Weird People Who Use the Library...But Should Come In During Someone Else's Shift
Yesterday, a woman came in to ask if she could take books out of the library. She was very polite as she explained that she does not take classes here, does not take classes at any of the other area colleges, and is not a teacher. She is, however, auditing a class. She is not, however, officially registered through the registrar, so her name doesn't appear in the system. It was about this time that she started making somewhat funny faces, when we asked how to spell her name so we could look for her in the system. We can't just have anybody walk in and get a library card, now can we? It's only been about three minutes, but she is getting rather annoyed, or so I suspect from the increase in frequency of her strange faces. Our director comes over to explain that her name somehow needs to be in the system before we can allow her to take books out. The woman asks one last time if she is allowed to use the library, then pushes past the director and out the door, muttering about how inconsiderate the library is, not allowing people to check out books. Yay for supervisors, cuz it's better when they get to tell people to go away.
Today, a young man (he had to be a freshman, i hope) came to the desk to get a movie he had to watch for class. These movies must be kept inside the library, so I gave him a set of headphones and directed him to the DVD player over in the corner. He stands there blankly and says, "So I can listen to the movie, but not watch it?" I explain once again that he can use the tv, just like any other tv, but he still doesn't get it and wants to sign up for the room upstairs for the next day. He is debating what time to sign up for when my supervisor comes over. She asks what is going on, he tells her he needs to watch this movie, but he'll have to come back tomorrow. She asks why he doesn't use the DVD player on the first floor right now. He says it is because he wants to watch it, not just listen to it. She assures him he can see it on the screen and listen to it on the headphones, all at the same time. He thinks about this for a moment, accepts the headphones, and then asks, "How do I use it?" I actually had to walk him over, show him how to turn it on, and insert the disk for him. Scary, huh?
Then there is the lady who called to reserve the study room for Friday nights. The first time she called, the circ clerk said no problem and signed her up. Later we realized she had signed up for a time after the library was closed, but had no number to call her back at. The other morning I was on the desk when this lady called back. I told her it had been a mistake to sign her up then and told her the hours we really are open. She said okay and hung up. A few hours later, she called back and this time my supervisor answered the phone. She apparently retold the story, reasked what hours we were open, and signed up for another time. Do people really have to hear things multiple times?
Enough stories for now. I'm sure we'll have more as soon as the leisure collection of DVDs goes out, in a week or so. That ought to be interesting...
Today, a young man (he had to be a freshman, i hope) came to the desk to get a movie he had to watch for class. These movies must be kept inside the library, so I gave him a set of headphones and directed him to the DVD player over in the corner. He stands there blankly and says, "So I can listen to the movie, but not watch it?" I explain once again that he can use the tv, just like any other tv, but he still doesn't get it and wants to sign up for the room upstairs for the next day. He is debating what time to sign up for when my supervisor comes over. She asks what is going on, he tells her he needs to watch this movie, but he'll have to come back tomorrow. She asks why he doesn't use the DVD player on the first floor right now. He says it is because he wants to watch it, not just listen to it. She assures him he can see it on the screen and listen to it on the headphones, all at the same time. He thinks about this for a moment, accepts the headphones, and then asks, "How do I use it?" I actually had to walk him over, show him how to turn it on, and insert the disk for him. Scary, huh?
Then there is the lady who called to reserve the study room for Friday nights. The first time she called, the circ clerk said no problem and signed her up. Later we realized she had signed up for a time after the library was closed, but had no number to call her back at. The other morning I was on the desk when this lady called back. I told her it had been a mistake to sign her up then and told her the hours we really are open. She said okay and hung up. A few hours later, she called back and this time my supervisor answered the phone. She apparently retold the story, reasked what hours we were open, and signed up for another time. Do people really have to hear things multiple times?
Enough stories for now. I'm sure we'll have more as soon as the leisure collection of DVDs goes out, in a week or so. That ought to be interesting...
posted by Elizabeth at
9:08 PM
1 Comments:
You know, I always wonder if the weird people just wait for me to be working the desk, or if wierd is the norm and everyone gets these kind of qeusetions, or if maybe I get the easy ones and everyone else handles the really bizarre stuff. In any case public service is a wild ride most days. But most of the time I love it anyway.
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