Library Life January 2024
by amandamae · 14 things on NewTwos
- Your local public library should NOT have a self-help book published in 1950 that has no further editions. Please don't contact us with that expectation and be upset we don't have EVERYTHING. Public libraries are not intended to have everything. That's what inter-library loan is for!
- Shoutout to my library director for putting fruit in the staff break room instead of candy or sugary treats when he wants to thank us or we're celebrating a thing.
- People calling about hotspots has been almost as plentiful as the calls for updating a library card to get on Libby! We used to check out hotspots, but they were frequently lost/not returned, requiring a lot of staff hours to turn off service (and reestablish service if they got returned), and the whole collection became to expensive to keep up, so we discontinued them last year.
- We're expecting a big storm this evening. But at 11am people are calling to ask about if the Bookmobile is running tomorrow. "That will be updated on our website." They're asking about programs tonight. "There's no snow so far, but that will be updated on our website." You know who's calling? Old people who don't use the internet.
- today is "are you open?" phone call day (BIG snow event yesterday)
- I got 15 calls in the first hour we were opened today! (Normally that's the TOTAL number of calls on a Sunday.) Most of them were old ladies asking if the 1) the garden forum was still happening at 2pm and 2) will it be livestreamed because they don't want to go out in the cold. (Yes to both)
- a pox on anyone who returned a book to a remote book drop (one staff have to drive to another part of our city in a van to empty) right as a blizzard developed, and now we have record breaking cold temps and the roads are still terrible and they're contacting the library about why their book hasn't been checked in. Ma'am. The county told us we shouldn't be on the roads. We don't have late fees. You can let that book sit on your account an extra day until we can get it.
- patron who has a lot of mental health instability saw the cover of Matthew Perry's book and brought it to me to say that he'd been emailed baby picture of "this person" and as a result of being sent these pictures he disassembled his computer so he couldn't access it. He wanted me to know that this man "supposedly" died, but really he faked his death to get away from the accusations of something involving his baby pictures. I really couldn't follow any kind of logic with what this patron was telling me, and thankfully had to take a phone call
- there are at least 3 of the regular patrons here tonight who talk to themselves to varying degrees, and hopefully the people around them don't engage - this is perfect storm territory
- There are a number of women on staff who have curly brown hair and eyeglasses, and we get confused for each other all the time. It's not a bad thing, it's just funny.
- regular patron who likes to walk up to the desk and tell us non sequiturs just handed me his first paystub from Hy-Vee from 1969. "It kept me in paperbacks!"
- Got a phone call asking if there's a Godfather's Pizza location in the area. I confirmed there is, and two locations a little further out. I asked if they wanted a phone number for the pizza place. "No, that's okay." And they hung up.
- everybody's calling about tax help options at the library, and the group that is doing the tax help at the library doesn't have all the details hammered out yet, so that's starting to get frustrating
- A regular phone patron who calls with weird questions and then argues us when we try to give her answers called about carpet cleaners in the area and wanted to know some really technical questions about their equipment that isn't readily available on their websites. That's when we give you the contact info and you do the legwork since it's YOUR question. As a librarian on the phone I can really only say what's on their website and what articles recommend and leave it up to you to decipher. Again, this is YOUR question.