Hypersensitive
11.29.03 (9:46 am) [edit]I'm back at work today after having the past three off - where did they go? I almost hate having time off because of the stuff piling up for me to do when I get back. :(
Things are in complete disarray here and are getting worse due to our chronic staffing shortages and high volume of patron traffic. We might as well just throw the popular materials in tubs and set them out ten feet away from the checkout desk. Most of the time they never make it to the shelves anyway. :(
As another consequence of being off for a few quiet days, today I seem to be hypersensitive to the "normal" aggravations of this location. The noises, the whining patrons, the messes, the computers; they're all making me more pissed off by the minute and we've only been open for an hour and a half. I'm not sure I'm going to make it through the whole eight hours without exploding. :x
And to top things off, while I was on my mini-vacation, I'm afraid that I pissed off Tiny Little Librarian with a comment that I made on her blog. :(
Thanksgiving
11.27.03 (7:40 pm) [edit][image]ArcadeAttendant_12 45264144.jpg[/image]
Well, this is the actual turkey. :D It turned out really well. In fact all the food turned out well, despite my doing all the cooking. :wink: I know it doesn't exactly match the one in my previous entry, but I bet mine was more juicy than that one. Just in case anyone wonders about it . . . anything that looks like it was burnt on the skin is actually just an overabundance of the herbs and seasonings that I rubbed onto the bird before roasting. :)
The food almost made me forget how lousy the Packers looked today. :cry: They blew it bigtime! I'm sure I'm not alone in finally saying that it's time Brett Favre hung it up and retired. I think he's actually hurting the team more than he's helping them right now. I know he says he's still having fun and that he's still got that competitive drive, but it's not fun to watch them anymore as a fan . . .
Anyway, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving today! :D
Day off
11.26.03 (2:12 pm) [edit][image]ArcadeAttendant_13 27129526.jpg[/image]
Here's what my turkey will hopefully look like tomorrow. :D Provided I can get the damn thing thawed in time that is . . . It's been in the fridge for 3 days now and is still hard as a rock. Guess it'll be taking a bath in the sink tonight. :wink:
I'm in charge of the bird again this year, and I've been pretty successful in the past. I've cooked the turkey for the family for the past 4 years and only had one slight mishap; the year I used white zinfandel instead of dry white cooking wine to baste it. It didn't turn out too bad with the zin, but it was dryer and more burnt on the outside due to the extra sugars in the zin vs. the dry white.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow will be a perfect Thanksgiving. :)
What could be better? The Packers will be on and should destroy the Lions (though I do like the Lions too, just not as much as the Pack!), I don't have anywhere that I have to travel to, and only one guest coming for dinner (my Mom, or as my daughter calls her "Beeka"). In the meantime until tomorrow, I'm just sitting here at home and trying not to check my email at work. :wink: Because as much as I rant about my job, I still care and want to know what's going on there, even when I'm not working. It's an addiction. :roll:
Tonight, we're going to go look at some Christmas lights in a park in the downtown and let my daughter run around enough to go to bed at a decent time. :) Ahh, if only every day off was this quiet and peaceful.
Lost Sheep
11.25.03 (3:00 pm) [edit]Oh the sullen and sorry faces on our patrons today. Woe to those who would use the internet. :cry: The network demons continue to plague us, though we have managed to get a few staff terminals working to a small degree . . . at least enough to keep us open and me blogging. :)
The children, think of the children . . . what on earth will they do if they can't shoot their pixilated guns, or play their favorite rap videos? And what of the adults? Whatever will they do if they can't gamble, chat or watch porn online at the library today? Certainly not look at books . . . Heaven forfend! :cry:
Actually it has been really amusing watching the dejection on the faces of the regular inhabitants today as their candy has been taken away. :twisted:
Unfortunately though, if we didn't have the internet, we'd be on the budgetary chopping block because we'd have no patron traffic at all. :(
Network problems
11.25.03 (10:53 am) [edit]My library's network went down last night at about 5:30 PM and when patrons figured out that they couldn't get on the internet, the place emptied out. Just goes to show how the focus of public libraries has shifted from books to the web. If the games aren't available, people don't see anything appealing in the library to do. :(
Anyway, we found out this morning that we should have left our staff terminals on because any computer that logged out can't log back in again. We've managed to get two terminals back into operation again, minus most of their functionality. We've been intercepting the regular internet patrons and telling them to head elsewhere since the problem seems localized to our branch. So it's been a really slow, really quiet morning. The only problem with that is that without functioning staff computers, we're limited in what we can do beyond shelving. :(
I'm doing this entry while I'm on break in the staff area, where one of the only web-functioning terminals is located (not too practical for reference questions). Oh well, I guess it could be worse . . . this place could be it's normal noisy, bustling, annoying self. :roll:
It's going to be a looooooong day!
Broken windows, broken rules, broken laws and other random thoughts.
11.24.03 (7:03 pm) [edit]I hadn't noticed it until the sun went down today, but someone broke one of our windows. It had just looked like rain on the glass until it was backlit by the security light above it on the outside. This isn't the first and it isn't the last, but still it's disheartening all the same. It's not a little window either. It's a two foot by about eight foot panel of security glass, so it won't be cheap to replace. From the size and location of the impact point, it was probably another rock attack. Lately, the parking lot here has been subjected to a series of launched rock attacks that have broken several car windows, including my windshield. The lot is literally littered with debris.
:(
It's just another example of how the people of this neighborhood regard the services we provide, or the lack thereof, since we think it happened on Thursday night after we closed early due to budgetary hour cuts.
