysterious device I have yet to identify.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-45933911059179784612023-12-15T16:56:00.002-06:002023-12-15T16:56:23.081-06:00Oh no<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am doing a pet project of cleaning up old notes on patron records when I have downtime on the reference desk. As far as I can tell, I seem to be undoing the life's work of one of Those Old School Library Workers who felt that all things should be noted in the patron's account, period. Today I deleted someone's <i>social security number </i>from the notes field of their patron record.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SMH.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-25412141748232195582023-11-07T11:17:00.002-06:002023-11-07T11:17:00.153-06:00Grandson/grandma<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Today an elderly lady who was hard of hearing came in with her grandson, who I'd guess was in his mid-20s. I'd ask the lady questions in a loud speaking voice, and she'd say "What's that?" and then her grandson would repeat whatever I said by shouting it 18 inches from her ear: "SHE SAYS THERE'S A SCANNER IN THE COMPUTER LAB!"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Fortunately, none of the other patrons complained.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-76169650383049679812023-11-03T17:08:00.006-05:002023-11-03T17:08:59.000-05:004 branches, 3 (not 4) sets of etiquette<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The library system where I work has four locations. Here is how changing of the desk shifts "on the hour" works at each one:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Location #1: If you're not arriving to relieve your colleague 5 minutes before the hour, you're late.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Location #2: You arrive on the hour, on the dot, period.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Location #3: You wander in around 5 minutes past the hour. Sometimes the person on desk has to call their replacement to remind them to come out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Location #4: Half the staff thinks the cultural standard is the same as location #1 and half the staff thinks it's the same as location #3, and they hate each other. You cannot win. If you try the location #2 approach, BOTH groups hate it.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-41518343462301944002023-10-11T10:20:00.001-05:002023-10-11T10:20:00.147-05:00'Technology' Librarian<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I know that I am easier to reach than the IT department is, but please be advised that the things below are not my job just because I am the Technology Librarian:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Resetting your work computer password</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Finding you a spare extension cord</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Helping you with your personal cell phone</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Figuring out why your webcam won't work <i>three years </i>into the era of virtual meetings</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Replacing a clock</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Explaining to a patron why the website they want to go to is blocked just because you don't feel like breaking the bad news yourself</span></li></ul><p></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-73131896358408766192023-10-09T17:46:00.000-05:002023-10-09T17:46:00.140-05:00Antisocial behavior<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Our main library is two stories and has an open staircase between the floors. Overheard around closing time just out of line of sight:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Parent: Don't do that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Kid: Whyyy?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Parent: Because that's antisocial behavior....[pause]...would you want someone to drop a taco on YOUR head?</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-82184811085188242692023-10-08T14:17:00.001-05:002023-10-08T14:17:37.057-05:00Still gross<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> When I started this blog more than 10 years ago, I was in my early 20s and got harassed by creepy patrons ALL THE TIME. It has its own tag in the blog.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now that I spend less time on desk and I'm in my 30s, it's been literal years since it's happened to me. But today I was filling in at a branch and doing a 'roam' around the public floor and a very Anglo-looking patron said "Hola" to me. Being polite, I said it back, but when he followed up with "¿Como está</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">s?" after I'd already passed him, I pretended I didn't hear and just kept walking. I was not at all surprised when he said "damn, that ass!" as I was not quite out of earshot.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The sexual harassment is much less nerve-wracking than it was when I was young, but it was still exactly as gross.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-77268209060107207812023-08-22T11:00:00.001-05:002023-08-22T11:00:00.155-05:00Dog #3 (I think)<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Today I caught a pug that wandered into the library and released him back into the neighborhood. I THINK this is dog #3 that I have captured and removed from a library, but I'm not even 100% sure, which I feel says a lot.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-51240055324259549962023-08-20T15:37:00.002-05:002023-08-20T15:37:33.637-05:00Characters<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Now that I mainly work at the administrative office, I fill in randomly at all four branches in our library system. The one I've been spending time at lately has more characters than the others. It reminds me a little bit of Downtown Library in Michigan.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A patron <i>cried </i>because a different patron (4 computers away from her) was banging too enthusiastically on her keyboard while she played her online poker game.