I want it, I just don't want to tell you I want it

 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.

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:

Patron: Hi, I need to get on a computer.

Me: Sure, do you have a library card?

Patron: No.

Me: That's all right. Do you live here in [City]?

Patron: I used to live in [nearby City], but I don't live there anymore.

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.

Patron: I've never heard of that before. The library in [nearby City] used to give you a guest pass.

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.

Patron: I went to [Other Library] yesterday and they didn't charge me to use the computer.

Me: ...

Patron: I have a library card for [random other city].

Me: I'm sorry, you would need one of our cards to get on a computer.

Patron: ...

Me: So if you would like to sign up for a library card, I will just need to see your ID.

Patron: ...Never mind.

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.

Study room demands

 All four branches of New Library have 4 study rooms each. Patrons love them and I hate them. 

 During a single hour on desk earlier this week:

Patron #1: Do you have a study area?

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.

Patron #1: Is that all?

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.

Patron #2: Is there a study room?

Me: Right now we have 3 and 4 available, sir. Do you have a preference?

Patron: Doesn't that card say room 1 will be free in 10 minutes?

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.

Patron: But I'M waiting.

Me: We have rooms 3 and 4 available right now, so you don't have to wait.

Patron: But I want room 1.

Me: I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not going to ask people to leave when there are other rooms open.

Patron: You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?

Me: ...

Patron: Fine, I'll take room 3.

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.

Reinventing the wheel(ed rules)

Here's an interesting manager issue I had lately:

We have a lot of people who are homeless who use our library and some of them take their stuff around the neighborhood in stolen shopping carts. We have a problem with people leaving their carts right by the front door so that they are in line of sight from inside the building. I get why people want to do that, but it blocks the front doors, and there's a risk of them running into the parking lot RIGHT by where our book drop is and colliding with someone's car. For this story, it's also important to note that our library has a handful of bike locks that we lend to patrons so they can lock their bikes to our bike rack outside if they don't have their own lock.

Me in a staff meeting yesterday: Anyone noticing any patterns of issues with the building?
Same coworker who wanted to know if I wanted to see 'something related to the building which will make you feel stressed and discouraged': I've noticed a lot of people leaving shopping carts by the front door lately.
Me: Yeah, that's a problem. Please keep moving them out of the way.
Coworker: But where should we put them?
Me: I guess by the bike rack? Since that's where we have people put bikes and scooters and anything else with wheels?
Coworker: People don't like putting their bikes there because they can't see it from inside. I bet the same think will happen with the shopping carts...if someone asks me for a bike lock to lock their shopping cart to the bike rack, what should I say?
Me: Give it to them.
Coworker: But those carts are technically stolen, right? That's illegal!
Me: [Coworker], pick your battles.

Labor Day weekend patrons

A patron with a stack of DVDs to return: Oh, I thought y'all would be closed today...since you're not, can I get more movies?

 Mom and toddler approach the desk. Mom to toddler: go on, ask her.
Toddler: I need to do some work on the computer. Can you please help me?
Mom (quietly): He wants you to put in the password so he can play on the little kid's computer.
Me: Of course! Let me come around and put in the password for you.
Mom and toddler, one more seriously than the other: Thank you!

The phone rings during this exchange and I hear my coworker having half of a looooong conversation: "Well, it looks like it would really depend on the kind of condition the coin is in, sir...does it have a year on it?...I'm seeing as little as 24 dollars and as much as about 300...of course you're welcome to bring it in, and we'd be happy to show you the websites I've been looking at, but as far as me looking at the coin, I'm not an expert, I mean, I haven't had any kind of special...no, I'm afraid I won't be in tomorrow, but really you could talk to any of my coworkers, because they will know just as much about coins as I do...all right, sir, I'll see you next week." [big sigh]

Can you help me find a book like this, but in English? 

Can you help me find a book like this, but in Spanish?

Our branch is scheduled for a minor renovation to the entryway of the building, which means temporarily removing the security gates so that the workers can pull up the carpet, etc. It really shouldn't be a big deal, but a couple of people on staff are convinced it's going to be a huge headache. One of them returns from her lunch hour via the public entrance, sees that the security gates are gone, and says darkly "And so it begins!"

Lots of hang up phone calls, which I suspect are people trying to figure out if we are open or not. I can't decide if that's more or less annoying than them asking "Hi, are you open?"

Coworker: Did you already tell those kids they couldn't play with their gliders in the children's area?
Me (braced for frustration and eye rolling): Um...no...actually I told them they had to move over there from the 900s, but that they could play with them in the kid's area if it wasn't bothering anyone else.
Coworker: ...Oh, okay, good, me too.