Today I had someone come up to me and say with a smile on their face (paraphrasing), "Hi, I'm breaking your rules, and whether I know it or not, I'm breaking the law too and I need your help with it." This involved trying to use someone else's library card to sign in to our computer system and needless to say, I was less than helpful to them. :evil: The patrons here seem completely oblivious to the problems of identity theft, and oblivious to the fact that someone can do a lot of financial damage with a stolen library card. It's not like it's a credit card with a huge limit on it, but still someone can steal hundreds of dollars of materials with someone else's card. I wish people would realize that fact before they come in and say, "I never checked out that stuff and there's no way I owe $200. I lost my card a long time ago." :x
Our shelves are a disaster. This library is highly, but not well used by the patrons. They pull armloads of materials off the shelf and put them whereever they feel like. They spot videos they want and then hide them throughout the stacks in order to come back later for them (probably forgot their cards and have no ID either) only to forget about them. Our magazines are all in the back because when they get put out on the browsing racks, they get dumped all over the building and then have to be re-sorted and shelved. I think we have more materials piled up on the ends of shelves than standing upright in some areas. We don't have enough staff to keep up with reshelving returns, let alone shelf-reading. :cry:
It's been one of those days again where I feel like I've been physically assaulted by the stupidity I've encountered. :x
Finally, on a happy note: I work tomorrow and then have three fabulous days off, during which I plan to relax, read, stuff myself with turkey and watch the Packers on Turkey Day! Not necessarily in that order. :D
If only I didn't have to work Saturday, this week would be perfect. :wink:
The real thing
11.24.03 (2:25 pm) [edit][image]ArcadeAttendant_91 4160655.jpg[/image]
Here's the real thing for comparison to the original design. I think it came out pretty good.
Once again, I knew coming to work was going to be a bad idea . . . :(
Due to a scheduling mishap, we're short staffed today. One of the librarians who splits time between my regular branch and another was scheduled to work at both of them today. So, she's gone to that branch because she's the only librarian scheduled to be there today and the other librarian that is here with me today "volunteered" to work a 12 hour shift in order to cover. Luckily he didn't have any other obligations.
There are cell phones and machine guns going off in the library today . . . adult's toys & kid's toys.
The gunfire is actually coming from one of the many violent internet games that the children love to play here on our "reference" computers. I tell one kid to turn the volume down and another one goes off. I know there aren't many librarians out there who are in favor of filters, but personally I think that it'd make my job easier because the sites these kids go to to play the violent games would most likely be blocked due to adult links on them. It's a thorny issue, but I still don't see the need to provide the kids here with yet another access point for viewing violent content. The kids in this neighborhood get enough violence all the time in their lives without our help.
On a lighter note, I found this quiz on another library blog and the answer fits me perfectly. I might have to study up on Mr. Hamilton:
I'm sure there'll be more to rant about later, as the day is still young . . .
Tattoo
11.21.03 (10:52 am) [edit][image]ArcadeAttendant_56 6976090.jpg[/image]
Sulky was asking about tattoo stories and pictures on her blog, so I found a copy of the design that I have on my arm. I'll have to post a shot of the actual tattoo sometime, but for now this is what I have, only it's blue and has some freckles and hairs interrupting it's contours. :wink:
Peace and quiet.
11.21.03 (10:23 am) [edit]I'm at the other branch today (our "sister" library) since my regular branch is closed today. Due to staffing shortages, half of our branches are closed on Fridays and the staff either has the day off because they work on Saturday, or they get sent to one of the other open branches to shore up their staffing for one day a week. It's a nice day for me because nearly none of my normal work is "portable" and I get to spend most of the day just goofing off. :D It's like getting paid for a day off from actually working because this branch is so slow and trouble free compared to where I'm normally at. The only drawback is that at my own branch, the work is piling up for myself and the other staffers. We don't get the benefit of the extra people and actually lose work time to do the normal stuff that has to get done. :( It'd make so much more sense to keep a couple of us there when we're closed to the public in order to play catch-up, but the administration doesn't like that idea. They're afraid of getting complaints from the public that we should be open if there is staff in the building. :!: I guess I shouldn't complain. Either way it's a day off from dealing with the public, or at least it seems that way when the patrons here and their requests are what they should be like . . .
Message Service
11.20.03 (3:19 pm) [edit]:x One of the mutant "Deliverance" family kids has been treating the library as a message service. Everyday now she gets a call here, probably from another member of her ever-growing, un-numbered mutant family. It's almost as if she's an advance scout for the rest of the clan, relaying her surveillance to the others before they invade. "How many computers are open?" "Who's working the circ desk?" "Is that CD that I've checked out 20 times before available again?"
I'm getting nervous . . . :wink:
I've been thinking again . . . always dangerous.
11.19.03 (6:48 pm) [edit]I've been doing some real hard thinking over the past couple of days about what I like and dislike about my current job.
Pro: I love that I'm surrounded by information and avenues to information. At times though that can be a bit of a curse as I'm continually finding more things to read, watch, listen to, or just investigate than I can possibly find time to do. And I'm getting paid for it. :)
Pro: I do like to help people, especially if the question really engages me and makes me think. I'm a problem solver and I love mysteries and puzzles.
Con: 95% of the questions I'm asked aren't engaging. They're repetitive and directional in nature. Where's this, where's that? How do I make a photocopy? Where's the bathroom? Can I use a computer? Where are the Wrestling/Pokemon/Dragonb allZ movies? Even the reference questions are limited to about 20 - 30 topics that are repeated in cycles every few weeks or so.
Con: I can't stand mindless repetition of any sort and that's what most of my job seems to have devolved to. I see the same faces every day. I deal with the same problems, usually from the same patrons, every day. I guess it was naive of me to assume when I took the job that I'd see "the regulars" once every couple weeks and not every day for hours on end.
Pro: I love seeing people use the library resources properly (including myself and the other staff as a resource), especially kids. I'm glad that the public is working to educate themselves and that gives me some degree of hope.
