Friday, March 31, 2006

Cezar Chavez Day

I admire the man and everything that he did in his lifetime. With that said, today is a state holiday in honor of him. In my city, this means school is out. For the City and County employees, it is a regular work day.

Yesterday was a teacher in-service day for the public schools. This means that I have had two days of children non-stop all day. Today at 1:30 p.m., a mother came in with three children. About 20 minutes later, her sister came in with two more children. Both adults proceeded to act as if they were in here alone. I had to tell the children more than three times to lower their voices. They were yelling at each other, they were arguing with each other, and one of them had the volume on his PSP at the maximum.

After a little over two hours, they finally left. I am so glad that I am off from work for the next two days. After working 11 days straight, I have never been so happy for it to be Friday!!!

Thursday, March 30, 2006

I have been busy/stressed.

Tuesday, I find out that I have a meeting on Wednesday. I thought the meeting was today(Thursday) and I planned to prepare for it on Wednesday. It was something my boss agreed that I would attend. She also volunteered me to bring new Early Childhood books from our branch. The date was changed and she failed to inform me.

So Tuesday at 3:45 p.m., I began to organize the items needed for the meeting. I had to give a presentation also. I needed a list of the new books in-house and on order. I needed copies of the new brochures. I did a lot of searching to gather this information. We closed at 6:00 p.m., I was the only librarian at work and I had to squeeze my search in between reference questions in person and via telephone. As you all know, it is hard enough trying to remember what you are doing without distractions.

In the middle of all of that, a performer calls that I have been trying to get in touch with regarding a summer performance. He's been out of the country and we have been doing the e-mail thing. I wanted to know what his performance fee would be. We had agreed on a date and time. I had begun the paperwork for the flyers, his check, and input the information in the online calendar. So I get the long awaited telephone call. He said that he would charge $575 and that is his reduced rate. He said that he usually charges $875. I told him that I would get back to him, I had to check and see if I would be able to get extra funding. Of course, the answer was no.

This means that I am back to scrambling to find a performer for July 18th. Prior to that conversation, I had booked all dates and was waiting for the performers to give me their tax information so that I could request the checks. I am trying to get all of the performers booked for the summer before my departure. Extremely nice and thoughtful of me, I know. I realize that if it were my boss leaving, I would be left high and dry!

I would like to be able to organize everything so that the part-timers and temporary librarians only have to fill in the blanks.

Tuesday we were informed that the dynamic duo had struck again. They stole the wallet of the part-time Teen Librarian at the branch one neighborhood over from this one. She didn't know their names. We got the information second hand. I called the librarian/victim, and gave her a description of the perps. She was surprised and asked me how I knew who they were. I explained to her that the same two boys had committed a similar crime at this branch.

She asked if I felt she should make a police report. I told her that she should because this was the second incident in two weeks at a branch library, involving the same perps. She said that she was scared to make a report. In the same breath, she informed me that they had spent her $400 Nordstrom's Gift Card. If you are going to work in the ghetto, you need to develope a serious backbone.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Is there a invisable sign somewhere?

This is a running joke between my friends and me. "Is there an invisible sign posted on my body, or over my head? Is is only visible to homeless, toothless, alcoholics, drug addicts, you get the picture?" There was a time when they approached me at the club, on the street while walking, and even while riding public transportation.

As a librarian, they always seem to come to me. Yesterday, Goldie and his son Goldie Jr. approach my desk talking about, " I know you can help me because you have all of the information. You are so beautiful." I had to listen very carefully because it was hard to understand what Goldie was saying. I must tell you that Goldie looked to be at least 50 years old and his son at least 30. I am being generous to both.

Today, the former Marine/Police Officer who lives around the corner comes in. He feels it is his duty to tell me how beautiful I am and ask if I am single. He is 56 years old. I know this because he tells me each time he talks to me. He is almost always drunk, he smells as if he has been drinking for three days straight. Today, he seemed to be sobor. Sobor or drunk, he is "mouth almighty." I was on the telephone when he approached my desk and it didn't matter. He just started his conversation.