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There's another mid-30s white woman with shoulder-length light brown hair and rectangular glasses who works at this branch. People are constantly getting annoyed at me because "you helped me yesterday, how do you not know what I want!?" when Stephanie helped them yesterday, not me. I finally benefit from this inability to tell us apart when a clear Problem Patron refuses to ask me for help and chooses my unfortunate coworker to be her victim instead--it becomes clear that Stephanie enforced a library rule with her previously and now the patron refuses to engage with her (or, apparently, with anyone who looks like her).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A patron asked me to look up how far it was to Houston. He was going to walk there and wanted an estimate of how long it would take (about 85 hours).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And today, a patron told me he was "as fine as the hair on a frog" and then laughed to himself for several minutes.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-57445059383851611112023-06-13T09:30:00.001-05:002023-06-13T09:30:00.137-05:00Kid(Librarian)s today<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One of our library locations, which I'm going to call Airport Branch due it being in a flight path which drives me crazy every time I work a shift there, is getting a 'digitizing lab.' It has machines for converting VHS tapes to DVDs, for making MP3s from cassette tapes, etc. It's supposed to go along with our local history and genealogy collection. It's a cool idea.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Since I'm the technology librarian for our system, I'm helping the newly-hired Adult Services librarian at the branch get the lab set up. One of the challenges we've been having with getting the lab ready is finding materials that staff can practice with--since I'm 35, I don't have a collection of home movies or much in the way of film negatives for us to play with. So I've been looking around at used bookstores, antique shops, etc. and grabbing any good examples I come across.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Recently I went to an antique store and found some <a href="https://southtree.com/blogs/artifact/types-of-photo-slides">SLIDES</a>. I was so excited! I sent them over to my colleague at Airport Branch. It's worth mentioning at this point that this librarian </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">JUST got her MLS and this is her third library job and first professional position. She's appallingly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I don't know how old she is but basically all I do is crush her dreams. She wrote back to me:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"Thank you for the tiny pieces of film!"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This is as bad as <a href="https://tx-lis.blogspot.com/2022/10/my-age-is-transparent.html">when I found the old overhead projector transparencies</a>. </span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-73357302588245387592023-06-10T13:38:00.005-05:002023-08-20T15:38:17.531-05:00Language barriers, part 2,000<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I helped a very nice lady sign up for a library card today in Spanish. The more practice I get, the sillier the gaps in my vocabulary seem.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me (in near-fluent Spanish): "Your card will work at all four library locations. If there is something you're interested in that we don't have here but that one of the other locations does, we can have it sent over here for you. Here's your card, there are two copies, one for your keychain and one for your, uh, um...your...[gestures helplessly]."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I only just realized I don't know the word for "wallet." Google tells me it's "billetera." Huh.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-86587626703615221862023-06-06T17:26:00.001-05:002023-06-10T13:59:52.336-05:00Librarian low points (part 2)<p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Seeing one of your problem patrons push his way in just as the library is closing (contributed by an anonymous commenter)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Keeping an ugly, outdated book in your collection area because it's the only one you have.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Using painstaking, by-hand labor to do something that should be done by printing technology that your library system is too cheap to pay for (coloring in a black-and-white printout, taping together multiple sheets of paper to make a poster, etc.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The first time someone says "You're a librarian? It must be so nice to get paid just to read books!" and you don't even bother to explain, you just say "Uh huh."</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Labeling an office supply with your own name. You're one of Them now.</span></li></ul><p></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-4446914577964670602023-05-05T17:23:00.002-05:002023-05-05T17:23:27.189-05:00Jargon<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Did I mention that my latest job is as the technology librarian for the system, and that I'm one of the system administrators for our integrated library system? </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Somehow despite getting a </span><a href="http://tx-lis.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-was-history-major-in-college.html" style="font-family: helvetica;">degree</a><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> in </span><a href="http://tx-lis.blogspot.com/2017/07/i-misjudge.html" style="font-family: helvetica;">history</a><span style="font-family: helvetica;">, I had to learn these terms today:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">API=Application Programming Interface: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">URI=Unique Resource Identifier (not the same as a URL): https://danielmiessler.com/study/difference-between-uri-url/</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Bonus: </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When I did an initial Google search for "what is an API" Google suggested "What is an API in simple terms" which I think tells you everything you need to know about how my day has been.