If you don't know, don't tell others

This happened yesterday at work and I should have posted it yesterday, but I was in shock. Let me give some background information.

There are six floors in this building, with at least two reference desks on each floor. 1-2 two librarians are stationed at each reference desk. On the first floor, there is an information desk with two librarians. They direct patrons on where they should go to find whatever information they may need. They also answer all telephone calls, they are supposed to gather as much information from the caller as possible and transfer the call to the proper floor and or librarian.

Yesterday, we receive a call at the General Collections and Humanities Reference Desk from the librarians at the first floor Information Desk. The librarians want to know the difference between the USB computers and the computers that have USB and Floppy Drives(These are the choices patrons have when signing up for computers.) This option has been in place since April of this year. One of the librarians boasted that he has worked here for 10 years and he doesn't know.

They were so confusing that myco-worker was stumped. She put them on hold and asked me. I explained the difference and told her that I was amazed that the would admit to not knowing the answer. The answer to their question can be found on the library home page.

The USB computers have the wiring for patrons to use thier own flash drives, or our external Floppy Drive. The USB and Floppy Drive computers offer the option of using a flash drive or a floppy disk because hardrive has the floppy drive.

These people have a Masters Degree in Library Sciende just like I do. I often wonder how they were able to obtain the degree because the program is no joke.

It started early this morning!!!!

10:00 a.m. Two of the tween hackers who like to frequent this floor are here and wreck
havok. My boss reports that a computer terminal's monitor isn't working.
It was the computer directly behind the two hackers.

10:05 a.m. An elderly gentleman approaches the desk and ask that I show him how to reserve a
internet computer. I was so proud of him, he had his floppy disk in hand and he was
ready to go. He also asks me to show him how to insert the floppy disk into the
drive.
While I am explaining the process to him, another man approaches who is just gone.
He states, "The stocks must be transfered to Austraila. The interest rates in
Austraila are 12%. I repeat what he has just said to make sure that I am clear.
He then tells me that he thinks the interest rates in Austraila are 6%. I tell him
that I don't know, but the business department is upstairs on the 4th floor and he
can find out. He finally walks away.
The elderly gentleman then asks me what steps he must go through when he wants
to print what he has typed. This man looked to be in his seventies and he was trying
harder than people more than half his age( he smelled like a bucket of pee, but he was
trying.)

10:25 a.m. Another man approaches the desk and tells me that his pin number isn't working
because he doesn't have his cell phone with him. I was confussed, so I asked him
to repeat himself. I tried to explain to him that his cell phone had nothing to do with
whether or not he was typing in the correct pin number. He didn't seem to
understand the words coming out of my mouth. I finally gave up, asked him for his
library card and changed his pin number to the one he kept repeating.

I keep running away!!!!!

I have had this project in my cubicle for a month now. I've have started and stopped this project so many times. I just can't believe that in more than 10 years, no one has weeded these books.

This is the deal. There is a truck of books in my cubicle that need to be sorted. I need to decide what will stay, what will be destroyed, what will be donated, etcetera. So far, the oldest book was published in 1898. Now management knows darn well that if these books have been in storage for more than 10 years, no one is missing them. But, like the good worker bee that I am, I will go through the dirty, dusty books. I will sneeze my way through this project. Dust is an allergy/asthma trigger for me, so I will suffer for the sake of my job.

PLEASE SEND POSITIVE THOUGHTS MY WAY, BECAUSE I JUST WANT TO CHUCK ALL OF THESE BOOKS AND CALL IT A DAY!!!!!

I'm baaaack!

I took a few days off. I try not to work on my birthday, if I don't have to. I came to work yesterday, only to discover that I was not on the schedule. My boss had scheduled me for another day of vacation. I happily packed up my stuff and went home. My co-worker tried to convince me to let her have the day off instead. NOT!!!!!

My second hour on the desk. Computer troubles, oh my. A male and female start to argue LOUDLY. The man was trying to hog the computer that someone else had reserved. I go over and calmly tell the man that he can't do that, he must wait until 7 minutes after the hour and if the computer is free, he can log on.

He yells at me, telling me that if he does that then there won't be any computers available. He then storms off, yelling that he's going downstairs to file a complaint. He was yelling as he walked away, talking about he was going to report what STUPID BYTCHES weren't allowing him to do up here. The floor manager had just left the floor. He always seems to miss the major drama.

You can never leave the ghetto behind

This morning, a former Teaching Assistant who works at a public school near my old job came in. She approached the Manager ( who happened to be my reference partner for the first hour of the day) and asked for assistance. She had her whole class with her( I guess she finally got her BA and her teaching credentials.) When she noticed me, she annouced to the class, "THERE'S A LIBRARIAN FROM THE BAYVIEW." Now everyone who happened to be on the floor at that time, knows the neighborhood from which I hail.

