Heard at the reference desk

Yesterday afternoon, five minutes into my one hour desk duty, one of the custodians stepped to me.

He said, "So, I guess Satin let his people free today!"


ALL I COULD DO WAS LAUGH!!!!!

You never know what the other is thinking

Sunday afternoon, my boss and I are sitting at the reference desk. He closed the window that he had open in frustration.

I asked him what was wrong. He said, "I'm tired of librarians trying to be cool by having blogs!"

*insert weird look*

I then say, "I have a blog."

His response, "Uh oh, it isn't another blog all about us is it?"

Me, "Not really."

Thankfully, a patron approached the desk and deaded that conversation.

My day started out with a bang

My first hour on the reference desk. This man runs over to the desk and yells for me to call security.

A woman had parked herself in front of his computer and proceeded to use. She refused to get up and he wanted her gone immediately(this was on the opposite side of the floor from me.)

When the librarian who was working the desk with me arrived, the same patron yelled that she should call security again because they were taking too long( not two minutes had passed.)

He returned to the desk two more times yelling and screeming that if security didn't hurry up, he was going to remove the woman himself.

In the mean time, the woman was yelling and screeming at him to come over and move her.

2 1/2 minutes and security had arrived three deep. The female patron began talking even more mess, she called them "toy" cops and said they weren't going to do anything to her because they couldn't send her to jail. She taunted them saying,"It's taking three of you to secure one of me."
"Ain't nobody going to do anything to me. All they did the other day was send me to the hospital!"

She called the two female security guards "n's", "black b**ches," and told them not to touch her. In my opinion, that was just the kettle calling the pot black.

By this time, the police sargent had arrived and the patron had quieted. She was still fighting.

There was a group of male and female teenagers from job corps and I heard one of them yell, "MAN, this is better than COPS!"

And I asked the chic, not once but twice

The story goes like this.............This past Wednesday, I asked a co-worker known for calling in sick..........(just because she has accumulated enough sick leave,) if she would be at work today. Sundays are difficult days for reference desk coverage.

So, she called in sick. That wouldn't be bad except, she left work early last Sunday. Then, she called in sick last Monday.

It would have been easier if we had known in advance that she wasn't going to be here. I asked her becuase tomorrow is a holiday for us. It has been my experience that those prone to call in sick almost always do so the work day before a holiday.

I'll just wait and see if they talk to her about this. What she didn't count on was that today is the day that our floor manager was scheduled to work.

Sometimes, I think patrons ask questions for shock value

Patron: Can you direct me to a section?

Me: Hopefully.

Patron: Where are the sex books?

Me: I believe that they are on the next floor up, in the 600's but I will get a title for you.

Patron: I don't mean fiction!

Me: I know, you would like a manual; something like K*rma S*tra

Patron: Yeah. You know I feel like libraries are where knowledge is.

(I continued to search the catalog with the same response that I give everyone)

As I was waiting for the printout, the patron stated,"You know I feel powerful in a green
leather jacket[as he tugged on the lapel of said jacket.]"

Guess what????

One of my coworkers actually had foot surgery while I was on leave. (November 1st was my first day back at work.) She now has a cane and uses a wheelchair at her desk. I guess she showed me!