Food rules

My library, like many public libraries, is a city department, and one of the things that means in this case is that we have to follow a lot of health/safety-related rules in our programs. One of them is that we can only serve pre-packaged food at library programs. That's usually not an issue since we never have money to buy food, so normally we don't serve food at all. However, we have a craft program that is run by a volunteer, who loves to buy food with her own money and bring it in. It's very nice of her, but I am constantly in a battle with her about following the pre-packaged rule and other food ordinances. To be honest I'd probably let it go in other circumstances, but she and the people who attend her program always leave a huge food mess behind, so this is part of my strategy in trying to make bringing food so inconvenient that she will stop and then my staff and I won't have to clean up after the program anymore.

Last week I was wiping down the tables in the program room where her craft program takes place and saw that someone had put a banana in the trash can.  My coworker was in there setting up for the next event and so I rolled my eyes and said "[Coworker], the craft volunteer brought in bananas this week!" Without looking up from what she was doing, my coworker just shrugged and said "Would you say a banana is 'pre-packaged,' at least?"

Honesty not the most effective policy

Patron: I want to make a complaint! She [points at staff member] was extremely rude to me on the phone! I told her that I wanted blah blah blah...then she said blah blah blah...then I screamed at her...
Me: Sorry, what? Did you just say you screamed at her?
Patron: Well, yes, I screamed at her. She upset me!
Me: Sir, you can't talk to the library staff like that. I'm afraid you need to leave the library for today. You can come back tomorrow after you have had a chance to calm down.

Thoughts and worries of a new manager

How did I not predict that the most powerful indicator of which staff would be hard to manage would be having his or her 'personal' book cart?

Is it okay for your staff to hug you if they asked permission first and you said yes? Now are they going to be hurt that you never ask permission to hug them? (I mean, not that you hug them without asking permission, but that you neither hug them nor ask to.)

Is it worse if you accidentally startle your staff member when she thinks she is alone in the building and she goes "Wow, you scared the shit out of me!" or is it worse if your staff member accidentally startles you and you say the same thing? Hypothetically, what if both those things happen in your first six weeks?

What is my power level as far as tamping down on rampant Christmasness? How many years do I have to stay here before I can address it without being 'the mean new manager who hates it when we have fun'?

Should I cover up the political bumper stickers on my very-easy-to-identify car? Is it some kind of discrimination if I don't?

Library administration has reminded us at management meetings multiple times that our Employee Assistance Programs is for managers too, not just staff. Is there something I don't know about that I should be more worried about?

Is it a faux pas not to be a 'friend' of the library, in the Facebook sense and/or nonprofit Friends of the Library sense?

New question

People ask a lot of questions that reveal how little they know about the library, but today was the first time I ever had someone ask if it was okay for them to bring their own book from home to read in the library.

Sorry, but no

More services we don't provide:

• Microwaving your cold fast-food lunch in the break room microwave
• Typing in your social security number for you
• Talking to your caseworker/the housing office/your lawyer on the phone because you can't explain what you need
• Memorizing your library card number so you don't have to get our your card to check things out (knowing your face and your name is already a lot, actually!)
• Reading everything on the computer screen aloud to you because the print is too small for you to read
• Watching your laptop while you go to the bathroom
• Watching your baby while you go to the bathroom

Truants

Me and the Teen librarian, playing Good Cop, Bad Cop with the high school kids hanging out in the library at 11 a.m. on a weekday:

Teen Librarian: See that woman over there? She is in charge of the library today and she says that we should make you leave since you are not supposed to be in the library instead of at school. But I told her that I was sure you would be really quiet and polite, and she said that as long as I was right you guys could stay.

Disobedience

My boss is on vacation and I am taking joy in departing from a few of her policies that I most dislike, #1 being: You can't leave the desk unattended. This means that patrons have to wait for help until your counterpart returns or you can call someone from the back to interrupt whatever they are doing and stand at your computer. In some libraries I think this would be a reasonable rule (we do have the cash drawer here, after all) but in mine, the desk is standing-height and projects out from the staff area, a doorway from which is the only way to enter the behind-the-desk space. The staff area is separated from the public area with a badge-swipe lock. So a patron who wanted to get behind the desk would have to vault over it.

Not that that would never happen, just that it doesn't seem reasonable to base constant policy on a rare event.

What do you revel in doing at your library when your boss/manger/the director is away?