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-85448247655080068432023-04-27T17:18:00.001-05:002023-04-27T17:18:28.748-05:00Librarian low points (part 1)<p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Checking out a book just so you don't have to figure out how to reshelve it in a very full set of shelves.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Bringing in your own bathroom soap from home</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Receiving your third pair of literary-themed socks</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Walking by that patron that is always taking their shoes off/sitting in the aisle/talking too loudly on the phone and, for once, just pretending to yourself that you didn't see them</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Having the dream where it's your evening shift and you can't go home until you get all the patrons to leave for the night, but more and more of them just keep coming in</span></li></ul><p></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-60429454761638100922023-04-16T14:58:00.000-05:002023-04-16T14:58:37.432-05:00Working a shift at a branch today<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Where is the little people's area? [Kids, not adults who are very short]</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I want to get my GED. Can the library help me?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A toddler is crying loudly while I check out her mom's books. In an attempt to help, I make a funny face at her when she makes eye contact with me. She reacts by turning up the crying to a full meltdown.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another patron who wants to get on a computer without a library card and, when told the policy, wants us to break it for him, but <a href="http://tx-lis.blogspot.com/2023/03/i-want-it-i-just-dont-want-to-tell-you.html">won't SAY that that's what he wants</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Can you get a book out of storage for us? Swiss Family Robinson? Oh wait, I mean an audiobook.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Can I do community service at the library? [The answer depends on if they mean the court-ordered kind or not.]</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This computer won't play any sound even though I have my headphones plugged in.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Where do you keep the books on request?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There is a glass wall between the children's section and the adult section at this branch. Library assistant at the reference desk calls down to the checkout desk to tell me that a man has walked full-speed into it and gotten a bloody nose--"Just a heads up, I gave him an ice pack and some paper towels and I think he's going to be fine, but I'm going to submit an incident report."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Mom is signing her six kids up for library cards and has to fill out a consent form that is thoughtfully streamlined so that parents of more than one child don't have to sign multiple forms, they just have to add a line with each child's name and date of birth. But still she asks "Do I have to write down ALL of them?"</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Do you have a copier?<br />Me: Yes. Well, we have a scanner, you need to scan to print.<br />Patron: I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A librarian from another branch called--a patron had an interlibrary loan sent to you, but he changed his mind about where he wants to pick it up. Can you send it over here instead?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Homeless regular: Hi Miss...Sarah?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Pretty close, pretty close.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I lost my library card. Is there any way I can still check out books?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Two different patrons ask me how many books they can have checked out on heir library card (50 at a time)--one is horrified by how much that is, one is concerned it won't be enough.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-1714774784195119802023-03-11T15:00:00.004-06:002023-03-11T15:00:42.426-06:00Shoe saws<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> A patron comes up to the front desk: Hi, do you have a lost and found?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: Yes, we do. What are you missing?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Some shoe saws.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Could you repeat that?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Some SHOE SAWS.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me [trying and failing to Google what I think I'm hearing]: ... All right, can you describe them?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron [mumble mumble] gray [mumble mumble] Watson logo.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: I'll go check for you. While I do that, would you like to write down your name, number, and what you lost? That way if it's not in the lost and found but we find it later, we can call you.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Unsurprisingly, I don't find anything matching the patron's description in the lost and found. When I come back, he's written down his name and phone number, but no description. Darn. When I tell him that unfortunately I couldn't find his items, he wanders forlornly away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A couple hours later, the phone rings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: Checkout desk, this is Emma, how can I help you?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Librarian at the ref desk: Hey Emma. Do you remember the incident report from last week about the guy who tried to convince the janitorial staff to let him go on the roof?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: Yeah...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Librarian: That guy you just checked the lost and found for, that was the guy! Did you get his information?