Random is maybe better than nothing
The creative juices are dry and the lunch break is short, so here are some random Friday library reflections.
1. Teenagers can be so nice when you get them on their own. Then the next day when they have rejoined the pack they are unrecognizable little beasts. It is sad.
2. I did not consciously choose to spend my days dealing with unstable people. And yet this is what I spend so much time doing. I need to get some sort of sign I can just smack down on my desk that reads, "This conversation is over, as I have just now realized that you are insane." Because really, if nothing you say or do is going to make a dent, why waste the breath?
3. Little toddler boys in wooly bear jackets are precious, especially I lean over my desk to whisper, "Hey, I really like your jacket," and they look up at me solemnly and whisper back, "You have a great time!" Why thank you, I believe I will.
4. I should maybe stop making "crossing my eyes and shooting myself in the temple" gestures while on the phone, as other patrons may start to notice and wonder if that's what I'm doing while I'm on the phone with them, too. (Answer: If you are being insane whilst on the phone, then yes. Yes I am.)
5. Some people can be so lovely, and because they are so lovely I want to do all kinds of lovely extra things for them, like spend extra time finding things they might like or making little exceptions for them or maybe pressing dried flowers into the pages of their holds.
6. Some people can be real A-holes. I do not wish to do anything for these people other than make them go away. (Just a few recent A-hole moves include tossing your library card on the desk rather than handing it to the librarian like you think you are James Flipping Bond tossing his Aston keys at the valet, making exasperated noises at the librarians who are trying to help you, and tapping your fingers on the desk. None of these things make me wish to provide you with quality information services. But I will, because I am still awesome. Watch your back, though.)
7. Despite the crazies and the jerkies, I do really have a great job. I work with great people in a lovely building. For the most part I am helping people meet important needs, and that in turn makes me feel good.
Pssssst: Monday will be the much-touted Mormon Wedding Reception post. See you then, and have a great weekend!
I'm Steph, a librarian and mom of 3 (not sure how that happened). Let's chat books, food, Sumptuous Literary Adaptations, poop, knitting and maybe some crazy Mormon Feminism.
20 comments:
Little boys in bear sweaters make me smile, especially when you ask what kind of animal their sweater is, they just say, "RAWR!" and hold their hands up like a bear.
I had an encounter with one of the crazies during my last visit to your library. He was a mouth breather that followed me around the entire DVD section. It was oh so very creepy.
"I did not consciously choose to spend my days dealing with unstable people".
Don't you still work at a "public" library? Forgot about that,huh?
The next time someone "tosses" their library card at you, just remember to "toss" it back when you're finished with it. They'll get the point!
I choose most teenagers over most adults any day of the week. They just need love.
Hee hee. What would be funny is that my toss would likely send it to the floor. And then I could be like, "Oh, I thought we were playing Toss the Card! Are we not?"
I can attest to #1.
I think working in the public sector has the unfortunate side effect of dealing with insane people. It just comes with the territory.
If I dressed Bart in a bear sweater, he would probably charge about the library looking for sweater-animals that were lower on the food chain. And then he would eat them.
Maybe you should get an emergency window like bank tellers in high-crime areas - one that suddenly and violently shoots up between you and the insane person. You could even put a message on it like "You are dismissed" or "You ARE the weakest link!"
I think you need a nice, relaxing trip up to CV. We'd love to entertain you and GH for a little while. If nothing else, our kids would entertain you.
Lola, love your avatar. Also love growly boys. Unless they're the carnivorous kind like Jeri's seems to be.
Dasha, you'll have to point him out to me! And I can use silent signals (so as not to seem unprofessional) to show you who to avoid! (Not that you wouldn't get your own sense about them in .04 seconds, but still. I like to feel helpful.)
Goddessdivine, you are true. And this is what I remind myself about working in a place where anyone can wander in.
Desmama, you are SO very right. Believe you me, I am working on it.
I worked at a certain video store that rents blockbusters. (see what I did there?) People who cannot be bothered to get off their cell phone whilst checking out did NOT get told their due dates. They were most definitely off their phones when they came in to complain about the ensuing late fees.
Huh.
"Rawr" is so much more onomatopoeic than "Roar." I may switch to a new spelling; thank you Lola.
Maybe on the automated library phone system you could say, in your pleasingly seductive librarian voice, "If you are a complete whack job, please dial 8" then you wouldn't have to REALLY talk to the crazies on the phone, either. Of course, one of the requirements for insanity is that you don't KNOW you are. Still, it would be highly interesting to see how many people pushed that button.