Sundays at the library are special

During my first hour on the desk, this Anglo woman who looked to be in her fifties approached me and asked for help. Normally, that is okay but this time I was in the middle of helping someone with a computer issue. I explained to the woman that I was helping someone else and she would have to get in line at the reference desk to have her question answered. There were three people in line waiting to be helped. When I turned to see how many people were in line, I noticed that they were throwing "mean mugs" toward the woman. Her response" I only approached you because I recognized you as a former student in one of my classes." I tell her, " No, it wasn't me." She insists that it was. I stand firm and tell her," No, it wasn't me." I resume helping the gentleman. She then tells me that it must have been my sister in her Early Childhood Education Class. Anglo people just kill me. Little did this know, my sister and I look nothing alike and we have the same mother and father!

I REPEAT, "IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, YOU MUST GET IN LINE TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE." She looks at the line, then looks at me and says,"I DON'T HAVE TO GET IN LINE!!!!!" The woman is crazy. She was talking up a storm to herself as she walked back to her seat. That is when I noticed that she had a pajama top over all of the other clothes that she had on. This happened in the 12:00 noon - 1:00 o'clock hour.

Fast forward to 3:45 p.m. One of the many he/shes approaches the reference desk to complain about a woman in the restroom. He/she approached my co-worker because my treatment and responses have been deemed unacceptable(more on that later.) The complaint: " There is a woman in the restroom who began yelling and cursing me when I entered the restroom. She said if I am too cheap to get the operation, then I should use the men's restroom." He/she says , "We are allowed full access to women's services, so someone needs to speak with that woman. She was extremely rude." My co-worker's response, " What does the woman look like?" He/she describes the crazy Anglo woman who was bothering us earlier. My co-worker says, " Oh, that woman is crazy." Co-worker then asks me, " Doesn't that sound like the woman from earlier." I tell her yes. Co-worker then describes to he/she exactly what the woman is wearing. He/she agrees that the woman has on those clothes and is carrying a lot of bags. My co-worker states again that said woman is "crazy," he/she shouldn't pay her any mind. He/she goes on to state that he/she has experience working with mentally challenged people and a lot of them are faking.

I didn't agree with that statement but since he/she didn't approach me, I stayed out of the interaction. I was thinking that if he/she has so much experience, he should have spoken to the woman himself and left us out of it. That is one of the reasons he/she no longer approaches me. I don't jump to what he/she deems his needs are.

My co-worker does nothing while he/she is standing there. He/she eventually walks away without receiving the immediate response that he/she wanted. My co-worker told he/she that she would look out for the woman and speak with her when she exited the restroom. Five minutes after he/she left, my co-worker telephoned our security to inform them of the incident.

You can't even walk to your job in peace

While on my way back to the job, after picking up my lunch. Standing at the corner, waiting for the light to change in my favor. A man walks up to me and says "Hello." I say hello in return without even turning in his direction. Then....................it starts.

Bum:"Thank you for speaking to me. Most girls don't even speak to me." That statement would have been fine, except he went on to tell me why they don't speak to him. He goes in for the kill.........."You see, the PROBLEM IS......." I stopped him right there and said, while holding up my hand "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!!!!!!!

I am 5'5" and he was shorter than me. He was ugly and dressed like he probably STANK to the high heavens!!!! That was the problem, not anything he could have possible come up with as and excuse for the reasons women chose to ignore him.

No...........he didn't..............!

10:05 a.m.I see this man that I guess needed help, but not really. First, I hear a loud whistle. I look, and I see this man put his arm in the air. I return to what I was doing on the computer because he obviously didn't need any help, trying to obtain it in that manner. Two seconds later, I hear pssssssssst real loud. I look, and it is the same man. He raises his arm in the air again. Once again, I return to what I was doing because he obviously didn't want any help from me. I guess he felt that the third time would be a charm for him.

I hear him clear his throat really loud and psssssssssst. Now I am mad. I looked at him and he motioned with his arm for me to go where he was. Since he had already irritated me the first two times; I told him that if he needed help or was trying to get my attention, he was going about it in the wrong way. I also informed him that he needed to approach the reference desk and ask for help.

GUESS WHAT? I guess he really didn't need any help because he stayed right were he was and quit trying to get my attention.

"Companion" pets in the library

There was a time when the only pets allowed in the library were "Seeing Eye Dogs." A new day has come. Anyone can claim that their animal is a "companion pet" and they are allowed cart blanche in the library.

Today gave us a reason why the old rule should apply, that rule, and that rule only. I was on the reference desk from 2-3:00 p.m. I hadn't been on the desk for 5 minutes when a patron approached the desk to tell me that there was dog poop on the floor. It was in the middle of the first aisle where the internet access computers are. But of course, it had already been stepped in and was working it's way toward leaving a few permanent stains in the carpet.

I called the custodial department. No answer, only voicemail. I didn't leave a message, because this was urgent. It was stinking in my area! I called building security and asked them to page the custodial supervisor to alert him of the problem. I also submitted a requisition form via e-mail for the clean-up( They now require a req. form before they respond to a telephone call.)

