tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2950724630418382322017-09-19T11:27:09.616-05:00Don't Mess with TX-LISA Library and Information Science Blog from a Texas Public LibraryEmmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.comBlogger483125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-45605063184770618432017-09-18T20:31:00.000-05:002017-09-18T20:31:29.431-05:00Misconceptions<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">I had my first day at New Library yesterday. One of the first things I did was do the branch's pull list to help familiarize myself with where things are in the collection. (For non-library readers, the pull list is the list of items that need to be collected from the shelves because a patron has asked for them.) One of the things on the list was a copy of <i>1984</i>, which I couldn't find anywhere despite searching high and low. A little bit later I noticed that there was a copy in excellent condition sitting in our pile of donated books to be sorted, so I asked my manager if the library ever adds donated books to the collection. The answer was 'pretty much never,' just like it has been at most of the libraries where I have worked.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">This bums me out a little bit, since I'm pretty sure that a big fraction of the patrons who donate books think that they are contributing to the library's collection, when instead they're contributing to its book sale (or, sometimes, its recycling dumpster). This made me think of other common misconceptions about the library that seem to cross the various public libraries where I have worked.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">Librarian readers: Anything to add?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">Non-librarian readers: If any of these are still a surprise to you, I apologize. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">1. If you donate a book, it is added to the library's collection.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">2. The librarians know where all the books are.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">3. The library keeps track of what you have checked out.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">4.&nbsp; If you wanted, you could volunteer and staff the information desk.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">5. Surely the ISBN is important <i>somehow</i>. (About a 50/50 split between people who give to me for item lookups and people who scan it thinking it's the library barcode)</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-73003230756849813092017-09-05T14:48:00.000-05:002017-09-05T14:48:54.567-05:00New job<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Good news, everyone! I had scheduled blog posts out through August mainly just because the number I had written spread neatly over that length of time rather than because I realistically thought I would have a job by September, but I am starting at a new library next week!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">I haven't come up with a nom-de-blog for New Library yet (I think I'll need to get to know it a bit better first) but the striking thing about it is that I'll be working in its <i>children's </i>department. It's a small library so I'm sure there will be a lot of cross-over, but I'll be doing kid's programs and things and doing some extra chatting to small children and their parents. I expect that that will make for good blog material.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">I didn't specifically seek out a children's librarian job--instead, I wanted to work at this particular branch of Sprawling Metropolitan System because it's in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country, so the materials and services that the library is providing access to are really, really important to the people living there. I'm not sure if I'll make a good children's librarian or not, so if any of you have tips or resources to suggest, I would be grateful! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-17527986933997917452017-08-31T16:36:00.000-05:002017-08-31T16:36:00.273-05:00Where my house moved<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Friday afternoon on the 2nd floor of Downtown Library:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Years ago, I used a service where you could have them call a friend and sing them happy birthday. But I just tried to call them and it didn't work. Do you think you could find another phone number for them? Or another company that does the same thing? I think they are based in California, if that helps.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Can you renew this book for me? I keep trying to read it on the bus, but people always talk to me. We know each other well, this patron and I, so I say, "maybe you need to look meaner."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Excuse me, can you help us with the scanner? Common scenario where the parent thinks they need help but the kid disagrees.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Hello. Is this your local history research department? I have a really odd question for you [for once someone said this and their question was actually kind of odd!]. When the highway was built through town, they demolished most of the houses, but they put my grandmother's house up on blocks and moved it across town. Can you help me see if I can figure out where they moved it to?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I need some articles that are pro or con. I am writing a paper about smartphones. Can you help me?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Mormons come in. Sure, you are welcome to use our computers, 'Elder' John, just please don't leave literature that I will just have to throw in the recycling when you leave!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Do you have meeting rooms there? What do you need to do to reserve one?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Excuse me, can you tell me how to find a copy of the book <em>When Panic Attacks</em>?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Is the library showing a movie tomorrow afternoon?