A patron is out to get me

My branch has been open for 2 years, it will be 3 in February 2016.  A male patron who has been frequenting the branch for almost a year has decided that he wants me fired.

On many occasions, he has entered the branch and said something inappropriate to me in an effort to get a reaction out of me.  Most times, I would just look at the patron like he is crazy and keep it moving.

For the past few months, he has been sitting in a chair facing the reference desk and just starring at me.  Since sleeping is not allowed in any of our libraries, I walk the branch waking patrons and informing them of this Patron Guideline.  If the sleeping patron is someone that I have told about the guideline before and awakened more than once,  I tap the chair or knock on the table until they awaken.  I don't stop to inform them of the guideline again, I just keep walking.

The guy mentioned above has begun to fake sleeping.  When I approach the chair that he is sitting, he will open his eyes and exclaim that he was not sleeping.  Because of this, I began waiting until he begins to snore before I approach him.

Four weeks ago the scenario above occurred.  When I woke the patron, he yelled, "I AM GOING HOME ANYWAY!"  I didn't say anything in response, I just turned around and walked toward the reference desk.  The patron continues to yell, "OH, YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME?  I DO HAVE A PLACE AND IT'S PAID UP TOO!"  I didn't say anything, but I raised my hand in a stop sign motion, in the hope that the patron would stop talking.  I returned to the reference desk and he was still talking.  I never made a comment on anything that he had said.  I honestly don't care.  My only concern was and continues to be that he thinks that he can sleep in the library.

Well, homeslice went to another branch, bad mouthed me and submitted a complaint form about me.  He said that I don't know how to speak to patrons and I am in need of customer service training.

This is the same patron who has walked in the branch on many occasions and yelled, "I like messing with her, just to see what she will do!"  When I would look up, he would be looking directly at me while saying those words.

One Thursday night when I was closing the branch doors, this patron tells my co-worker that we haven't seen him because he got a job working at Wa* Ma*t.  He then announces, "Me and her gon get married."  I looked up and he was pointing at me.  I chringed, turned and speed walked away.

So after not getting the desired reaction out of me.  The patron who has been harassing me for months, decides that I need to be fired.  He lodged a complaint about my branch this week on a day when I wasn't even at work.

So you say

There is a young man who was a regular at my branch until January of this year.  All he ever talked about was Ya*e and how he would be a transfer student the Spring 2015 semester.  Well, in February of this year, his story began to fall apart in my eyes.

I attended a program at one of the neighborhood extension campuses of the local community college.  Who do I see working at the information desk, the patron who was supposed to be on the east coast.  His explaination(which I did not request,) " The dean asked me to fly back for this special program."

We I returned to work the next day, I mentioned that I saw the patron at the event the night before.

I also mentioned that I believed the patron had not gone to Ya*e, he simply stopped coming to our branch.  Two days later, as the Tech was processing the materials requests from other branches, the patron had requested one of our DVDs be sent to another branch.  A closer look at all of his request from our branch and it was discovered that he was having them sent to the same branch one neighborhood over.

Two weeks later, one of our pages saw the patron on the bus.  The patron stopped in the branch a month later saying, "Oh, I am just home for my brother's baby shower."  Once again, no one had asked for this explaination of his presence.

Fast forward to this past Friday. The patron walks into the library and gives me a hug.  I was helping a patron, so I didn't have time to entertain his foolishness.  To my surprise, the patron came into the library again on Saturday.  To avoid hearing any lies, I went into my office.  Not only was he still in the branch when I returned to the reference desk, he had made himself at home at the table in front of the desk.

I continued to do my work while avoiding conversation with the patron.  I told the Tech that I will call the patron out on his lies if I see him outside of the branch.  Knowing my tolerance level I will probably end up doing it while at work.

The Tech kept saying, "Don't do that."  I told her that what irks me is that he thinks we don't know that he is lying.

They need to just stop!

A few weeks ago, an elderly gentleman approached me at the reference desk.  He proceeded to show me a prescription and say, "I have a prescription for blue pills."  I looked at the prescription and then the patron, and said, " OKAAAAY!"

The patron showed me a brochure and said, "I went to C*S pharmacy and they told me that I have to get my prescription filled online.  I don't know anything about computers.  They told me to go to the public library."

I advised the elderly gentleman to apply for a library card.  Once he obtained the library card, I helped him log onto the computer and the online pharmacy.  The patron told me that he did not know what else to do.  I continued to help the patron order blue pills online.

The entire time that I helped the patron, I thought " Is this really what this profession has become?  I can't believe that I went to graduate school for this!"

My hope of posting more

It was in vain.

I think about posting, get home, eat, and fall asleep. 

I suspended 2 people last month, 1 for unreasonable use of the restroom and the other for a smoking in the restroom.

The unreasonable use was but naked.  He appealed and the suspension was overturned.  I later found out that he lied.

Hopefully, I will post more this year

So far, I have worked one 6 day week this year.  Two Saturday and Sunday weekends.  I am not liking this so far.

One employee was planning to retire next month.  I went on vacation and when I returned, I found out that she has changed her mind.    But, WHY??

Just GO already!

Say What Now?

A patron approached me yesterday and said, " Your face looks so young, but you have A LOT OF GRAY HAIR! I said, "That is because I am old!" Patron: No, because you have a young face. Me: I know how old I am. I am really old. I'm guessing he thought that he was giving me a compliment. There are those who gray prematurely, but I am not one of them. I happen to be old and have gray hair. I also happen to not look my age. Usually I cover my gray, but my stylist up and moved to Barcelona on me last July. Luckily, I follow him on facebook and instagram, because he will be in town next month and I have an apoitment. No, I haven't found anyone like him in a year. I could go to his friend(who I was going to before I switched,) but his friend doesn't listen to what his clients want. He is of the mind that he is an artist and he knows what his client should look like.

So I went to the ALA Convention in Las Vegas

A librarian convention was the last place I wanted to be. I was told that my branch would be discussed at one of the sessions. The convention opened June 27th. The session I was there for wasn't until June 29th. To top that off, it was at 8:30 am. Really, on a Sunday in Las Vegas. Did I enjoy myself? It was okay. It was hot and I prefer to be in Las Vegas when the temperature gets no higher than 75 degrees.