Library Life May 2024
by amandamae · 14 things on NewTwos
- The library has been super quiet today, which is perfectly fine. It's sunny and not too hot - perfect day to be outside! Only about half of our regulars at the public computers are here.
- We only allow 3 inter-library loan requests per patron. A patron called because we denied a request that would make it 4 total. He insisted he had returned one of his ILL titles, and was ADAMANT we submit his recent request. My co-worker explained why the request hadn't gone through, then did an override and submitted the latest request. We didn't have a chance to figure out if the book was returned or not, because we get busy at the reference desk, and he called again 20 minutes later to insure his latest request had gone through. I said I would personally go check to see about the returned book. It was with our ILL staff person who was about to handle it - its unique identifier number for our library was missing, which was why it hadn't been checked in for the patron just yet. This would have been figured out shortly, but annoyed about four staff members in the process.
- My boss was helping a patron email to print a resume off a smartphone. My boss unfortunately opened the camera roll as he was finding the file to attach, and "got an eyefull." Folks, don't save your nudes to Google Photos, especially if you need tech help from public librarians. I have seen so many nudes while trying to help people print their resumes. I want to say this a very specific and recent rite of passage for a public librarian.
- That one elderly patron who is in almost every day who needs help with the same three things over and over again, and only three staff members really know how to best help him. It's been years and this patron still can't remember the three computer skills he comes in here to use all the time.
- We're a college town, and commencement was this last weekend. I guess the students have officially moved out - we are DEAD until the summer reading program kicks off in a couple of weeks.
- My IT coworker who has the best job security of all of us at this library just created an instructional template for our one regular patron who comes in all the time to do this one specific creative task and is elderly and can never remember how to do it. So now we have a bespoke template just for him. Librarians are amazing.
- There's a particular patron who calls and I don't believe she's ever been inside the library. But she calls with really random questions, usually "for [her] neighbor" or a friend. Almost never for herself. And nearly all of these requests for information get somewhat political, or she finds a way to complain about how things used to be.
- Same patron called back to complain that we don't have a "satellite" location on the south side of town, and are there grants available to make that happen? I suggested I transfer her to our development office since they handle the grants, but I think mostly she wanted to vent and voice her suggestions that the library provide a cooling space for the kids there as well as Spanish language books for parents to read to their kids. That would be great. But if she's talking about a building that's at least a decade down the road if we start now.
- Our library catalog and databases are down for most of today due to some updates on the backend. It's affecting workflows all over for library staff, and access for our patrons. We've gotten many calls from people who didn't check the website that says what's going on (that I understand), and at least one call from an angry young man who doesn't understand why we don't have the redeemable codes so he can access the New York Times. Access will be back up this afternoon or early evening at the latest. This is temporary. If you're mad that the free (paid for) thing you like through the library is being denied you a few hours, you really need to calm down.
- Someone left their phone at the library yesterday at the public computers. This morning, alarms on the phone kept going off at regular intervals. It wasn't locked down, so I was able to go in and turn off the alarms to stop bothering us all day, but left a note on the lost and found slip that when the patron retrieves it, they should make sure to turn their alarms back on. Someone with that many alarms in a day obviously needs them! I'm very glad they retraced their steps and found their phone.
- When the autistic regular patron comments on the tornadoes last night (that were nowhere near us), and another patron passing by engages with them about it, and the autistic patron makes the comment that "we were lucky" a tornado didn't hit us, and the other patron counters with, "It wasn't luck, it was God. I was praying!" The autistic patron continues to say we were lucky, the other patron says it was because they were praying, and each eventually continues on their separate ways.
- Hey, folks - that auto email from the public library that says you have a hold ready for pickup? No need to tell us what day you're picking it up. That means absolutely nothing to us.
- Every last call I have had during my Sunday shift today (a grand total of 10 so far after nearly 4 hours) could be answered by looking on the library website. "Are you open today?" "Are you open tomorrow?" "Do you have this book?" "Can I print something there?" Once a certain generation dies off, library service will have to adapt again.
- Watching an older Black lady hover over our Juneteenth display and then timidly ask if she could take a picture of it. "Please do! We'd love that!" She took a few delightedly!