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I understand that it's empty, but I still need you to throw your box of Dots candy away.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I lost my phone--someone stole it, actually--so I want to make a new email address since it was all on auto-fill and everything. That sucks, sir, I'm sorry!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">One old man is teaching another old man to use ebay. The teacher says, "If I'm too loud, please tell me!" Sorry, but you are a little bit too loud.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Oh no! Why is the text so giant? Is this a special computer for people who are visually impaired?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-61675946710906142332017-08-26T10:02:00.000-05:002017-08-26T10:02:11.991-05:00Blast from the past refgrunt<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">The first patron through the door is one of our board members, who has the a meeting room booked and wants to book one for next week as well. Our circ person doesn't know how to book a meeting room, and our security guard is new and hasn't turned his radio on for us to call him and ask him to unlock the one he already has. We're not really showing off our best work, here.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">A man whose son broke his printer and who needs my help to print some pictures of tattoos calls me "Hon" like 10 times even though he's only 4 years older than I am. Also he lifts up his shirt to show me a tattoo. But he's basically polite and well-intentioned so I don't push back on any of that--if you learn anything in the public library, it is the importance of picking your battles.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Someone shouts all his sentences during a normal checkout transaction for some reason. He's not mad, just really, really loud.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone message: Can you tell me what hours Little Branch is open today, Saturday July 15th?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone call: Can you give me the number for the hotel or motel in the town of Kingwood, West Virginia? I'm pretty sure there is only the one.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I check out movies to a couple of patrons while my circ counterpart is helping someone else.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Page #1 reports that Page #2 hasn't shown up for her shift. Uh oh! Hopefully she is just confused, not hurt.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I teach Page #1 to hand out summer reading prizes, since she will be covering my lunch break later. Roles at this library have gotten pretty crazy since we went to a one-desk model.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Patron to clerk: "Your hair is <em>sharp</em>!"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Where's the bathroom? I thought you had one on this floor. Oh, for kids? Never mind, we'll go downstairs to the main one.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The question "Where is the Dewey number R 303?" morphs into "let me show you our online business&nbsp;databases!"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I thought I had put my first name and middle initial in to get on the computer, but my printouts aren't showing up under that name. Sorry!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">She is printing out $24.75 worth of documents! Why oh why aren't you open on the weekend, Insta-Prints!?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Call from my counterpart upstairs: Have you talked to the woman who needs someone's phone number in Neighboring City? She is hard of hearing and she keeps hanging up on me! If she calls back, could you please give her the number of Neighboring City Library, because the person she needs isn't in any of the online directories and we don't have any of their paper phonebooks.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Mr. Timmons stops by to return some movies and to request Striptease with Burt Reynolds and Demi Moore. He is always telling me outlandish stories about celebrities he met because he used to be a bouncer or something at a big entertainment venue in Florida, and today it's how he took his mother-in-law to meet Burt Reynolds and she was sooo happy.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Business database guy comes back down and stops at the desk just to thank me.: "I learned a lot." Nice!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Someone was jumped and beaten up in the park across the street. He comes to use our phone to call the police and his mom (the latter so he can get her to buy him a bus ticket out of town). I also recognize him as the "I'm not an addict anymore; I'm on methadone" guy who has been kicked out of the library several times and owes us a hundred and twenty dollars. I can see him outside, hiding behind a tree and talking to a police officer, so he's getting help with this situation at least.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I spot a woman with a shirt that says "Any dog can be a guide dog if you don't care where you are going."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Hi, can you tell me where your restroom is?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">When are they going to put out the Legos!?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Do you have any of the Adventures of Gumball books?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">A patron talks to me for three minutes about how great the TV show "Ancient Aliens" is and how "it's all true."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The computer catalog says there is a copy of <em>The Grapes of Wrath</em> in storage. What does that mean?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Old white lady: I need a library card. I'm a refugee from Neighboring City. They don't have <a href="http://www.valueline.com/">Value Line</a> anymore.