I've been told that if you ever visit Disneyland/World, and you are told that you are a treasured guest, don't put a feather in your cap, because it is not a good thing! So, I am going to borrow their verbiage and apply it to some of our more "special" patrons, I mean, treasured, patrons.
Our library has four different departments: Genealogy, Reference/Adult Services, Children's, and Circulation. Reference/Adult Services is located upstairs, and is where you will find the real librarians, those with an actual degree. The librarians are the only ones who are allowed to look up books on the computer to see if they are available in our library, or any of the 30 libraries in our system.
I work in the Circulation Department. When we are in the workroom, we discharge all the items that have been returned and put them back on the shelves. When we work "on the desk" out front, we assist patrons wishing to check out their items. And, by "assist" I mean that we spend most of our time showing them how to use the self-check out machines. We also issue library cards and collect fines. Most times, it keeps us hoppin' at a pretty good clip. When we are not assisting patrons, we are cleaning and checking all the dvds and cds that have been returned. Sometimes patrons will forget to put the dvd back in the case and return an empty case. Sometimes the dvds look as if they had been used as coasters, or for serving plates for children. Sometimes I simply do not want to know what the dried up, sticky, unidentified glob is that is stuck to the dvd. So, that is a very basic description of what my job entails.
The other day, two women came up to the Circulation Desk, ready to check out their items. They had several dvds, and I was taking them out of the security cases. I noticed that one woman had chosen two "express" aka new release movies, which are 53 cents each. I told her it would be $1.07 for both movies. She looked at me, horrified, and exclaimed that she did not bring any money. So I explained that we sometimes have other copies in the free movie section, which is upstairs. Then she said, "Well, can you look it up for me?"
I explained that no, I was sorry, but she would have to ask the librarians upstairs to do it. She just looked at me and said, "Well, what do you do?" My "Sarcastic Self" wanted to say, sweetly of course, "Why nothing. Absolutely nothing!" But, my "Professional Side" (and the side that wanted to stay employed) said, sweetly of course, "This is the Circulation Department. Upstairs is Reference. We have elevators."
In the meantime, her friend walks over and says, "Since you don't have any chairs around here, I'm just gonna sit on your desk!" (Hey, I can't make this stuff up!) As she's plopping her big behind on the desk, I'm motioning, speechless, at all the empty chairs that are located all around the library. She responds with, "Those are all too far away. There's all this empty space right here!"
Oh. You mean this area for foot traffic? Yeah, let's just put a chair right there. The first woman managed to get her one free movie checked out, while her friend managed to get herself off the desk. Then they left. I'm pretty sure they were thinking that I was lazy and the library was inconsiderate with the chair placement. You are a treasure, ladies! Bless your heart, and have a nice day.
As I write this, I'm getting ready for my son and granddaughter's visit. I'm getting a little panicky thinking about everything that I have to get done before their arrival on Saturday. My Sweetie Pie will be here for two weeks, so it's highly unlikely that I will have time to blog during that time. She keeps me pretty busy, but I love every minute of it .Hopefully, I will be a little more regular at blogging and visiting. Bear with me until I get back into the blogging groove!
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