That was 2:05 p.m. at 2:30 p.m., no one had shown up, nor had we received a call acknowledging the request. I telephoned the custodial department again. Once again, there wasn't an answer, but I left a message this time. 2:50 p.m. rolls around and still no response from anyone regarding the dog poop on the 3rd floor. This time my co-worker called security and she stated, "If no one comes by 3:00 p.m., I will inform the floor manager and leave it up to him to handle it." STILL NO ONE CALLED OR CAME BY!!!!

When I went on my break at about 3:07 p.m., a custodian was finally exiting the staff elevator. ALL SHE HAD WAS PLASTIC GLOVES, NO BUCKET OF WATER, NO PLASTIC BAG, NO PAPER TOWELS, NO WET/DRY VACUUM!

I was on the reference desk again at 5:00 p.m. and they had finally cleaned up the poop! City and County Employees are no joke, they work on their time and their time only.

One eyed Jack!!

Yesterday afternoon, a man approached the desk and asked what section the religion books were shelved. I told him the 200's and pointed him in that direction. He returned to the desk five minutes later and told me he couldn't find the books. He asked if I would show him exactly where the books were shelved.

As I began walking in the same direction in which I had directed him earlier, he had the nerve to say as he was walking behind me, "What's wrong you don't want to do your job?" I didn't even respond because I knew that I didn't have anything nice to say. As I walked down the aisle where the books are shelved, I scratched my head(I need to wash it.) As I did this, he stated, "Oh, maybe you can't do your job!" Since there are rows of bibles, I stopped walking and turned to ask him which version he preferred. I didn't get a chance. He turned and looked at the books in front of us and proclaimed, "Oh, you knew just were the books were and you led me right to them." This was all said as I was walking away. I turned, looked at him and said "Uh huh!" He said something smart about me as I walked away. He and all of the other men who happened to be in the area got a good laugh on my expense.

"One-eyed Jack" returned to the desk again. This time, a half hour had passed since he first appeared at the desk. He approached me and said, "I just want to thank you for showing me where the books were." I said,"Un huh, after you talked about me bad" He said, "Oh, I appologize, I didn't mean it." I gave him a smirk and told him that I bet he would be doing it again.

HE HAD THE NERVE TO HAVE ONE OF THE STOLEN MAGNIFYING GLASSES IN HIS POSSESSION. I will remember his face from now on and I will have something for him when I see him agian!

Some days I wonder about people!!!!!

For my first hour on the desk, I was paired with the librarian who loves to talk about me the most. 10 minutes into the hour, she has the nerve to ask me to handle a parton for her. It was a teenager who wanted to sign up for the Teen Summer Reading Program. She says to me, " I don't know anything about the program, can you do it for me?" You know I didn't answer her. I kept helping the patron that I was helping when the teenager approached the desk.

Now the Teen Libraraian has been very good about leaving instructions for the other librarians regarding the sign-up process for the Summer Reading Program and prize distribution.

Mis Mouth goes to the drawer with all of the essentials for the Teen SRC program and gets a registration card for the girl. I guess she thought I would do the rest(NOT.) As I walk past her, she asks, "What do I do now?" I tell her the other items that she must give the patron. She then asks me where she can get them. I tell her that they are in the drawer with the huge sign that says Teen Summer Reading Program." I was amazed. She had the nerve to actually think that I would just take over for her. The is the woman who talks about me each and every chance that she gets.


I JUST HAD TO MENTION WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK. THURSDAYS ARE MY FRIDAYS. MY OFF DAYS ARE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!!!!



This past Thursday, I see my boss and his boss(the floor manager,) along with the Library Technical Assistant for the floor walk past my cubicle. I didn't think anything of it until the second time that I saw them. I passed the trio as I was on my way back to my cubicle. My boss says to me," Big Boss(manager) has something planned for you." My response was, "Oh No!" My boss says, " Don't worry, it's something good." My response was, "Since you put it like that, I know that it is something to worry about."

After returning to my cubicle, I had been at my desk two minutes when the Big Boss leans on the wall of my cubile. He sartled me because 1) I didn't hear him approach my desk and 2) He was in my face when I turned. He says to me," There are a lot of books in storage that aren't in the online catalog. They are very old books and guess what? Most of the books are in your subject field. The Library Tech will be bringing the books to your cubicle for review one truck load at a time. We should go over the books together on the first truck." I have to determine if the books will remain in the collection and where the should be housed.

They were conspiring behind my back! Unlike all of the other librarians on this floor, who have been here 10, 20, 30+ years, I like a clean cubicle and an uncluttered desk. When I receive books that need my attention, I get on it right away. I like to have the books on the way to the next destination within two days. The other folks here have stacks piled so high in and around their cubicles, you can't even see them. I realize that this tactic serves three purposes, 1) You can't tell what they are doing or if they are at their desk, 2) They always looks busy, 3) Because it seems as if they have so much work to do, you will be reluctant to add to the pile. The bonus is that since things seem to get lost on their desk, so you are reluctant to place anything you may need at a later date on their desk.

For me, a clean desk also means tha t if and when I decide to move on, I will have less stuff to lug home and less work to clear from my desk. Yes, I am already comtemplating my next move after two months. I cannot be a Librarian I for the rest of my career!!