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Answer some summer reading questions for a nice family with three kids. Mom is wearing a hijab. After that, check out a big pile of books to them, including a few related to Islamic culture and one on Islamophobia. Makes me sad, but we have a nice conversation about picture books and the dad says to me "It's nice to see so many people using the library!"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-35542642634095190112017-08-18T08:37:00.000-05:002017-08-18T08:37:08.828-05:00Superheroes<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">I was checking out the DVDs that a dad and his small son had chosen, and the son was looking at the covers of the different movies. He pointed at Benedict Cumberbatch (who, in fairness, was wearing a red cape) on the cover of Dr. Strange:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">Son: That's Superman!</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">Dad: Well, he looks like Superman, but his name is Dr. Strange.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">Son: But does he have to save the day?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">Man behind them in line: No, he <i>gets</i> to save the day! </span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-47065334931342148282017-08-14T12:35:00.000-05:002017-08-14T12:35:08.475-05:00Why, humans, why?<span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Sometimes people come to the library and need to use a computer briefly even though for whatever reason they can't use their library account (they're not a resident, they owe us too much money, etc.). Usually they just need to quickly print something out. Here is how the process for printing a document from one of our "guest computers" works:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">1. Enter your name to log on to the computer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">2. Locate your document and hit the "print" button.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">3. Hit "ok" on a prompt that warns you that printing costs fifteen cents per page.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">4. Go to the "print release station," which is a computer next to the printer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">5. Enter your name again to view and pay for your printouts.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">Today two men got stuck on step 5 because they had entered random key strokes instead of their names during step 1.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-2056891288162298362017-08-11T18:47:00.000-05:002017-08-11T18:47:14.719-05:00Easy to get used to<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">A gentleman who was Deaf came into the library this evening and I spent about half an hour&nbsp;communicating with him in writing since I don't speak ASL. After he left, saying things out loud felt <em>super</em> weird.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Maybe I could have wrapped up that reference interaction faster but we were chatting about the weather.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-74079200287067631462017-08-08T08:45:00.000-05:002017-08-08T08:45:16.051-05:00(Least) Favorite<span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Most&nbsp;favorite things about working at the central branch of a big public library system:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">1. We have all the most obscure books</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">2. Not having to answer boring local history questions because we have a whole department for that</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">3. The two patrons waiting in line to print could be a person who is homeless, followed by the mayor of the city</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">4. Hearing patrons say variations of "Wow, this is a huge library!"</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">5. We have all the assistive technology, even if I struggle to advertise it well</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Least favorite things about working at the central branch of a big public library system:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">1. Having to decide whether something is pornography or not</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">2-5. Actually, all of these are about having to tolerate various weird smells.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-73024969474820452542017-08-04T15:32:00.000-05:002017-08-04T15:32:22.392-05:00Ref desk thoughts<span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">More things I start wondering about when a desk shift is too quiet:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">I'm always refilling the paper trays of the copier and printer before they are totally empty. I wonder how long the very bottom sheets have been in there. Months? Years? Does paper go bad?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">Is there any personal&nbsp;information that patrons <i>wouldn't </i>freely give me if it meant I would fill out their online forms for them?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">Have any of our patrons ever died from following the nutty medical advice in our alternative medicine and self-help sections instead of going to the doctor? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">There are patrons who call the library and insist that "I was just talking to you" when I haven't even taken a phone call during my shift. Do they think I'm confused or that I'm actually deliberately lying to them about who I am?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">How many rows must a librarian walk down before he finds an empty chip bag or an empty bottle of alcohol in the stacks? Statistically speaking, I mean. I'd like to know the average.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-72501515814206498272017-07-28T12:57:00.000-05:002017-07-28T12:57:03.935-05:00I misjudge<span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Today a patron called and said: "[mumble mumble mumble] get some help with a history question. Is there someone I can talk to?