Management update

I now have a suspect for who "Management" is and I was sad to find out he is a regular, the one with the great Christmas sweater. He came to report to me that another regular, who is quite hostile and eccentric, had turned one of the armchairs 90-degrees from its usual position. I appreciate that he cares about the library, but getting that lady to calm down and not move furniture around is a losing battle.


Also in the library today:


An adult who wants Amelia Bedelia books for her own reading pleasure


An adorable little boy with some kind of light-up toy who checks on me every few minutes while I'm shelving in order to show it to me again


A woman who doesn't understand when she is in her Yahoo! email app on her phone versus when she is just on her phone


A teacher from the school down the street who pronounces that every cool library feature I tell her about is "dope"


A guy who waves at me and I come over to see what he needs, and he says "Sorry, just waving hello!"

"Management"

I came back from being gone for a few days to find that someone had put printed signs on every single chair in the library saying something like this:




"Do not move chairs. Do not turn chairs around. Put books where they belong. Library cameras are watching. If you do not follow these rules you will be banned from the library for one week. Thank you, Management."




As you may have guessed, "Management" turned out to be a disgruntled patron, unauthorized and acting alone (as far as we know...).

The lean library

We don't have a color printer. We were recently told to stop giving paper clips to patrons. There is a sign on the bathroom door requesting patrons to conserve resources by not taking rolls of toilet paper with them. The staff members bring in our own hand soap. We don't have any tissues, for patrons or for ourselves. My budget for adult programs is zero dollars per year. My request to buy magnetic label holders for the magazine titles was turned down because they were deemed too expensive.


There's lean and then there's starving.

Things Small Town Library does well

I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago about ways in which libraries could do a better job of living up to their own values and I illustrated some points with examples from Downtown Library and Small Town Library. I don't want you to get the idea that either of those places are bad, or even below average, compared to other libraries, so today I want to tell you about some of the things that make me proud or happy to work at those places. I wrote one about Downtown Library already. Downtown Library was easier because it's part of a big system that, like most big public library systems, tends to conform well to the American Library Association's Code of Ethics. The strengths of libraries like Small Town Library are significant, but ideological purity isn't its strong suit (nor, I suspect, is it the strong suit of most small-town libraries). When you have limited resources and different demands from your community, it doesn't tend to be a priority.


That said, here are some ways in which Small Town Library practices what it preaches:

• Items on the self-serve hold shelf are covered with white paper so that other patrons can't easily see what their neighbors have on hold.
• The library offers study rooms in which patrons can have private conversations, and which library staff could conceivably use for confidential reference interviews (Downtown Library, to my constant annoyance, has cubicle-style study rooms that are roofless and not private at all).
• Privacy screens are offered by default at all public computers for adults.
• The library has held on to Fifty Shades of Grey and similar materials despite patron complaints about the 'inappropriateness' of those titles for a public library.
• Despite an overall chatty atmosphere, staff members very rarely share what a patron was looking for with a coworker unless it's specifically to help meet that patron's needs.
• The library has refused to place rating-based restrictions on what DVDs kids can check out, despite patron requests to do so.

Things Downtown Library does well

I wrote a post last week about ways in which libraries could do a better job of living up to their own values and I illustrated some points with examples from Downtown Library and Small Town Library, the two places where I currently work. I don't want you to get the idea that either of those places are bad, or even below average, compared to other libraries, so today I want to tell you about some of the things that make me proud or happy to work at those places. I'm starting with Downtown Library, since that's where I am today. These aren't the only things I like about Downtown, but they are the ones most related to last week's post.


Privacy:

• Items on hold for people to pick up are shelved spine downward, and are labeled with a code (first three letters of your last name, first three letters of your first name, last four letters of your library card number) instead of your name.
• Our IT department does a really good job scrubbing internet history, created files, etc. between each user's computer sessions.
• Our catalog computers and print stations are set up to time out if they are left untouched for a while so that people who forget to sign out still have their privacy protected, even if on a delay.

Access:

• We have a patron elevator for our two-story building, and a process for taking patrons through the staff areas to use the freight elevator if the patron elevator is broken so that they can still get where they need to go.
• We have library card brochures and applications in four different languages (including English).
• I am pretty confident that all public areas are passable by electric wheelchair (you might think this would be an Americans With Disabilities Act requirement, but actually it isn't).
• We have many members of staff who practice extreme patience with, and have great empathy toward, patrons with intellectual or mental disabilities. It's a pleasure to listen to our circulation staff chat with some of our regulars who have limited capabilities--they not only make them feel welcome, they always make sure to keep them in the loop about any library changes that might affect them.