It is cloudy and raining off and on today. I woke up and didn't feel like coming in, but I did. There was a glimpse of sun and I thought there may be an audience for storytime. I get to work and my boss, true to form; calls in sick. This is my seventh day without a off day. This woman had a four day weekend and hard the nerve to call in sick today. Our library assistant also called in sick. This left two of us until 1:00 p.m. We are so lucky that our former teen librarian just happened to drop by for a few hours.

The children didn't show up for storytime.

I WILL BE SO GLAD WHEN I LEAVE HERE!!!!!

Sunday, March 26, 2006

What a day

I thought my day was going well. I was early and it only took 2 1/2 circles around the block for me to find a parking space up the hill. 5 minutes before we were scheduled to open, we get an urgent call. One of the other branches is short a librarian. This means that I must go there. I was all the way on the other side of town. It took me 30 minutes to get there and another 15 minutes to find a parking space.

ANNND, they were no longer in need. The other librarian arrived at 1 minute to 1:00 p.m. and they were unable to let me know. This means that I drove back to the other side of town. Not only was I tired, but I was mad. This is the sixth day of my 11 days of work without a day off and they have me driving all over town. I did find an even better parking space that is closer to the library. Sunday traffic does exist and in a tourist town, it can drive a native crazy. Why must you look at everything while you drive. Why not park your car and walk around. Better yet, since you are obviously not familiar with the city; why not ride the bus, cable car, or metro?

Now, on to my gripes about the ghetto library. I was given a performance appraisal this past Wednesday. I have worked at this place for over 1 1/2 years and this is the first one. My lovely boss sent me an e-mail the day before it was handed to me. In the e-mail, she asked me to give her two goals for me and then explain the manner in which I have accomplished those goals. I was floored, I have never had a supervisor/manager ask me to write a portion of my performance appraisal.

I received a negative review on an aspect of my position that was never discussed with me. I received an e-mail from the head of Chidren's Services three weeks ago, asking why I hadn't been making school visits. I had no idea that monthly visits were a requirement. In addition to all of this other crap, I am supposed to schedule visits with principles and teachers. It is hard enough just get either one to return your calls. (It took three days of telephone tag to reach a teacher who wanted to arrange a class visit. She would call and hang up. I would call and she wouldn't be able to talk. She would say that she would call later and I wouldn't hear from her. ) So my boss put in the report that I was lacking in this aspect of my job. She never mentioned class visits prior to this. I have decided to just "brush my shoulders off," because this evaluation was written after I let her know that I was leaving.

She wants to give my new bosses a tarnished view of me. That is okay, because I will shine no matter where I am. Hopefully, with two librarians leaving you within a month, the system will see that as a reflection of you. Neither one of us is leaving for a promotion. We are both making a lateral transfer. What does that say, if the people you supervise are willing to take a lateral transfer just to get away from you.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Just one of those days

There are five computers in the chidren's area. Two of the computers have educational cd-rom programs on them and they are for children age 6 and under. The other three have internet access, but one of them is out of order. This is a MAJOR PROBLEM and has been since yesterday. I reported the problem to our Technology Department yesterday. They said that they would fix the problem this morning. It is after 6:00 p.m. and the terminal is still out of order.

3:45 p.m., no computers available. A mother comes in with her children. Her children are whinning that they want to use the computer. She then asks me if they can use the computer since they have library cards. I told her that they can use the computers, but they were currently occupied. She had the NERVE to look at me like I was crazy. Her look said she thought that I would make the children step away from the computers because her children wanted to use them. Let's not even talk about her wanting me to research adult titles for her because she was too LAZY to walk to the adult section and ask the Adult Reference Librarian for help. My area was swarming with children who were asking for assistance. In the middle of assisting her, she had the nerve to ask if she was interrupting. I didn't even bother to answer that question.