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">I was kind of intimidated because of what I thought the mumbling might have been, but I talk faster than I think sometimes and who was going to help her if not me, so I said "Actually, I majored in history in college. Maybe I can help."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">The patron said she's a student of the history of slavery and somehow she'd heard about "this woman who was taken to the U.K. and made into a madam, or a prostitute or some kind of thing. Men would come to stare at her because they had never seen a black person before. She had a huge booty, I mean <i>huge</i>. Her name was Sarah-something. She had, like, the biggest booty. This was&nbsp;the 19th century."</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">I started looking around on Google, but to be honest I didn't expect to find anything, or at least anything credible. We get a lot of eccentric claims&nbsp;and alternate histories, and I thought that this was one of them. Not because Europeans didn't do absolutely insane things to black people in the 19th century (among other centuries), but because of the weird emphasis on this woman's butt.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">However, I found <a href="http://usslave.blogspot.com/2011/10/real-life-of-hottentot-venus.html">this history blog</a>, which led me to a book called <i>African Queen: The Real Life of the Hottentot Venus</i> by Rachel Holmes, and included this picture:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="La Belle Hottentot.jpg" class="mw-mmv-final-image jpg mw-mmv-dialog-is-open" height="435" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/La_Belle_Hottentot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="574" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">(A public domain image from Wikimedia Commons)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">I was so excited that there was a real history with documentary evidence instead of a single mention on a fringe website. I put <i>African Queen </i>on hold for the patron and I think I might put myself on the list after she brings it back.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">She brought me my only really interesting question during an exhausting Saturday desk shift, so she is definitely this week's patron of the week!</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-8080413563297628372017-07-24T11:22:00.000-05:002017-07-24T11:22:12.234-05:00Patrons I will miss the most<span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">For various reasons, I don't have as many personal relationships with patrons here in Michigan as I did at my original library in Texas, but there are still people who it will be kind of hard to say goodbye to when I move. Here are the top 5: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">1. Mr. Timmons, who brings me candy every time I see him, and tells me 50% outlandish stories about his crazy former life in New Orleans, 50% about what his grandchildren are up to and how proud he is of them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">2. Jack, the elderly regular at Small Town Library who <a href="https://tx-lis.blogspot.com/2016/12/opinions.html">apparently shares my skepticism of religion</a>, and also told a really moving story about his life in a storytelling program that I facilitated in the winter. He always has something friendly and/or funny to say to me whenever he comes in.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">3. Janis. She can be trying to deal with sometimes, but she appreciates the library <i>so much</i>. If I'm having a day where I feel like my work is pointless, seeing her come in reminds me of how much the place I work enriches people's lives and makes me feel good about my job again.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">4. The tiny man with the taped-together glasses who comes in every morning to read the newspaper and who I also see outside the nearby government building every Friday with anti-war, pro-tolerance protest signs. Not only do I share his political views and appreciate his unfailing politeness, it will just be weird not to greet him as the first act of my shift every week.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">5. The lady in my book club who always listens to the books on audio, and who always says the opinions on the books we read that I want to say but am not supposed to since I'm just supposed to be the facilitator. She also said such a nice goodby and good luck to me when I told everyone I was moving away.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">I thought I'd end this with a nice picture expressing the idea of the post, but I got really sad when I looked. If you are a fellow librarian, I recommend against Google Images searches for "library goodbye." Here's a hint of why:</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oY3VAifO9Ug/UGW69sa4hlI/AAAAAAAABkE/Qmm2fAy9TAY/s1600/Goodbye+walls.jpg" class="shrinkToFit" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oY3VAifO9Ug/UGW69sa4hlI/AAAAAAAABkE/Qmm2fAy9TAY/s400/Goodbye+walls.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oY3VAifO9Ug/UGW69sa4hlI/AAAAAAAABkE/Qmm2fAy9TAY/s1600/Goodbye+walls.jpg</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </span></div><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-41590998209584823422017-07-21T14:18:00.001-05:002017-07-21T14:18:11.349-05:00I'll miss Michigan<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">T minus three hours to the end of my last shift at Downtown Library:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Patron: How long was it between when Richard Nixon had the Saturday Night Massacre where he fired&nbsp;the special council until he resigned?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Me: Let's see...it looks like the Saturday Night Massacre was October 20th, 1973...and...hm...he resigned on August 9th, 1974. So it roughly nine months.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Patron: Thank you!...And how long do you think it's going to take Trump?