Call numbers? I can do that....

At my library we have a patron who is the volunteer librarian at her church library. I have met her a few times when she has asked for suggestions about how to promote her library. When I saw her coming up to me the other day I was not prepared for the conversation that followed....

Patron: Hi, well you know that I am the librarian at my church

*Sidenote*: I did notice how she left out volunteer

Me: Yes

Patron: Well I just wanted to let you know that this book here (I noticed that she has one of our older nonfiction Christian books in her hand), well, you have it classified as 248.86. I classified it as 248.88, so you might want to change your call number.

You. could. have. knocked. me. over.

It took everything I had not to laugh right in her face.

I explained that sometimes books can fall in several different areas but the conversation was pretty awkward after the whole "you might want to change the call number" comment. I just could not believe the audacity.

Are you wondering if the book was in the right section? The original call number of 248.86 was the area that best suited this title.

Oh patrons....

113 vs. 9

If you follow this blog you have probably noticed one thing...the number of posts have significantly decreased.

Earlier tonight I was reading Adventures in Life, Love, Librarianship, a wonderful blog that provides not only delicious recipes, but helpful hints and tips for everyday life and lots of librarian stuff. As I was reading I started feeling guilty. I have seriously slacked off on the number of posts. According to Blogger, I posted 113 times last year. Even though this is only early August I have posted a total of 9 times in 2013. Yeah, serious slacking off.

Let me defend myself....or at least give you a bunch of excuses.

1. I changed jobs.
    At my last job I had a desk in the Circulation Workroom and I spent most of my day there. I only had interaction with patrons for a few hours a day and the rest of the time I could do my job in peace...away from those pesky patrons. Plenty of time to write reviews and blog. Now? I am right smack dab in the middle of the library...next to the computers....which brings every single question in the world. I can rarely sit for more than 3 minutes at a time before I am up showing a patron how to move the mouse around. Time to write a book review? Puuuhleeze.

2. My current job doesn't blog.
    Well, actually we don't do any form of social media at all. Facebook, twitter, blogging....nothing. This means that there is absolutely no reason for me to write a book review. At my last job, I could easily review and post a picture book review that had just come across my desk. I know I could review the books that I read on my own, but there isn't much incentive now. I bet you are thinking "Her library doesn't have Facebook? She should change that!" That's a whole 'nother post and a big ole bottle of wine.

3.  I have a crap phone.
     I do not have a smart phone. Let me repeat because I know most of you are like "What? Did I just read that right?" You did. I do not have a smart phone. Why? Because before this job I was on crap pay grade and I had other priorities besides having an expensive phone bill. I also didn't have cable for a long time, which I could probably do without now. I intend to get a smartphone but I need to get a few things paid off first and save some more. When people ask, "You don't have a smartphone?" I reply with "Oooh, my phone is vintage!". So what does this have to do with me blogging more? Well at my old job, I saw a lot of damaged materials and my coworkers would add quirky little notes to the materials. Well, my phone use not to be so crappy so I could upload pictures to my blog. I guess along with the way I lost that capability. Now if I want to upload a picture I have to find my digital camera..make sure the battery is charged (which it never is) try to find the memory card, take the picture, upload it to my computer, then to the blog. I am not a lazy person by nature, but typing that sentence exhausted me, which is why you don't get very many pictures on this blog.

4. I moved.
     Right across from my job. Our mailboxes are like 4 feet apart. Yeah, that close. Moving sucks. I wouldn't recommend it.