I know that our desire is for children to use the library, but they can drive us banannas at times. A group of boys from our local KIP Academy have been introduced to Google Imaging. Today, they are driving me crazy. They have this madd desire to enlarge the pictures of rappers they have downloaded. I introduced them to Google Imaging yesterday. They were working on an assignment. They had to gather detailed information on a particular animal, including pictures. I gave them books, both circulating and reference, but they were only interested in the internet. They are now enlarging those pictures on the copy machine. They have waisted so much money trying to determine the correct size for their pictures.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

What a day

This is an update on what happened Saturday afternoon. At 1:30 p.m. a patron walks in and informs us that she found the Teen Librarian's wallet in front of her home. She lives around the corner from the library. She is not a suspect, because she had not been in before that point. The BAAD A$$ child from Tuesdays post had been in earlier. He was accompanied by a teenager. They stole her purse. She and the library assistant went to the BAAD A$$ child's house, but of course he wasn't there. His Dad was drunk and of no help at all. She called the police and made a police report. THIS IS HOW SHE WILL REMEMBER HER LAST WEEK OF WORKING AT THE GHETTO LIBRARY!!!! I am working from my home computer and it is not cooperating. I am unable to make new paragraphs. This is frustrating.

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Why do people make appointments?

An instructor set up an appointment to bring 10 children here this morning. She made a really big deal about this orientation. She called two months in advance. They were supposed to arrive at 10:00 a.m. It is now 11:30 a.m., they have not arrived yet. Did she call to cancel, no.
It turns out that the good doctor sent a fax after closing on Friday. She wrote that she needed to cancel the Saturday orientation and she would call to reschedule another one.
Now there is a POWER meeting in the meeting room. The parents seem to think that since the meeting is being held in a public library, they will have access to free childcare. If you choose to take your child to a meeting, you need to watch your child.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Change is near

My time as a Children's Librarian is coming to an end. I was selected for a lateral transfer. Thankfully, the new position means working with grown children. My departure will be prolonged because the Teen Librarian was also selected for a lateral transfer. Since she found out first, my boss will now request that I stay here for a month. I am happy and sad at the same time.

I AM HAPPY BECAUSE I will finally get out of this place. No more storytime!! No more class visits!!! BEST OF ALL, no more SUMMER READING COMMITTEE!!!

I AM SAD BECAUSE my interview was a week later than the Teen Librarian. This is the reason I received notice of the job offer later. Everything was a week too late.

New computers for the public were installed today. Along with the new computers came a new policy. NO MORE TEMPORARY LOGIN I.D.'S. This has been a hard pill for the public to swallow. They have left with attitudes.

Change is near

My time as a Children's Librarian is coming to an end. I was selected for a lateral transfer. Thankfully, the new position means working with grown children. My departure will be prolonged because the Teen Librarian was also selected for a lateral transfer. Since she found out first, my boss will now request that I stay here for a month. I am happy and sad at the same time.

I AM HAPPY BECAUSE I will finally get out of this place. No more storytime!! No more class visits!!! BEST OF ALL, no more SUMMER READING COMMITTEE!!!

I AM SAD BECAUSE my interview was a week later than the Teen Librarian. This is the reason I received notice of the job offer later. Everything was a week too late.

New computers for the public were installed today. Along with the new computers came a new policy. NO MORE TEMPORARY LOGIN I.D.'S. This has been a hard pill for the public to swallow. They have left with attitudes.

Change is near

My time as a Children's Librarian is coming to an end. I was selected for a lateral transfer. Thankfully, the new position means working with grown children. My departure will be prolonged because the Teen Librarian was also selected for a lateral transfer. Since she found out first, my boss will now request that I stay here for a month. I am happy and sad at the same time.

I AM HAPPY BECAUSE I will finally get out of this place. No more storytime!! No more class visits!!! BEST OF ALL, no more SUMMER READING COMMITTEE!!!

I AM SAD BECAUSE my interview was a week later than the Teen Librarian. This is the reason I received notice of the job offer later. Everything was a week too late.

New computers for the public were installed today. Along with the new computers came a new policy. NO MORE TEMPORARY LOGIN I.D.'S. This has been a hard pill for the public to swallow. They have left with attitudes.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

AND MY HOPES WERE SO HIGH!!!

My boss was here everyday last week and didn't leave early once. I thought she was turning over a new leaf. Boy, was I wrong oh so wrong. Here's the drill.