Con: I see more library abuses than proper usage. I see more people stealing, vandalizing, lying, cheating, yelling and generally ignoring the rules of proper behavior than I thought I'd ever see in a public place.
Con: I also see more behavioral/discipline/par enting problems than a social worker.
Pro: I like helping to educate kids in my own small capacity. I enjoy teaching them how to learn on their own and to use the library properly. I especially like making a kid feel important by listening to them and treating them with the same amount, or more, respect than I would an adult.
Con: I spend way too much time yelling at kids for behavioral problems that really stem from the fact that there are too many of them in the library with nothing to do except cause trouble.
I'm sure I can think of more, but that's a good start to my working things out . . .
Couple of quick notes
11.18.03 (4:57 pm) [edit]If I had a nickel for every person who skips our "in" gate and goes though the "out" gate and sets off our theft alarm, I'd be rich. :?
Question on a "famous Hispanic woman scientist." The patron needed a biography of this person who turned out to be a living math teacher. We get these all the time . . .
Yes this person has a degree of fame, but as I pointed out to the patron: she's not dead and not particularly famous, therefore there aren't any books about her. The printout in your (the patron's) hand has more information on this woman than we can provide. Tell your teacher to assign you someone else that you have a chance of finding something on.
This happens all the time during Black History Month and Hispanic-American Heritage Month. I'm all for giving kids positive role models and boosting awareness of cultural diversity, but teachers downloading a list of names from the internet without investigating the materials available about these people does more harm then good. Nothing like teaching kids about failure early on . . . :(
Another girl insisting that I use "Contemporary Authors" to provide her with biographical info on Edgar Allen Poe . . . :roll:
And then she got mad at me when I pointed out that he's not "contemporary." My guess is her teacher told her to use that source. I did find many other entries just down the shelf and told her that there were literally hundreds of other sources on Poe. That seemed to placate her. 8)
Scary Prostitute finally left after 6 hours of projecting an air of ennui throughout the building. Guess she doesn't like the noise of the kids getting out of school and arriving in droves anymore than I do.
New weird guy today, came in complaining of a squirrel outside the building making strange noises at him. :roll: He stayed in here for at least 4 hours too; at least until the kids came in and I noticed he had disappeared. Who knows, maybe he hooked up with Scary Prostitute?
:wink:
Just another little anecdote from yesterday.
11.18.03 (9:10 am) [edit]I just remembered that I had forgotten a little "incident" from yesterday. We have an older lady patron who stands outside the doors every day, waiting for us to open and staring at us getting things prepared for the public as if we were fish in a bowl. The only thing she uses the library for is to read the daily newspaper and she gets really bent out of shape if it's not ready for her when she runs in when we open. Yesterday morning, she was upset that the Sunday paper wasn't out (it may have burned up in the bookdrop) and that the other newspapers weren't in perfect order. She started in on me, ranting about how the newspaper service was really going down hill here and blah blah blah blah blah . . . So I very politely apologized to her, explaining that we didn't have any of the regular staff here that morning and that things were in disarray because [b]we had a fire here![/b] And that things would be back to normal in a day or so. :? She was placated by that, when it finally dawned on her that [b]we had a fire[/b] and that potentially that might have meant the end of her newpaper reading here at all . . . :shock:
Now the really crazy thing about this woman isn't that she's so totally focussed on the papers that the rest of the library could be gone and she'd still be happy. (As long as she had her newspapers) It's the fact that she pays something like $1.50 every day to ride the bus here to save the 50 cents on buying a paper everyday. Or, if she got it delivered to her home and didn't have to venture out in the bad weather, race other patrons to get the paper first, etc. It would only cost her about 30 cents per day to read the paper. :roll:
Oh on another note, the scary prostitute seems to be taking up semi-permanent residence here again. She was here this morning when we opened up and ran for the bathroom first thing. After spending some time in there, she came out and went to her favorite table and layed out all of her makeup supplies. Then she put up her hair and proceeded to apply all her makeup at the table. Now she's just sitting there staring off out the windows at the gray rainy weather. I don't know why we call her a prostitute . . . she can't be making any money sitting in the library day after day. :wink:
Monday Mornings Are So Wonderful . . .
11.17.03 (12:46 pm) [edit]:evil: Okay, I knew I should have turned around and gone home when I saw the yellow "caution" tape across the door of the library this morning when I arrived. Even before that I was suspicious due to the large congregation of city trucks in our lot.
Some one of our lovely patrons in this demilitarized zone that we euphemistically refer to as a "[b]neighborhood[/b]" started a fire in our bookdrop sometime Sunday night. Not exactly a neighborly thing to do . . .
The extinguishers put out the fire before too much damage was done, but most of the returned materials in the drop were damaged beyond repair and the front vestibule was covered in sooty smoke. When I arrived, the mess was being cleaned up by a squad of custodians, who were pulled in from their usual buildings to repair the damage. Also, our security tape which should have recorded the perpetrator wasn't turned on properly by the makeshift staff that we had here on Saturday due to illnesses.
Then after starting to deal with that mess, I got a call from the only circulation staffer who was scheduled to be on this morning letting me know that she was sick and wouldn't be in. So then I had to call for emergency help and luckily there was some to be had and they arrived after about an hour. At least we didn't open to the public until noon today, so we could muddle through and get things ready to open again. :)
After dealing with the paramedics on Saturday and now a fire on Monday, I'm expecting a police incident tomorrow . . . :twisted:
Addendum . . .
11.15.03 (1:27 pm) [edit]A clarification: today is Spanish language disease day.