</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-65930882943179227942017-07-20T10:22:00.002-05:002017-07-20T10:22:32.370-05:00Emailing the dark side<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">I was helping a man email photos he had taken on his phone to a friend of his. We got to the point where the photos were attached to an email and he had to enter an address in the "to" field. He said, "It probably wouldn't be good to put 'Darth Vader,' would it?"&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">I agreed that it would not. </span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-52757689697523600592017-07-17T15:36:00.002-05:002017-07-17T15:36:30.868-05:00So cute<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">The objectively most adorable little kid in the universe took a long time at the book return because she insisted on kissing every single book before putting it in the slot.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-90751553921045551992017-07-14T12:20:00.002-05:002017-07-14T12:20:49.461-05:00Language<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Today a man who I was helping was struggling to get into his email account and in frustration he said "<em>God--</em>" and I was sure that was going to end in "damn it!" but instead he said "bless America!"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(Later he said "Cool beans" in response to something else, so obviously he has a variety of uncommon expressions. Also, I know you can be kicked out of the library for swearing, so I'm glad I didn't have to consider the status of "damn it" as a swear word.)</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-46507986041135729792017-07-06T11:08:00.003-05:002017-07-06T11:08:28.932-05:00Valedictory<span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Big news, readers! The title of this blog will soon make sense again! Later this month I am moving back to the not-so-great state of Texas. This means I'll be looking for a new job, so there may be a lull in posts. I've scheduled some ahead of time, so there won't be nothing, but the post frequency will decrease for a bit until I get established somewhere else.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">This also means, obviously, that I will have to give up my positions at Small Town Library and Downtown Library. I'm getting a little preemptively nostalgic for them both. </span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">As a valedictory, I'd like to present some of the greatest things about these two libraries:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">At Small Town Library:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">There is a teen boy who wanted to volunteer at the library, but didn't want to do 'girly' stuff like make art or cut up things for craft projects, so he follows the building manager around and helps him out with 'manly' things like taking out the trash and fixing stuff.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">I got to create a collection while I worked here. We pulled Adult Graphic Novels out of non-fiction (they are in with the art books) and put them into their own area. It made me absolutely dizzy with power, and also increased their circulation. </span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Our circulation staff is so great. They are friends with all the patrons and they dispense book recommendations cunningly hidden in between inquiries about how Your Son Bobby is doing at college and if anyone has bought Your Old Neighbor's House yet.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">They let me order books! If I end up with a job in a system that has centralized ordering, I'm going to miss this so much. One of the things that makes me happiest at Small Town Library is seeing someone check out something that I ordered.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">I 3D print stuff all the time and no one needlessly monitors it or feels the need to make rules. Kids just give me stuff and I print it. No forms to sign, no charge for materials, all excitement.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">At Downtown Library:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">The collection includes books about <i>everything</i>. I go through our new items because one of my jobs is posting about them on Twitter, and I am always amazed by what we get.&nbsp; You can make some pretty excellent displays from our collection.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">We have someone whose whole job it is to work out problems with Overdrive, hoopla, and our other digital content vendors. I don't know how much she gets paid, but I'm sure it isn't what she deserves.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">We have a library card that kids can sign themselves up for! It only lets you check out one book at a time, but it's excellent for school trips and for kids whose parents or legal guardians aren't usually with them in the library, plus what kid doesn't want to be able to be in charge of their own card?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">My coworkers are master reader's advisors. We have social-media-based RA, staff picks scrolling atop the library homepage, and tons of displays within the library, including one where patrons can pick out their own favorite books to recommend to their neighbors.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-8382407789725204852017-07-05T12:15:00.002-05:002017-07-05T12:15:40.120-05:00Just Google it!<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">This Wednesday morning desk shift gave me a small headache:</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">My Circulation counterpart is still shelving holds when we open; I check out a few patrons' items on her behalf.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone call: I left a flash drive there. Can you connect me to the people by the computers to check if they have it?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">ESL teacher: Do you have a key to open the room in the basement? Seamus from Security usually opens it for us.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Another phone call re: lost and found.