Wedniesday of last week, she decides to have an all staff meeting tomorrow. I have been here 1 1/2 years and there has never been an all staff anything. She tells us to let her know if we want to add anything to the agenda. WHAT AGENDA? She never gave us one.

So here it is Tuesday, the day before the meeting. She approaches me at 3:30 p.m. to tell me that she wants me to inform the staff of a new program that will focus on pre-readers and early readers. All of this translats into, SHE HAD NO AGENDA and decided to develop one around 3:15 p.m. or so the day before. She then left work for the day at 4:00 p.m.

WE NOW RETURN TO THE BAAAAD A$$ CHILDREN IN THE LIBRARY UPDATE!!!!!

First thing this morning, my boss informs me that the police were in here yesterday looking for the "OBSCENITIES" child. She said they didn't get the story, but his stepmother accompanied the police. Luckily for him, he wasn't here and they hadn't seen him.

What a way to start the day. To have your feelings validated. A child that you know is just BAAAAD has finally been recognized as such by his parents. This child has been banned from all businesses in the area, or he must be accompanied by an adult. I myself, kick him out of the library almost every time he comes in. He curses you, other children, adults, and simply disobeys all library rules.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Don't you just love working on Saturday!!!

Why oh why is someone's child/children at the door waaay before we open. Were they told to leave the house and not come back?

The CRAZY lady who talks to herself and pulls tons of books off all of the shelves was at the door waiting to get in also. We all dread seeing her at the door. It would'nt be so bad if she would stick to one subject area and pull those books off the shelves; but no, she has to have variety.

We have only been open for 1 hour and five minutes, so I am sure that I will have more to write about later.

Okay two girls were dropped off at 1:00 p.m. We have made a wager to see if they will be here until closing. Last week they arrived at 10:00 a.m. and left with us at 6:00 p.m. Anyway, the younger of the two wet herself around 3:30 p.m. The Teen Librarian called one of the parent's at 3:45. It is now 4:30 p.m. and no one has arrived yet. There are more children in this family, but for some reason the parents have started this pattern of dumping two of them at the library for 4-7 hours. *****The Mom arrived at 4:55 with a change of clothes. In the meantime, it was REAKING in here!!!!

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Parents, Children, and the Library

Those of you who work in the library already know the drill. Most of the time children enter the library and stay, unattended. What I have seen that bugs me: Parents who know darn well they have some bad azz kids. They enter, drop the kids off in the childrens's section and go on their merry way.
If the parents stay in the library, they immediately go to the adult section. They then act as if they can't hear their child/children when they yell, cry, or just plain act a fool. They return to the children's section maybe 30 to 60 minutes later and think everything is fine. Their offspring has ransacked the whole area, now it's time to go. Do they clean-up, no. Do they appologize, no.

Yesterday one of our resident BADD AZZ CHILDREN came in at 1:00 p.m. When asked why he was not in school, he said the it is Parent/Teacher Conference Week (we later learned from his Godmother that he had been suspended.) He used the computer for an hour. I discovered that he was trying to extend his computer time by using another little boy's identification. I put a stop to that. He then went to the Teen Section, where he proceeded to yell obscenities. He also encouraged another little boy to do the same. It was 10 minutes to 3:00 p.m., when I had had enough. I told them they had 10 more minutes of library time and then they had to go.

THEY WENT OUTSIDE AND PROCEEDED TO KNOCK ON THE GLASS DOOR AND YELL OBSCENITIES!!!! I went outside and made them leave the area.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Back to the grind

I was gone for seven whole days and guess what? I was sick!!!!!! Can you believe it? I know I can't. I have a nasty sinus infection. I felt bad on Friday 02/24/06 and it just got progressively worse.

There was a performer today, so I didn't have to read any stories. The performer was great, the children and their teachers seemed to love her. Her name is Charity Kahn (some of you may be interested.) They sang and they danced for a whole half hour.

The crackhead from two weeks ago had the nerve to step in here this morning. When I saw him I said, "OH NO!" He said, "Okay," turned around and left. I don't feel well and I definitely didn't feel like dealing with him; thinking everything is okay. You can't return like it's okay. Stealing from children is definitely a reason to get banned from the library. THAT'S JUST MY OPINION!!!