Apparently there is an elementary school class in the neighborhood that's studying diseases. We've had several questions for reports on diseases from tetanus to malaria and invariably, the requests are for materiales en Espanol. It's hard enough to find up to date info on specific diseases for juveniles in English here at this branch, let alone in Spanish. Too bad our computadoras are being monopolized by gamers and chatters or these kids could look something up on Yahoo Espanol. :evil:
En Espanol por favor . . .
11.15.03 (12:57 pm) [edit]Maybe it's just because it's the weekend and there are more families here today, but today there have been more Spanish-only speaking patrons than I usually see in a whole week. I'm currently taking a short course in Spanish that's supposed to help me to help our patrons here, but it's really designed for the clerical staff. Phrases like, "put your books here" and "please hand me your library card" don't really work when you're trying to do a reference transaction.
More often than not, even though we have the largest Spanish material collection in our library system, we don't have what the patrons are looking for. It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't speak any English and who lives in neighborhood where English is rarely spoken that we don't have the resources to fill their needs. Many of the patrons that come here expect everyone to speak Spanish, even us "foreigners" who work here and they expect us to have Spanish versions of everything that has been published in English.
The problem is that even though we're buying Spanish materials and have doubled our collection size in the past two years, it's never enough. Spanish publications lag behind English, sometimes by years and are usually more expensive to purchase. So our staff feels like we're never going to catch up to the demand and that's what's burning us all out faster than we probably would have been otherwise. It's tough enough to deal with needy people because of working in a poor neighborhood, but then you throw in the language and cultural barriers and it's 10 times more frustrating. :(
And as I said before, I feel like I'm the "foreigner" here in this neighborhood. I really think my stress level is increased by the non-stop immersion in a sea of untranslated babel. I think it would be less stressful to feel more in command of the situation by knowing what was being said around me, but maybe I'm just being paranoid. :?
Oh it's good to be back . . .
11.15.03 (9:45 am) [edit]Current mood: :twisted:
I knew it wasn't going to be good going back to work today. :( Due to staffing shortages, my library is closed on Fridays, and those of us who aren't scheduled to work on Saturday have to work at another branch that's open on Fridays. What that means is that our branch loses a day of work every week, while our "sister" branch gets the benefit of extra staffing. Now I don't mind working the other branch; it's a nice change of pace/scenery. The problem comes in when those of us working on Saturdays have to deal with all the crap that's piled up since Thursday night.
Anyway, our only scheduled fulltime circulation staffer called in this morning, so right away I had to call another branch for help. (She's got the same bug I just had) Then I had to run around and get the things done that she normally would and that the part-time aides either don't know how to do or usually don't do. I shouldn't complain, it wasn't that bad, just unfamiliar.
Then we opened the doors and the first two groups in ran in opposite directions for the computers. The first group was a trio of needy kids; one teen, one preschooler and one elementary school age. They all needed help to get on the computers and to find games to play. What they really needed was some adult supervision and perhaps a social worker.
The second group was another trio of teen and pre-teens from the amazingly annoying "Inbred Family." Members of this family come in to the library sometimes 3-4 times per day and generally make pains of themselves. They're noisy, demanding, filthy and rarely accompanied by their parents, who are much the same as their kids - no surprise there. It's going to take another post entirely for me to describe them adequately, but in the meantime I'll just say that they defy all our attempts to number them. Everytime we think we know them all, another one pops out of the woodwork. Many of them have shaved heads (toddler girl included) which we attribute to head lice. And they all look as though they are first cousins to the banjo playing mutant from the movie Deliverance.
[image]ArcadeAttendant_11 57388699.jpg[/image]
But then, the fun really began. Another of our semi-regular insane patrons stumbled in and collapsed on one of our couches in our reading area. I didn't think much of it, but then after a little while he stumbled over to the reference desk and mumbled something about calling an ambulance for him. From the way he looked, I didn't hesitate and dialed 911 for him. He looked like he was going to vomit right there, but luckily he held on until the paramedics arrived. The really ironic thing is that the whole event; paramedics working on him and hauling him away, was quieter than the two groups of kids who were in at the same time. And I don't think that many of the other patrons who were glued to their games on the computers even noticed that the paramedics were in the building. :roll:
Since that all happened before 10:15 AM, I'm sure there will be more later . . .
Quiet Day Off
11.14.03 (9:09 pm) [edit]Had a peaceful day off today. The weather was pretty nice for this time of the year, so I took my daughter to the park for a while. We basically just spent a good father-daughter day together. :D I don't know what I'd do if she was ever gone from my life. She makes me so happy and despite all the little aggravations that life throws my direction, they all seem to vanish when she snuggles up to me and says,"I love you daddy." :D
My cold is a lot better and it should be mostly gone when I have to go back to work tomorrow morning. :) I guess this was one of those 24 hour bugs because it blew through me pretty fast.
The two funny things that happened today, though they weren't really that funny in retrospect and I was kind of pissed when they happened:
1. My daughter was called a boy again several times today. It happens a lot. :? She does have short hair, but today she was wearing a sparkly hair clip in today. I don't know too many boys who wear hair clips and she had flowered pants on. Maybe it was the sky blue jacket she was wearing?
2. There were an elderly couple at the park today when we were there. They were the first ones to mistake her for a boy and they also asked me if I was "his" grandfather. Now I've got a little white in my beard, but come on . . . I think it might have been because of their age and mindset that they couldn't conceive of someone having a weekday off from work unless they were retired? Who knows, maybe that cold made me look more aged than normal? I hope not. Most people don't think I look my age and guess that I'm 5-10 years younger than I really am. Oh well maybe after a good night's sleep my youthful looks will return. :wink:
Bleh!
11.13.03 (9:06 pm) [edit]:( The bug that's going around finally caught up with me today and I stayed home. Sinuses and sore throat = Yuck! All things considered, I'd rather be well and working than home and feeling crappy. Being at home did give me some quality time with my daughter though, between nose blows and throat lozenges. :)
Now if I can just get over this crap for my scheduled day off tomorrow . . .