5. My computer tried to fly. It can't...but it is great at falling.
     Great part of moving? People give you stuff! Case in point? BF's parents bought us (technically him, but we are a joint package now) a new bedroom suite. It is beautiful and high. The bed is 4 feet high. No joke. I have to get a running start and jump onto the bed. Sometimes I don't make it. Best idea I ever had? Leaving my laptop on this crazily high bed. The first time the laptop fell from the bed it didn't work for 12 hours. Then it woke up from its coma and all was right in the world. You would think that this would make me realize that I should a) back everything up on my computer b) not leave my computer on the insanely high bed. I never said I was a smart cookie. The 2nd time it fell and continued to work, I thought my computer was made of steel. Well, the 3rd time was the charm. The 3rd time it got knocked off the screen was open. If I wasn't too lazy to get up and find my digital camera you could have a picture of how it looks. Surprisingly, it still works! Just the screen looks like an etch-a-sketch. Right now I am sitting on the living room floor as I transfer the files through the wifi from the etch-a-sketch made of steel laptop to my dad's netbook through the TV. I don't really know how I am doing this but BF did it for me, so I don't ask questions. Oh, and the 3rd fall took place over a month ago and I am now getting around to transferring files.

All these are great excuses to why I have slacked off blogging, but they aren't the real reason. The real reason why I haven't pretty much taken a big absence from everything social? My dad died.

Yeah, this post just took a big sad sharp turn. When I started typing this post I had no intention of mentioning my dad. I was just going to give the 5 excuses I did and try to start blogging more. I very rarely reveal personal information in this blog. I am not an insecure person or anything that would make me think people wouldn't want to read what I write, but I am a private person and very paranoid. I am always thinking that the patron that I am talking about will find my particular rant and demand I be fired. See, paranoid? So revealing personal information isn't really my M.O. (sidenote: do you know what M.O. stands for? Modus Operandi. Latin for mode/method of operation.) I think maybe mentioning it on my blog (where only a few of you know me personally) might help me handle and manage my grief.



I have very little experience with death and especially cancer. I had no idea the devastation cancer could deal out or the aftermath of it. Where I come from, you whisper the word cancer. I naively thought that "other" people get cancer. Not my family. My dad passed away over 5 months ago from a year and half battle with cancer and I am still dealing with the destruction that it did to him, my family and our lives. The amount of physical and emotional pain that I saw him go through could crumble any heart and my heart broke hundreds of times everyday. My dad was the nucleus of my family and we are struggling to handle life without him.

I have checked out several books on dealing with the loss of the parent. I even read 2 pages on one. I keep thinking, I need to check out a book to help me grieve. I help people all the time locate books on grief, but I have never actually read any. I usually pick up if they are looking for secular or something a little more spiritual. From there I can recommend a couple of selections, but I always let them do the rest. I wish I could say, "This book helped me so much", but I haven't even tried that hard. Although, I have to admit that BF handled the situation quite well when he noticed I was trying to read one of the grief books. When I mean handled I mean that for the next week he asked if I was okay every hour and followed me around the house waiting for a random emotional breakdown (he was caught off guard plenty of times).

I would really like to find a book to help me deal with this grief. Books have always helped me deal with plenty of emotions and situations in my life (boys, school, etc.) and I need them for this.  If anyone knows of any secular material that deals with death or particularly the loss of a parent, feel fee to recommend it to me.

I feel like I shouldn't end this post on such a down note, but I don't know where to go from here. I hope to try and post more. I'm working very hard on getting my life back to a routine. Hey, maybe I'll even get a smartphone one day...yeah, even I don't know if I believe that. Guess I will keep on rocking my vintage phone.

Newspapers? That's for old people!l

Oh the conversations you will hear when Story Time lets out and kids are extra loud in a small library....

Girl (about 3 years old) LOOK! Those are newspapers!

Brother (4 or 5 years old) Old people read newspapers.

Dad (very embarrassed because the whole library heard this): No, no no. Smart people read newspapers.

Brother: No, dad. Old people read newspapers



Boy has a point...

Just like twilight?

Earlier today I had a woman come up and asked me to put a few books on hold for her. It turned out that these books all belonged to different series and she was getting them all out of order. Luckily, I have a librarian's best friend ready to sort all this out: Goodreads

We were able to figure out which books she needed to read first. While looking at the series, I noticed that they were all paranormal romances with strong female characters. I decided this is the perfect opportunity to share my new found love of Jeaniene Frost, who is the insanely talented author of the Night Huntress series.