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I wonder if the roof is where is shoe saws are.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-84455706397190721662023-03-02T17:46:00.002-06:002023-03-02T17:46:34.787-06:00I want it, I just don't want to tell you I want it<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Our library doesn't allow you to get on a computer unless you have a library card, and we charge a fee for nonresidents. This isn't so much directed at nonresidents as it is residents who owe the library money--turns out if you block someone's computer access all of a sudden they are a lot more likely to bring back their overdue books. I don't love the policy, but I see the logic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My pet peeve of patrons complaining about rules is the ones who won't outright ASK you for an exception, but instead are weirdly passive-aggressive about it. I had this conversation with a patron today:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Hi, I need to get on a computer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: Sure, do you have a library card?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: No.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: That's all right. Do you live here in [City]?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: I used to live in [nearby City], but I don't live there anymore.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: I'm sorry, but unfortunately we charge a nonresident fee for a library card. I can give you a computer-access only card for $10.00 for a year, or a full-access card for $40.00.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: I've never heard of that before. The library in [nearby City] used to give you a guest pass.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: It's really more for our own residents. We found that blocking people's computer access when they have overdue materials helps us get the materials back. Lots of us don't really like the policy, but we would need the approval of our city council to change it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: I went to [Other Library] yesterday and they didn't charge me to use the computer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: I have a library card for [random other city].</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: I'm sorry, you would need one of our cards to get on a computer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: So if you would like to sign up for a library card, I will just need to see your ID.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: ...Never mind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you're not even willing to use the words "Can you please make an exception for me," I'm not willing to make an exception for you. At least meet me that 10% or so of the way. I mean, come on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-4975751324336003612023-01-05T13:07:00.001-06:002023-01-05T13:07:00.171-06:00I love patrons who are funny to themselves<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Earlier this week I was called out to the reference desk because there was a patron requesting a very specific book and he was getting frustrated that the library assistant on desk couldn't find it. I eventually helped him ID it once I understood that it was a</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> niche geneology title. Let's say for the sake of argument it was "The </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px;">Schmidts of Oklahoma." We did not own it, of course, so I worked with him to place an interlibrary loan request for it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Me: "And do you have your library card with you, sir?"</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Patron: "No, I'm afraid I don't."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Me: "No problem. We can look it up by your name."<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Patron: "Paul Schmidt."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Me: "Well, I guess I should have guessed that, huh? Although I suppose the book could be about your mother's family."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Patron: "She recently told me they were all known criminals back in England. [pause] Not the Schmidts, though, the Schmidts have a pure record [laugh]."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-87443084175509646282022-12-31T15:13:00.001-06:002022-12-31T15:13:12.558-06:00Odd man, odd observations<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Today a patron carrying four phones on some kind of rig, all of which were playing Pokemon Go, came in to the library and checked out some DVDs. He said to his friend as I was checking his items out, "Twenty years ago this library had a lot more books. Now it's mostly DVDs."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I tried to tell him that the second floor is <i>all </i>books, but he didn't seem to think that that was relevant.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Also, this particular library building didn't exist twenty years ago.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-73220332362503049202022-11-29T20:01:00.001-06:002022-11-29T20:01:05.838-06:00Things patrons brought to the library with them today<p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> A full-size bottle of ketchup</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A bottle of A1 steak sauce (seemingly unrelated!)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Their own space heater</span></li></ul><p></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-43017336495794662602022-11-22T11:10:00.000-06:002022-11-22T11:10:00.166-06:00Mrs. Claus<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A woman walked up to me on the checkout desk and said," I'm looking for Santa. Did he leave?" I froze for a second and then offered "I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone matching that description."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As soon as the patron walked away, my coworker and I argued heatedly over whether the woman was 1) Talking about a friend/family member who resembled common depictions of Santa Claus, 2) Attempting to joke with us, or 3) dead serious.