Mixed Nuts
11.12.03 (5:13 pm) [edit][image]ArcadeAttendant_12 57890880.jpg[/image]
[b]Today has been a parade of our regular crazies. Those marching through:[/b]
[b]"B.O. Sweatpants man"[/b] He stunk up our computer lab for two hours today - from the minute we opened till he used up his daily internet allotment.
[b]"The Scary Prostitute"[/b] She comes in for a few weeks at a time and then disappears to another library for a while. (I actually saw her there a few times when she wasn't here) She sits at a table and stares off into space, laughing out loud occasionally. Most often though, she's putting lipstick on over and over until she looks like a disturbed clown, or brushing her hair repetitively until there's a small nest on the table.
[b]"The Lapper"[/b] This guy used to walk around the library doing laps and taking his coat off and then putting it back on. He would also try to log on the computers, usually unsuccessfully. He once told one of the other librarians that the computer was "talking" to him. He disappeared for a while, only to resurface today. Apparently he's on his meds because he was pretty functional today and actually typed up a resume.
[b]"The Stumbler"[/b] This guy always wears the same clothes and appears to be drunk all the time. I don't know if he is, or if he's got a neurological condition that simulates intoxication, but he's belligerent from the get go and gets angry at the staff because he doesn't understand computers and wants our help to train him so that he can get a job. I know that's a legitimate need, but we offer classes, not one-on-one training.
[b]"Disabled War Vet"[/b] This guy is a nice enough old man, except for the fact that he will talk your ear off if you let him. He also listens in on staff conversations and chimes in with his opinion. I have the utmost respect for veterans and for seniors, but this guy's most annoying trait is that he prefaces every statement with, "I'm an 80 year old disabled veteran . . ." I really hate people who "define" themselves to give "weight" to whatever opinion they have. [i]I'm such and such, so therefore I know about that totally unrelated subject.[/i]
[b]"The Shouter"[/b] This guy yells out a greeting whenever he enters the building and then seems to disappear only to reappear the next day with another shout.
[b]Not in attendance today:[/b]
[b]"The Sniffer"[/b] A curmudgeonly old woman who always complains about the smells generated by the other patrons in the computer lab. She will actually go in and sniff the air before sitting down in the lab and if the smell is too offensive to her sensibilities, she'll storm out and start bitching loudly to anyone who's within earshot. Of course she smokes six packs a day and smells like a smokestack herself. She also bitches if she can't get onto a computer immediately upon entering the building.
Sundry others who seem to be below my memory threshold at the moment, but will be posted about when they come back in. :wink:
Programming . . .
11.12.03 (1:33 pm) [edit]Sulk Librarian was asking about programming here at my branch. Well, there isn't much. :(
Staffing shortages and hour reductions due to budget woes have severely cut into our ability and desire to do programming for anyone. It seems to be all we can do to function from day to day without a major crisis. :(
That's not to say that we don't have programs for kids. We have a pre-school storytime scheduled weekly. So far there has only been one week where anyone attended and it was a group of kids from a daycare. They've never been back since and there's been absolutely zero attendance otherwise. :(
We have a systemwide summer reading program which is really a joke. It's all about getting the kids to sign up; whether or not they finish doesn't matter. It's all a numbers game and the number of registered kids is the main statistic that's looked at. :(
Along with the summer reading program, we have some different shows and activities for kids and teens to do on a weekly basis. But to show how interesting most of these programs are: at our branch, if we didn't turn off the children's computers for the duration of the activity, there'd be almost zero attendance for those as well. That's not to say that there aren't a couple of them that do well, but the majority don't and the same activities are scheduled year after year. :(
Likewise, every year we have a Dr. Seuss party, a Harry Potter party, a Halloween/Dia de los Muertos party, and perhaps a generic "Holiday" party, if we have the staffing etc. :(
For teens, it seems as though we've substituted a graphic novel collection for actual programming. The teens get two programs during the summer and both are pretty much aimed at boys. For some reason the girls are forgotten about even though they're far more likely to actually use the library for educational purposes than the boys are at that age. Though perhaps that's the reason why they aren't programmed for . . . :(
Adults don't get anything really, other than a few token book discussions based on the city's "book-of-the-whatever" selection. Last time we had one of those discussion sessions, we had 6 people show up. :(
It's really gotten to the point that our public service is more along the lines of making photocopies for patrons and tying their shoelaces for them rather than providing educational or even entertainment opportunities. And with the current trends regarding budget cutting adn staffing shortages, things are only going to get worse. :(
Okay, that was depressing. I'll have to post something more fun next time or I'll just need to go home and crawl under the covers. :roll:
Grey day & descriptions
11.11.03 (10:16 am) [edit][image]ArcadeAttendant_21 2127769.jpg[/image]
Current mood is cautiously bemused: :roll: if that makes any sense at all . . .
Song currently going through my head:
[b]Built To Spill's [/b][b]Trimmed and Burning[/b] 8)
It's kind of slow today. Seems like it's been raining for the past 24 hours . . . just kind of grey and depressing. But maybe it's just a depressing day because the Packers lost last night. :cry:
By a quirk of our scheduling, we actually have 4 librarians on today, including myself, and none of us have to leave to provide Emergency Help to any other branch. That means that I have a lot of time today to work on any projects that I need to do; it also means that I can write a huge blog today, or several if the mood strikes me.
After reading Retro Girl's comments to my posts from yesterday, I thought I'd describe the library that I work at and even dug up the picture above of the inside. I decided the other day that while I'm still trying to maintain the pretense of my anonymity for this weblog, I'm not going to obsess about reprisals from my library's administration if I'm found out. Not that I expect any of my library's administration to ever find out about this little blog. They have too much else to worry about and appear to be too far removed from the current trends to care about weblogs.