Mouth breathers seriously just need some re-training. Rawr!
Oooh, the card tossers (and money tossers) drive me CRAZY, especially when they toss something at me and then stand there looking expectantly at me like I'm magically supposed to know what they want. A co-worker did toss a card back at someone one day. It was very satisfying.
These comments make me think of a little blog I found last week... and then spent the next 4 days reading.
http://notalwaysright.com/
Can't wait for Monday!
And I understand your pain w/people only mine is at a credit union, not a library.
My library pet peeves:
People who start reciting their card numbers as soon as I pick up the phone. Maybe I'm not who you need to talk to! Maybe you should tell me what you want first! Maybe you should learn how to use a phone!
Card-tossers. It has "tosser" right in the name, and that's what they are.
People who shove a list of call numbers under my nose, without saying anything (and often without making eye contact), as if I'm able to magically divine what I'm supposed to do. Do they want me to walk them over to the shelf? Place holds on the items? Put the note in the recycling bin? Commit the contents to memory and then destroy it?
People who get angry at me when I'm patiently trying to find out what they want. If you can't handle a simple reference interview without letting the crazy out, DO NOT COME TO THE LIBRARY.
I'll stop here and remind myself that I really, really love my job. *sigh*
To all library users:
RESERVE ONLINE!
PICK UP LATER!
As soon as someone tosses their card at you, immediately grab it and yell, "Alley oop!" Then toss it in the garbage can. Give them a fist bump and then walk away with your arms in the air like you've just scored the game-winning basket.
i hesitate to share, but i think most are done reading this. i will admit that i have noticed the crazies at the library and realized that the librarians must deal with them. unfortunately, my mom is one of those crazies. she's pleasant - not of the card tossing variety - and doesn't smell (she believes that there are x-rays everywhere to check if you're wearing clean underwear and gargles mouthwash for usually 20 minutes straight, so she's usually super clean) - but she does love to go off on stories without checking if someone is listening (and since the stories are usually insane, most people aren't). anyhoo, my mom accompanied me on a recent trip to the library. i went downstairs and took my son to his library class. when i came back up, my mom was trying to tip a librarian that i've known by name for years (she was my 9 year olds library class teacher when she was 3 years old) and i saw the kind of surprised face when the librarian realized that was my mom. always a fun experience meeting people who have been talking to my mom as she regularly tells people things like i'm addicted to drugs, losing my house or gettng beat up by my husband. oh well. maybe it's good that people know that some of these crazies do have people who genuinely care about them. (for the record, my mom doesn't do drugs and works very hard to support herself. she just suffers from delusions. funny thing is she is very honest - she would never steal or purposefully lie. she truly believes all that she says.) so i guess a thank you for dealing with the crazies is in order. don't worry about the shooting yourself gesture, as i think i might start adopting that for when my mom is talking with me on the phone. i also get a good laugh on occasion when things like listening to ABBA songs get my mom to go off on how the whole country of sweden is gone now and completely underwater.
as for commenting on comments from the last post, just letting you know that you don't have to reply to my comments. i actually rarely read all the comments you get (i.e. i had no idea that audra and i said practically the same thing about the dollar store). i usually read the first few comments - then i skim - then i skip to the end.
finally, some belated suggestions for posts:
how is it that mormons can envision eve with blonde hair? or why is ammon in the Book of Mormon Stories depicted as a middle-aged white man from Orem?
you could finally reply to your annoyed commenter and answer that life-changing question: "if you were accused of being a mormon, would there be enough evidence to convict"? or respond to any other mormon platitude that you'd like to.
(sorry, i'm too lazy to look up the exact quote/link, but i got a good laugh out of it when you reminded us of your annoyed commenter in the new year. i did learn how to put a link in my comments! thanks for teaching me instead of "giving me the eyebrow" for not doing the google search myself - maybe you were doing that as you typed the answer?)
sorry about that superlink. must have missed the closing tag. oh, and how bad is it that i thought of some of that response while in the temple? hmmm, would there be enough evidence to convict me? such deep thoughts.
ok, i just re-read my comment and i feel like re-phrasing the eve question: how is it that mormons are the only ones around willing to depict eve with blonde hair? i guess it kind of makes sense from a genetics point of view, but doubt that's it.
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