Copyright thoughtfulness:

• The system of which Downtown Library is a part is the only one where I have ever worked where I have had first-hand evidence of the library paying for stock photos instead of just borrowing photographers' work and using it without compensation to the creator.
• The existence of colorful sign templates that are used system-wide discourages people from pulling any old file off the internet in order to create signage.

My First Book Challenge

There are a lot of things that library school didn't teach me, but one thing they did prepare me for was book challenges, that is, when someone points out an item in the library's collection that they don't feel should be there. Going by how library school treated book challenges, I expected them to happen all the time, not for it to take three years past my degree to get my first one.


Yesterday at Small Town Library a patron came up to the desk and said "I need to talk to someone about this book that I borrowed from another library." Small Town Library is part of a consortium that does interlibrary lending, so this seemed routine. I was ready to direct her to the circulation desk, thinking that she had damaged the book or that it was overdue or that it had arrived for her in bad condition, but then she said "I don't think it is appropriate for children."


It was a picture book called Who Are You?: A Kid's Guide to Gender Identity by Brook Pessin-Whedbee. It's really worth taking a look at the website, which shows the wheel a kid can use to identify their body (sex), identity, and gender expression. It seems like a well-done, thoughtfully presented book and it got positive reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal, which are standard sources that we used to buy books for our own collection. If I were the selector I'd be prepared to go to bat for it.


Fortunately, I didn't have to. The patron understood that it wasn't our library that had bought the book, and just wanted us to give her insight into the process of making a complaint. I explained that libraries generally have a collection development policy that professionals use, along with their trained judgment, to buy books for the library collection, but that they also generally have a process for addressing objections to items in their collection. I told the patron that she could go to the library that owned the book and they would probably ask her to fill out a form that would ask for more information about the book and about her views on it, and that that would start a review process for whether or not they wanted to keep the book in their collection, and either way would allow her to have a conversation with staff about her concerns.


I think I handled it pretty much by the book, but honestly it made me feel kind of slimy. I really wanted to say what poor Other Library's selector is probably eventually going to say: "This is a well-respected book about an important topic and we will be keeping it in our collection. If you are concerned about your own children seeing this book, remember that a child can't get a library card without a parent's permission and that you are more than welcome to monitor what your child looks at in the library and to set your own rules. Also, you're bigoted and I disagree with the grounds of your objection."


Hopefully she won't say that last sentence aloud, only in her head.

Being good advocates

Between the U.S. presidential election in November and Donald Trump's inauguration in January, both of my favorite funny library blogs, Love the Liberry and I Work at a Public Library, have stopped posting. I suspect it's the result of disappointment and frustration on the part of the people who run them. As is probably not a surprise, library workers tend to lean liberal in the first place, and the policies of the current Republican administration are hostile to library values by historical standards.

For example, the White House wants to:

1. Completely eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which is the primary source of federal funding for public libraries.

2. Revise the FCC's pro-net neutrality stance, allowing internet service providers to discriminate among different internet content providers by delivering their product at different speeds.

3. Move the Copyright Office out of the Library of Congress and create a separate agency under the executive branch.

And this doesn't address all of the issues that indirectly affect libraries, library staff, and library patrons such as the proposed travel ban from Muslim countries, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, etc.

Since the election, librarians and other library workers have become open and vocal about their antagonism with the president to an unprecedented degree. People are looking at ways to get involved externally by lobbying Congress, attending protests, etc., but the political climate has also encouraged people to look more critically within their own libraries and see how they could do better at being accessible, inclusive, and open. The latter is what I'm more interested in because I think there is more scope for action. Not that political action on the national stage isn't important, but as far as making immediate changes that are within our power, investing in improving ourselves internally could pay quick and significant dividends.

Specifically, I'd like the places I work to be less vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy than we currently are. If we want to present ourselves as models of socially just, intellectually free places, most of us have a ways to go. Here are a few things I would like to see at the libraries where I work that I know are possible (because other libraries have implemented them):

1. Preferred name: Right now the library card "applications" at both my libraries let you check M or F for gender. I see no reason why we need to collect this information. We don't use it for research purposes, so I assume it's used as a clue for how to address a patron. I know some libraries have patrons indicate their preferred pronouns instead, which is cool, but I do think knowing how someone wants to be addressed is valuable, and there are no gender-neutral honorifics (like Mr. or Ms.) so what I'd really like to see is a field in the patron record for preferred name.  If your driver's license says your name is Adam Ant, I want to know whether to call you Mr. Ant, Adam, or Ada (I've talked to one or two trans people who have their birth name on their IDs but don't use it), or whatever.