Anyway, my library is one branch of a rather large Midwestern city library system that has more than 10 branches, including a large main branch and then is part too of a large county-wide system of other municipalities that we share reciprocal borrowing with.
The one that I work at is located in the heart of the one of the poorest sections of the city. The neighborhoods around this branch are primarily Hispanic, with both long-time immigrants and brand new (legal and non). We have a large collection of Spanish materials, as well as other foreign language collections. We have a computer lab which has 10 public internet terminals and also 2 other sections with five computers each; one for children and one for teens. There are also 2 quick look-uup terminals for emails and such, which brings our total up to 22 internet stations. We [b]had[/b] a large video collection, but at any one time, more than 50% of our collection is either checked out, damaged, missing, or just outright stolen. :cry:
We have a decent fiction collection which is rarely used and a pretty good non-fiction collection, of which only a few sections are well-used. The main topics that we seem to deal with over and over again here are: Car Repairs, Biographies (for kids), State books, Pit Bull training, Witchcraft & Paranormal, Tattoos, and Native American tribes (including Aztecs and Maya).
Because we're located in a poor part of town and we have several schools within a 10 block radius, we are the default childcare provider for many families in the area. We have literally hundreds of latchkey kids in and out of here each week; many of them here every day from the time school lets out, until we either close or their parents come pick them up. That's why I'm an "Arcade Attendant," because with all the kids in here every day playing games on the internet computers and generally being loud and disruptive. "Our" kids aren't bad kids, and they aren't problem kids. Individually, they're really good kids, but they're starved for attention and bored. Many of them don't have any other options after school than to hang out here and that leads them to be disruptive.
We also have a large population of homeless and crazy patrons who come in here on a regular basis, mainly because they don't have anywhere else to go or anything to do. I know that we have a larger ratio of them coming here than most of the other branches because I've worked elsewhere and seen the difference. The main reason I can think of for the homeless/crazy concentration is the poverty level of the surrounding neighborhood. This is where they can afford to survive. :( But they sometimes do provide a great deal of entertainment, when they aren't causing problems, as other librarian weblogs relate and this place is no different. Soon, I'll have to blog about some of our regular crazies here, because this is my space to vent. :twisted:
And the rush is on . . .
11.10.03 (1:32 pm) [edit]Okay, it's been fairly quiet today. We didn't open until noon, so when we did open up to the public, there were the usual gang of internet junkies hanging out. They all raced to the terminals and had all 20 of them filled within 15 minutes of the doors opening. The only problem person I encountered so far was the man who was asleep on the couch in the magazines/reading area by 12:30.
I can understand someone dozing off while reading . . . it happens to me all the time, but this guy didn't even pretend to read. He just came in, sat down and dozed off. At least when I woke him up, he looked embarrassed (as he should be) and left the library, hopefully to go take a nap somewhere else.
But now, it's time for all the little kiddies to get out of school and soon we'll be overrun by herds of latchkey kids who don't have anywhere to go except to the library to try to fight their way onto the 5 computers that we have set aside for children under 13. They aren't using them for homework or research, rather its, " how do I get to Cartoonnetwork.com?" or "how do I get to Barbie.com?" or "how come my computer keeps freezing up when I play this game?"
I wish our system would block games from the computers. They were funded at least in part by a grant so that people could do homework, reference, resumes, job searches and emails. Instead they are used much more frequently for porn, gambling, chatrooms, and viewing music videos. :x
What kind of librarian are you?
11.10.03 (12:33 pm) [edit]Thanks to Tangognat for this script and link where you can determine what kind of librarian you are.
Accordingly, I am:
You're a biomechanoid storyteller chef from the sub-basment storage area. You are praised by opportunistic zombies with disturbing information requests. Be proud of what you are...You are a Librarian!
Cool little old ladies
11.07.03 (8:46 am) [edit]I'm working at another branch from my usual one again today. Just had a little old lady ask me to order her a couple of books on Adobe's Golive program. I asked her about them and it turns out she has a computer at home and wants to learn how to build her own web page using that software. I love it when people want to learn new things and keep up with the times - especially when they're older. :D People who destroy stereotypes are cool! :D
Needy People and Computers
11.06.03 (9:52 am) [edit]The library I work at is filled with needy people. :( Needy people set me off. I can't stand people who won't even attempt to do things for themselves. I don't have a problem with kids who honestly don't know how to do something, or with adults who will admit that they don't know and want to learn. If it's within my ability, and the scope of my job description, I'll go out of my way to help them learn to do whatever it is by themselves.
Today however, I had a patron who didn't know how to do something and wouldn't admit they didn't know and then messed something up. This person wanted to go on one of our public internet computers. We have an automated sign-up system, which isn't really very hard to understand. You sit down at an open computer and type in your library card number and a password that is the last two digits of your birth year. If your info matches your library record and your card is valid it logs you on for an hour.
I explained that to the patron and they went over to an open computer and sat down. I thought that they'd be all set, but then 5 minutes later they came back to the reference desk and said, "The computer's not working." I went with them back to the terminal and looked at the machine and the log-in screen was up there and everything looked fine. The patron said, "I don't know why it won't let me on." I asked for his card so I could enter the numbers in myself. He then told me that he put his card in the machine like I said, pointing at the floppy disk drive on the front of the machine. I groaned and said, "Oh no, you didn't . . ." So I had to run around looking for a forceps we keep for these kind of emergencies and managed to retrieve his card. I then got him signed in and started on the computer, but all the while I was thinking that if he doesn't know what a floppy drive is for, how is he going to do anything on the computer? Then all he wanted to do was play games on the internet. :( And to top it off, when his time was up, he turned off the machine so no one else could use it without it being rebooted. :evil:
Why can't they just get some quarters and go to a real arcade? :(
Too helpful . . .