</span></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-67449337014985259282022-11-19T14:32:00.001-06:002022-11-19T14:32:05.039-06:00Study room demands<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> All four branches of New Library have 4 study rooms each. Patrons love them and I hate them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> During a single hour on desk earlier this week:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron #1: Do you have a study area?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: Yes, sir. We have two study rooms available right now that you can check out with your library card, or we also have two different quiet rooms, one behind me to the left here and one over by the magazines.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron #1: Is that all?</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As I said, patrons love our study rooms. For the other incident, it's important to know that how we handle the high demand is that each user gets two hours of guaranteed time. After that, they can stay as long as no one else asks for a room. If someone does, whoever has been there longest is asked to leave. We keep a little laminated card with a barcode on it for each room, and write down the end of the two hours on the card so that if all the rooms are full, we can see at a glance who we need to ask to wind down. It's also worth mentioning that the study rooms are basically identical.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron #2: Is there a study room?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: Right now we have 3 and 4 available, sir. Do you have a preference?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Doesn't that card say room 1 will be free in 10 minutes?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: Well, sir, everyone gets two hours guaranteed in the room, but then they can stay past that as long as no one else is waiting for a room. This just shows when they will hit their two hours, they won't necessarily be done at that time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: But I'M waiting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: We have rooms 3 and 4 available right now, so you don't have to wait.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: But I want room 1.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not going to ask people to leave when there are other rooms open.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Me: ...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Fine, I'll take room 3.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As my friend who used to manage this branch used to say: I'm sorry there's not enough PRIVATE space at this PUBLIC library for you.</span></p><p><br /></p>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-74568441511529115302022-10-30T15:51:00.000-05:002022-10-30T15:51:39.705-05:00Sunday refgrunt<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Cool patron: "I'm trying to convince my friend that she should sign up for a library card."</span><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Fun coworker: "You HAVE to have a library card! It saves you so much money! Also, look how cool our designs are."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron's friend: "Those ARE cool designs. I'm sold."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you have study rooms?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A man returns a pile of DVDs with titles that all start with the letter J. "Can you please check these in so I can get some more?" 10 minutes later he comes back with a pile of DVDs that start with the letter K.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We have a bucket of Halloween candy out and it's funny watching patrons interact with it. Adults asking "Can I have one!?" are particularly amusing to me."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My poor coworker is getting all the eccentric patrons today.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Can I sign up for a library card?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Coworker: Sure, do you live in Our City?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Yep, I was born here! I was born at Methodist Hospital.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Coworker: That's nice...may I please see your ID?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron: Where you YOU born?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Caller: Can you help me place some items on hold?...'Long Bright River' by Liz Moray. Let me spell the author's name for you: M-O-O-R-E."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How do I print, 2x.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Where are the books on architecture? Coworker starts to look it up and I say "720s." I used to order the 700s, I have all those classes memorized. Patron: "Thanks, I am remodeling a Greek Revival home."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Can I borrow a pen?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I have a card from [library in another state]. Is there any reason I should get a card with you?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Is there a way I can pause my computer time while I go to the bathroom?...I don't want to take my backpack with me, can't you just watch it?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Can I pay for my printouts here?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A man is filling out the permission form for his kid to get a card and keeps asking my coworker if he has to fill out the fields. "Do you want me to put the date?" "Do I need to put my driver's license number?" "What is a 'suffix'?" No sir, we just added all those lines for our own amusement. Just leave the form blank. What the heck!?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At every library where I've ever worked, people have thought we've sold office supplies. Why?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Patron to coworker: You have such a nice, smiling face! And your skin is PERFECT!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Put in a service request--the building is mysteriously hot.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2