This series and Frost's other works have consumed my live since January. I have even started pre-ordering her books. Yup. That is how you know I love an author...spending money on them.

Anyways, I started booktalking the Night Huntress series, especially the first book Halfway to the Grave.

Here is how the story went....

Me: I don't think I can rave enough about Halfway to the Grave. Cat is such a badass (sidenote: I may not have used the term "badass" since I was at work, but you get the idea). She is half human half vampire, but her mission in life is to kill as many vampires as possible.

Patron: (very excited) Ooooh, so it is like Twilight?

Me: (shocked) What? No!

This totally caught me off because I sure don't remember saying anything about a spineless female character who decides to forgo everything she has in life to follow such a pathetic excuse for man/vampire as Edward.

Who knows if she will decide to read it, but after comparing it to Twilight, I don't know if she deserves the awesomeness of Cat/Bones and eventually...Vlad. *swoon*.

Also, for those who do read Jeaniene Frost, can we all just agree that Twice Tempted (Night Prince #2) is just beyond delicious? (sidenote #2, is delicious an okay term for a book?) I left a concert early because I couldn't wait to get home and read my just delivered copy of the second installment in the Vlad/Leila story. Don't judge me....look at this cover!

See? Delicious. 

Forget the Chicken or the Egg...

Patron: Excuse me, which came first...Word 2007 or Word 2010?

Me: >_<

People? Letters? Islam.....

It is paper season! Yup, I was bombarded with patrons today from 3rd graders to college students jump starting on their papers. While I was helping several patrons today, I noticed three girls plunk down in the Reference 900s and pretty much remodel it. I kid you not, they had books EVERYWHERE on the floor.

Normally this is awesome, but the Reference 900s is across from my 200's area, which is a pretty high traffic area in my library. A lot of people weren't able to get to what they needed because these girls were sitting in the floor. All in all though, I didn't say anything to them because I was proud of these students for jump starting on their papers.

I ended up asking one girl what she was working on and pulled several nonfiction books for her. A little while later another girl surfaced from under all the books that they had pulled. She looked a little lost as she browsed the Reference 800s (which is by my desk) so I asked if I could help her. Her response was as follows:

Girl (about 20 yrs. old): Um...I don't think you will be able to help me......*silence*

Me: Well, tell me what you are looking for?

Girl: Um......well......I"m.........looking.........for.......*silence*........*more silence*.......people.

Me (half asleep from the long silent pauses): Are you looking for a particular person?

Girl: No......more like.........uh.......things they have written?

*Sidenote: It took just about everything I had not to respond with, "oh you mean books?"
But here is what I said instead.....

Me: Autobiographies?

Girl: No...............letters?

Me: Correspondences?

Girl:....*silence* no......um, Islam I guess.........*crickets chirping*



I could tell this girl had no clue what she was looking for. To spare you the painful teeth pulling conversation, here is what she was really looking for: Religious artifacts before the Bible was written to help her prove that the Bible was real

When I was in Library School, we had an assignment to find a Reference Librarian and give them the vaguest topic and see if they could help the us narrow it down by asking us questions. The whole assignment was to teach us how to draw things out of students. I sometimes think that someone is pulling this assignment on me...but then I realize that some people have no skill at vocalizing what they want....or they are just dumb.

Excuse me....

So I am just sitting at my desk when a patron (female, late 50s) approaches me.

Patron: Excuse me.

Me: Yes, can I help you with something?

Patron: Can I use the restroom?

You know, no one has ever asked me that. Usually I get "Where is the restroom?", but not this question. For some reason I just thought this was so funny.

Oh and of course I said yes.

Girl Who Played With The Dragon Tattoo

Patron: Yes, I want to place a hold on The Girl Who Played with Fire movie.

 

Me: No problem.