11.05.03 (3:15 pm) [edit]I really hate it when co-workers bend the rules for someone or go beyond the scope of the services provided at the library for one person. Inevitably it means that other patrons will demand the same. Case in point: a little girl yesterday needed to save her homework on a floppy disk from one of the public computers. She didn't have a disk, so one of the "helpful" staff members gave her a disk to "borrow" instead of requiring that she buy or bring her own. Today, she was back in and wanted that same disk back to do more work on it (so now it's "her disk" and "on file" for her) and then several of her friends came up to the desk asking to "borrow" disks for themselves. So I told them that they needed to have their own disks from home or from purchasing one at our circulation desk. They looked at me with their sad eyes and said, "but the lady yesterday gave our friend one." But I stuck to my previous statement, and ended up explaining further that their friend was given use of the disk because it was an emergency (she was going to lose her work because of our automated sign-in system's time limits. They didn't care about the reasons, just that I look like some kind of ogre because I'm not going to give them what they think (courtesy of my co-worker) that they're entitled to have. :evil:
VH1 Kitties
11.05.03 (1:07 pm) [edit]My daughter is hooked on the VH1 Kitties. We have to view "kittykat music" before bedtime every night now or she won't go to sleep. VH1 had better not ever pull these off their website, or I'm in real trouble. :wink: For those of you uninitiated into the "kitty cult" you can check them out here: http://www.vh1.com/shows/hot_...
And if you can't get enough of them here, you can check out the web page of their creator at: http://www.rathergood.com
[image]ArcadeAttendant_86 1207618.jpg[/image] [image]ArcadeAttendant_12 02820438.jpg[/image]
Public Computers
11.04.03 (2:34 pm) [edit]Why do people think they need to turn off public computers in the library? Is this some extension of the feeling that the library is their second home? I know that the current philosophy in public libraries is to make them as inviting to children and families as possible, just to get people to come in. More patrons visiting means more money for the library. But this has backfired in that people who do come in treat the library as if it was their own personal playground and that they can behave as though no one else in the building exists. It's amazing how many people these days think it's okay to eat, sleep, drink, run, yell, vandalize and on occasion (though not here thankfully) have sex in public libraries.
Different Patrons
11.04.03 (9:55 am) [edit][b]At my regular branch, the type of questions I get most frequently are:[/b]
I don't know how to use the copy machine, can you make a copy for me?
How do I do anything computer-related? (Runs the gamut from logging onto our "self-service" sign-in system to doing emails, looking for jobs, typing resumes, playing games, doing chat, etc.)
Where are your scary movies? Or do you have this latest video or rap CD?
I need a repair book for X auto.
[b]At the "jewel" branch this morning, the questions have been[/b]:
I need a book on a "Hummer Moth." I saw one last spring and wanted to know more about them.
I need volume two of H. G. Wells' "Outline of History." I just finished volume one and wanted to get started on number two.
I need two books on medical treatments for X condition.
I need to see the latest Consumer Reports on computers and televisions.
I need to see Valueline.
[b]I know I said this in a post the other day, but it's amazing what a difference 2 miles a 5 minutes travel in a city can make for demographics.[/b]
EH
11.04.03 (9:11 am) [edit]EH stands for Emergency Help, which is what I'm providing today and working at yet another library for a couple of hours. I don't mind going elsewhere in my library system to work. It's really kind of a vacation from the regular faces at my own branch and not much is expected of me except to take up space. It's also kind of fun to see other branches and collections and how they do things. Besides the branch I'm at EH at is the "jewel" library of the system (besides our main branch). They have the best patrons (self-sufficient) and well-read (they don't circ as many videos). When I've worked here the patrons have been uniformly polite and courteous. I'm sure they have their troublemakers, but compared to what I'm used to this place is like library heaven. Now if only I didn't have to go back at 12:30 to my own branch . . .
Lego Mini Me
11.03.03 (4:46 pm) [edit]Thanks to Tiny Little Librarian for this link.
[b]Added to Banner 11/11/03[/b]
[image]ArcadeAttendant_72 2835565.jpg[/image]
You can make a mini me here too.
Kids & Homework
11.03.03 (4:25 pm) [edit]The floodgates opened today at 3:30 and the kids from the elementary school across the street flooded in with their homework questions. Unfortunately these kids all had variations of the question I had earlier today about Native American Tribes in Spanish. Between the other two librarians and myself, we must have had about fifteen questions about various tribes and invariably the kids and parents wanted the materials in Spanish. One of the other librarians found a web page on the subject, but the material was way over the heads of the kids who were all third graders. What really sucks is that these kind of questions come in waves and another class had Native Americans last week, so most of the materials related to the tribes assigned to this class were already checked out - many never to return. There are literally hundreds of different tribes out there and books for kids on many of them, but the teachers around here seem to only assign about five to ten tribes over and over again. I don't know if it's just laziness on the teacher's part or what, but it would be easier for the kids to just come to the library and pick a tribe from the available books. I guess what really kills me about this is that the kids aren't really learning anything about Native Americans, rather they're learning that the library doesn't have what they've been assigned to find; so why go there for their next assignment. Also, they're not being taught how to find the materials on their own as they just hand us a sheet with the words "Los Hopis" (or Los fill-in-the-blank) on it and expect us to hand them the answers on a silver platter. Often we find the books that we've pulled for the kids dumped on a table when they realize that they're going to have to read the book to do their reports, making us all feel like we've just been wasting our time. :cry:
I really do feel sorry for these kids. It almost seems like they're being set up for failure by the system and I give them a lot of credit for rushing right over to do their homework - their parents too for coming with them and taking a real interest in their kids educations. I just don't think that these kids have much of a chance of succeeding in life the way things are failing to work for them now.
