Saturday, February 27, 2010

Let me tell you a story about an obnoxious woman:

Awoman came in with her high-school student son. Her son forgot his ID card, and as such, we were not allowed to check out his books. This, apparently, was unacceptable to his mother (the jerk). She demanded that she apply for a library card. Her son warned her that she would have to pay, but she gruffly told him that didn't matter. In a very harried manner, she began to fill out an FOL because she didn't want to have to drive back here (it's an hour drive round trip). Meanwhile, her son filled out a 24 hour hold slip. When the mother discovered that it was a $50 donation for library privelages, she began to flip out.

"He [her son] only had to pay ten dollars!" she said.

Her son, very shame-facedly at his mother's poor manners, said that it was because he was a student. She then said she refused to pay fifty dollars and asked if I could just look him up. I explained to her that it's our policy to need his ID card to check out books to him.

"I'm his mother. Can't you use my ID card?"

Again, I explained to her that we need his ID card. I told her it was a security measure. This only made her angrier. Really, pardon me for looking out for the interest of her son's library privileges. She demanded that I look him up several more times before she demaned to talk to a supervisor. Of course, it's Saturday night, and we are supervisor-less. Again, this made her angrier. Then she looked at my name tag. "You're Sarah, right?"

I said yes ( as it was clearly written on MY nametag), and she scribbled my name down on a Due Date post-it. Then she stormed out of the library with her two sons. For both of whom I have the deepest sympathy.


So, let's take a moment to see where this crazy woman went wrong. First, she was a jerk. A really big jerk. If this weren't BYU and wasn't obligated to uphold the honor code by the picture of Harold B Lee staring me down, I'd use much stronger language. Use your imagination. If she'd been nice to me, I probably would have made an exception and looked her son up, like I did earlier for the very distrught and polite young woman who needed her books for a paper due on Monday.

Second, when you act like a psycho, people are not going to cooperate. I would definitely call her behavior suspicious and had she hung around a bit longer being a jerk, I think I may have called security because she was making me feel personally attacked. Not to mention it would have been immensely gratifying to watch her be escorted from the premises.

Third, what exactly is she going to do with my name? Is she going to call Bonnie or Jo Ann and tell them I'm following library policy too closely? That I'm doing my job too well? I sincerely hope that Bonnie/ Jo Ann tells me the aftermath of this encounter with a mad-woman.

So, if you are around when DJ, the poor high school student with braces and six or seven books to check out, comes back on Monday to check out his books, please be extra nice to him. It's not his fault his mother is crazy. And if his mom is with him, make sure you mention that it is policy to have his ID to check out books. And be really passive-aggressive about it.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Another mind-numbingly dull night at the Circ desk. I managed to complete my Charles Dickens reading and outline a six page paper and it's only 9:30. Surprised? You shouldn't be.

The highlight of the evening thus far would have to be Amber's frantic search for her misplaced library book. You might think that a good place to lose a library book would be in a library, but you would be very wrong. She looked in all the logical places (ie the front cart, the mylar desk, by the computers) and when that failed, she searched in the illogical places, namely the copier. I don't know how her book could have gotten there, but she checked just in case. She eventually found it on one of the security carts. Huzzah.

Unfortunately for me and my Saturday night compadre, that means we have a cart of BP to do.

So Jacob, my Saturday night (please take a moment to appreciate the contradiction of terms that is Saturday night) compadre, is in the back taking care of that whilst I man the desk. Quick irrelevant tangent on etymology: does the slang term 'man' (as used above) have anything to do with the word manage? When you man something are you really just managing it? Or is it a completely unrelated word? And if it is unrelated, from where does it come?

Now to take a small poll of things at the library that bother me:
1. That stupid TV. You know the one.
2. That even more imbecilic Caffine commercial. You know the one, and you want to shoot it just as much as I do.
3. People who assume that I will remember who they are and which reserve book they checked out three hours ago.
4. The large crowds of giggly girls that seem in abundance tonight
5. The keyboard at the desk computer with the chair. I think it's fifty years (and by fifty I mean ten--which is at least fifty in computer years) older than the rest of the keyboards. And it's not nearly as cooperative.
6. The fact that I can't listen to music and have to make due with the Vienna study abroad commercial music. Or that weird 'share information' commercial music. I'm not sure which is worse.

Things that don't bother me about the library:
1. The Info Commons worker is still at Info Commons. That's right. We'll have to wait and see if she makes it until we close at the very least.
2. The fact that no one is here and I can blog/read/outline a paper as I work.
3. The really attractive and friendly boy who just checked out a few books.

Things that bother me that have nothing to do with the library:
1. Boys who move WAY to fast in order to have a relationship.
2. My contact lenses--they're not happy right now. In fact, they're quite cold.
3. Looking for housing next fall
4. Having all my papers and tests drawn out over the next month.

Okay, I'm done whining. And it's almost ten, which means it's almost closing time. Cue "Closing Time" Song.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Once again, we have cause for celebration in that the TV across the lobby is OFF!!!!! These truly are the best nights in the library.

Tonight, being the night before Valentine's Day and also being a Saturday, the library was relatively uninhabited. The few people in the library were few and far between which left Sarah and I bored behind the desk. Except that we were not bored. We occupied our time coloring Valentine greetings. They were beautiful. And should probably be hung up in an art museum.

It has also been rather fun looking at random pictures of guys in Sarah's ward with mustaches--or who wish they had a mustaches. The drawn-on mustaches were the best.

Surprisingly, there were still a couple of lonely souls in the library checking out reserve books. One such person came up to check out the infamous crab book and solutions manual. He has gotten these books quite a few time and has basically figured out how to work the system. However, I am no longer going to let anyone follow his stupid games. He has gotten fines for these books (and others) MANY times and has had said fines waived MANY times. He also has appeals on a couple of books which has been on his account as "claims returned" for as long as I remember him coming up to the desk. I don't believe he ever returned those books. I think he's lying. He seems to be very good at lying since he has had so many fines waived. I'm not buying it though. He now gets to pay all fines. We made a note to that effect and hopefully all our fellow coworkers will heed the note. I believe it to be necessary. He also came up with the theory tonight that since tomorrow is Sunday and also Valentines day that businesses should make exceptions to being closed so people can go on dates. It's my personal opinion that very few people share his point of view. Hence the empty library since everyone is going on their Valentines dates tonight instead of tomorrow. They find it easy to improvise. Maybe he should have done his date tonight and saved the crab book for tomorrow or better yet--Monday. It sounds like a plausible solution to me.