Patron: But I don’t want the foreign film.

Me: I am sorry but the foreign film is the only movie that is available.

Patron: What about the one with Daniel Craig?

Me: Oooh, you must mean The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was released on DVD earlier this year.

Patron: No, I already saw that. I want the next one.

Me: They haven’t made it yet. The only one available is the foreign film. 

Patron: But I just saw the Daniel Craig one….

Me: Yes, but they haven’t made the 2^nd movie yet.

Patron: Why not?

Me: Because the 1^st one was just released….Like I said the only one that is available is the foreign film.

Patron: But I don’t want that one.

Me: Well there you go.

We gotta eat....

September is Food for Fines month at my library. We give patrons the option to bring in canned goods or nonperishable items and we will reduce their fines (up to $10). We have been really promoting this and trying to tell all the patrons about this. I guess some people aren't as excited as we are considering the phone call I just got....

Me: Circulation Department


Patron: Hey, I can't bring you any canned goods cause we gotta eat.

Me: Um. Ok. 

Money, Money, Money!

Patron (on the phone): Hi, I turned in Catching Fire on Wednesday and I left something in it so I was wondering if you could see if it is still in the book....um, it is $500 cash.





Sidenote: I want to be the level of rich where I can use $500 cash as a bookmark. 

Sorry...all out of voter registration forms.

Patron (18 years old): Hi, um...can I get a voter's registration form?

Me: Sure! (hands him the form)

Patron: Is this good for the presidential election?

Me: Yes.

Patron: Um...do you know who is running? For President?

Are you kidding me?

What I wish I could have said:

Sorry...all out of voter registration forms. Try again in four years

Me no listen to you

Patron: Can I get a voter registration form?

Me: Sure. (Hands her the form) When you fill it out you can either turn it back into us and we will mail it in for you or you can mail it in to one of the addresses on the back of the form.

Patron: What do I need to give you to fill it out?

Me: Nothing, just fill it out with your correct address and information  and either hand it back into us to mail in or you can mail it yourself. 

Patron: So what do I do when I’m done? 

Me: (Slightly annoyed because she wasn’t listening): You can either turn it back into us and we will mail it in for you or you can mail it in yourself to one of the addresses on the back.

Patron: So I can turn it in back to you?

Me: Yes, ma’am.

Patron: Or I can mail it in to one of the address here on the back?

Me: Yes.

Patron: Well, how do I know which address to mail it into to?

Me: They are listed by county. Just pick the county you live in. 

Patron: What county do I live in?

Tracking Devices?

Patron (on the phone): Hi, do your DVDs have tracking devices in them?

Me: *head on desk*

oh phone calls.....

Phone calls at the library never cease to amaze or amuse me..... Here is my favorite from last week.

Me: Circulation Department

Patron: I'm gonna pay that fine in August or September.

*patron hangs up*

Checked out you say? I don't believe you!

A patron came up to the Circ Desk looking for a particular movie. After a quick search I informed her that our copy was currently checked-out. I placed a hold on another branch's copy and sent her on her way...or so I thought. She kept lingering at the desk and glancing back to the DVDs....

Me: Um... can I help you with something else?

Patron: Are you sure it's not over there?

Me: It is currently checked out, ma'am.

Patron: Oh I know, you said that, but is there any chance it might be over there? *points to DVD area*

Me: No ma'am. It is checked out.

Patron: So no chance it is over there? At all?

Me: No.

Patron: Are you sure? Maybe it is on one of those carts? *points to recently returned movies cart in the lobby*

Me: Ma'am it is not in this building.

1 + 2 + 2 = Not 5

A patron came to the Circ Desk complaining that he wasn't notified about an item that was on hold. I pulled up his record and looked at the hold call history.

Me: Well it says that you were called on Friday for 5 items.

Patron: No, I got a call telling me that I had 1 book, 2 CDS, and 2 DVDs ready to be picked up.

Me:...That equals 5.