Also, another weird question from a kid that I got today was on books about the Meiji period of Japanese history. This was from a 12 year old kid. Which made me scratch my head about why a 12 year old would need something on this. Needless to say we didn't have anything appropriate for his age in at our branch and most of the materials about this subject in our system were scholarly works at our main branch.
After days like this I feel like I've been physically assaulted. I'm really looking forward to a nice quiet night at home with the family. After my daughter goes to bed, my wife and I are going to watch the DVD of Monty Python's Meaning of Life. :D That's one of B's favorite movies. :D
Refgrunt
11.03.03 (2:41 pm) [edit]I wish I had time to do a refgrunt today, but now that all the kids are out of school and the questions are coming so fast and furious, it's impossible to even type (10 minute break there) this short complaint. :x
There goes another screaming crying kid! Argh! :x
Rainy Monday
11.03.03 (12:31 pm) [edit]Well, so far not much to rant about. The library was closed today till noon, so I and one of the clerks got to work pretty much uninterrupted from 8:30 until opening. The rain kept away a lot of the usual "bounce off the locked door" traffic this morning. Though I did have some kids arguing with me through the closed doors about whether or not we should have been open. I opened the door enough to tell them that if they weren't in school, that they were truant and thus not allowed in the library during school hours. They said that their mother had been sick this morning, so she couldn't take them to school . . . as if that was justification for them skipping out. They left, swearing at me as the walked away.
The rain also helped keep down the normally large crowd of "Internet Zombies" that gather to stare through the windows until we open. I would bet that during the past 2 hours since we opened that our clerks have checked out less than 100 items to patrons. 90% of our traffic through here so far has been people wanting to get on the Internet. A quick survey reveals mostly games and email with a smattering of chatting.
As I'm typing this, an elementary school class just arrived unannounced. Hope they don't want the children's librarian to do a program on spur of the moment . . .
Just had my first impossible question of the day. I should preface this by saying that I work in a branch library in the primarily Spanish section of town. We have a large population of only Spanish-speaking patrons - recent immigrants legal and otherwise. Kids around here have been doing a unit on Native Americans, so we have been bombarded with questions on specific tribes and luckily we have one of the largest collections of Native American materials in our library system. However, because of our location and patron base, we get a lot of patrons who only want materials in Spanish and often for things that we don't even have in English*. So that was what this little girl wanted. Her father had pulled her out of school to do the homework - always a weird thing to do. And then she, of course, wanted a book on a certain tribe in Spanish, which we didn't have. Plenty in English, but not in any other language.
*One time I had a woman asking for a book on how to divine the future by reading the spirals of snail shells (pretty impossible to find) and then made the request more impossible by asking for it in Spanish.
Okay, that's enough for now. I think I'm jinxing myself by writing this.
:twisted:
Pack Wins!
11.02.03 (9:35 pm) [edit]:) Even though I didn't really get to watch more than about 15 minutes of the game, they won! Maybe it was because I didn't get to watch them that they did. :wink: In any case, the only adult programming that I did get to watch tonight while my wife was working and it was just me and my daughter home tonight, was the Simpson's Halloween special. Too bad it was kind of lame this year, though I do love Professor Frink. Frinkie rules! :lol: Tonight I felt like super dad again. I did the dishes, did two loads of laundry, baked some cookies, decorated for Thanksgiving, and did all this while entertaining a 2 & 1/2 year old on a cold rainy night. :D Now she's asleep and I can relax for a little while before having to contemplate going back to work tomorrow. Maybe, if I'm lucky I can get my latest computer game to work for a while without crashing. :twisted:
Didn't get to watch any games today
11.01.03 (10:59 pm) [edit]I guess I should have checked the schedule for my favorite college team before planning to watch them, since they had a bye week this week. Shows how little of a fanatic I really am. I'm more of a NFL watcher anyway and my favorite team is on Sunday night. I'm hoping to get to watch them play, but my wife is working again tomorrow night, so I'll be home alone with my 2 year old daughter. Any bets on who's shows we'll have on the TV? Too bad we don't have cable on both our TVs, then we could both have our shows. I guess I'll have to try my hardest to get her to watch the game with me. She needs to start learning the finer points of the NFL if she's going to live with me for the next 16 years or so of her life. :twisted:
Speaking of my daughter, she got the first stitches (only 2) of her life today. Somehow I suspect they won't be the last. She's such a rough and tumble little kid. We were just out the door today to go to the grocery store when she ran full tilt into the open car door. She hit it end on, so the sharp edge hit her right in the forehead. She knocked herself right on her ass and started crying and bleeding profusely, but was right as rain within 5 minutes. All it took was a little first aid and a "Blue's Clues" bandaid to make it all better. We went off to the store and everything was fine, but 6 hours later the cut was still seeping. She and I went up to the hospital where my wife works, just to visit mommy and kill some time, but the nurses suggested that she get a couple stitches. She was so good; didn't even cry when they were numbing her up. She got her two stitches really fast and was patched up in no time. I guess it pays to have a relative on the staff for speedy service. :wink:
After the stitches it was off to Grandma's house for a cookie and then home for a little monkey's bedtime. Now it's "Daddy Time". :D Which is very similar to "Miller Time." :) [image]ArcadeAttendant_33 9803818.jpg[/image]
Weekend
11.01.03 (9:09 am) [edit]Yay! It's the weekend and we don't have any particular plans. No hectic rushing around and nothing but decompression time. Hopefully nothing will come up to interfere with my football viewing . . . I definitely won't want to go back to work when the alarm rings on Monday morning.