2. Less copyright infringement: I shudder to think how little would be left if someone looked through my libraries' websites and print marketing materials and took down everything that included an unlicensed use of an image. It's common practice for staff to search Google Images and pull the first thing they like for a display sign, event photo, etc. This despite the fact that Google Images offers a simple search filter for reusable images. If we want to be advocates for reasonable intellectual property law, maybe we could start by following existing law or, if not that, by formally and intelligently articulating why we don't and sticking to those principles, instead of violating it out of convenience.

3. Taking privacy more seriously: Most librarians are privacy advocates, and we certainly do a better job that private businesses, but we have a long way to go. I know I for one am guilty of sharing information about patrons' questions with colleagues when there is no need for that colleague to know, and coworkers do this too ("Can you guess what Ms. Opp wanted today?"). We could do better in a lot of small ways as far as equipment and technology, too. For instance, Small Town Library has a privacy screen on every public PC, but at Downtown Library they keep a couple behind the desk and patrons must request them. To be evenhanded, I should also say that Small Town Library doesn't do a very good job getting rid of patrons' files and internet history after their public computer session ends, but even Downtown Library could do better, for example by using the Tor browser or at least having the mainstream web browsers they offer default to in-private browsing on startup.

 Whether you are a library worker or a library user, what do you think libraries could do better in this respect? What would you add to this list?

(I think soon I'll do post about some good practices at both of my libraries, because I don't want you to only hear the failures.)

All I want for Christmas (2016 edition)

Dear lovely readers,


Remember how I said that I would fight anyone who says that the 'Santa version' of Christmas is appropriate to celebrate in the library because it isn't really a religious holiday? I've gotten sucked into several debates among library professionals about this very topic over the last few weeks of December and I've been discouraged to hear many of my colleagues say that they saw no problem with decorations featuring Christmas trees, Santa, reindeer, etc. in their libraries. If you feel that way too, I'm probably not going to convince you otherwise (believe me, I speak from experience now), but if you think that having those things in a government institution is problematic, I would love it if you would consider going to your local public library and writing a comment card expressing that, whether it affects you personally as someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas or whether you celebrate Christmas but just don't see the public library as an appropriate place for that celebration.


Here is what I wrote to one of the libraries where I work, which has Christmas decorations:


I would appreciate it if the library would consider not putting up Christmas decorations next year. I am not a Christian and this time of year I feel like I am constantly reminded that I am not a part of mainstream American culture. It is sad and frustrating to experience that at the library also, since the library is supposed to be a place for everyone regardless of their culture or beliefs. I have no problem with displays of Christmas materials, but to have decorations all over the library makes me feel like the library is not really for me and makes me feel left out.


Here is what I wrote to my own home library, which (at least at that time) did not have Christmas decorations:


Thank you for not putting up Christmas decorations at the library. I am not a Christian and this time of year I feel like I am constantly reminded that I am not a part of mainstream American culture. Everywhere I go there are things emphasizing how I am a minority. It is really nice to have somewhere public to come where I have a break from that.


Although I'm not a Christian, I celebrate Christmas because that is what my family celebrates. Talking to other librarians in similar personal situations started to make me think I was making a mountain out of a molehill until I got this response from a librarian who is Jewish:


"Parents who come the rest of the year have told me that they won't take their kids to storytime in December because it is always Christmas-themed and they already get way too much of that at school and at businesses. They don't want to subject their kids to yet another reminder of how they are different and left out of what other kids are doing. Contrary to what other people are saying, Christmas-themed decorations and programming are actually driving patrons away from the library, not bringing them in. They approach me to tell me since they think I will be the only person on the staff who will understand."


When your patrons aren't only unhappy with what your library is doing, but afraid to say anything because they don't think they will be listened to, you're doing something wrong.

Commemoration

I wish we could name policies implemented because of individual patrons after those patrons, like how we put commemorative plates for library volunteers into books.

The Ms. Opp 'Three Phone Calls Per Day' Rule
The French Lady 'No Cursing People in the Library' Policy
The Mr. Timmons 'Five Hold Requests At A Time' Limit
The Tween Fan 'Library Staff Cannot be Facebook Friends with Patrons' Rule
The Magazine Requestor Guy 'A Portable Urinal is a Biohazard, No Exceptions' Policy

Or maybe they could ambiguously sponsor them, like how on Sesame Street things are "brought to you by the letter C"? Whether C intended to or not?