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">A huge mob of kids in matching shirts comes in and lines up at the front desk. I am massively relieved to find out they are here for a program with our children's librarian, and they don't need me to award them all summer reading prizes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Do you have a phone book?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">For Our City?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Yeah.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">No, sorry, you'll have to go up to the second floor. All we have hear is one for northern Michigan, for some reason.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Can I just look at that one, then?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(Wtf!)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone call: I have some movies that are due back today. Can you renew them? Also, can you put Ghostrider on hold for me? Oh, not that one. The second one.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I just returned Law &amp; Order seasons 2 and 3 and I would like 4 and 5, please.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The self-check says there's a problem with my account.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Don't worry, it's just expired. We just need to check your contact info and you're good to go.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Do I bring my returns to you or put them in this slot here?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Can I sign her up for summer reading? Do you have the paper thing? We don't want to do anything on the computer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Man from the daycare/mob of kids/whatever is here for the children's librarian's program: I just need to take these friends to the bathroom. Is it right here?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Can I sign up for some kind of temporary card to use the computer?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">No, but you can sign up for a permanent one for free.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Another man, as I'm signing that man up for a card: I just need to know where the bathroom is.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Can you let me into the bathroom?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">There used to be a citizenship class here where they helped you fill out forms. Do you still have that?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">He needs to wash his hands. Could you let us into the bathroom again?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Another library card sign-up. If I'm making systematic mistakes, Circulation is going to be sorry about how hard I worked today.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone: My father needs to come in and use a computer and a scanner, but he doesn't have a library card. Is that okay?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">My mom says can you please add more time to her computer?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Do you have an outlet back there behind your desk where I can plug in my phone?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">This computer refuses to pull up a book that I know exists!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Is there someone I can talk to? I'd like to make the comment that there are some titles in the new nonfiction area that children shouldn't be running past.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone: I returned a book to you a couple of weeks ago, but it's still showing up on my account.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I'm here to see if I can get a Consumer Reports. Can you check those out?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Can I return this? I thought it was Descendants 2, but it's the first one.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone: I need the number for two hair salons on Martin Luther King Drive.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Me: Do you know their names?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Phone: Just Google it! We're a small city, we don't have that many.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-11575581156662344672017-07-03T15:28:00.004-05:002017-07-03T15:28:42.826-05:00YS fever<span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">I'm a woman in my late 20s, so people have started to talk to me about baby fever. I don't have that, but last week I did have a flare up of totally misguided desire to become a youth services librarian, which I'm going to call YS Fever.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">&nbsp; </span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">One of the pleasures of working at Small Town Library, as I think I've mentioned before, is that we got a 3D printer this winter. It's just a toy so far, but it's a <i>pretty great</i> toy. I've jointly taken the lead on doing stuff with it along with another librarian because again, I have techno-joy rather than techno-fear.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">I really wanted to use the 3D printer as a way to draw patrons in to a maker space program, about 1/2 because I was genuinely interested in maker spaces and 1/2 because then I could have maker space experience on my resume. Maker spaces are one of the latest bandwagon trends in public libraries: they're meant to make libraries a two-way street by making patrons into producers as well as consumers, to be the birthplace of world-improving ideas or at least low-budget small business incubators, and to foster/teach collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and probably also some kind of employable technical skills. Low expectations, right?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot; , sans-serif;">Anyway, we had our first 'pop up maker space' program last week. It mainly drew kids ages 8-15 or so, about ten of them. I'm an adult services librarian mainly because I have no clue how to interact with kids in a group setting or to how to make them do what I want, so this was intimidating to me. So imagine my relief and excitement as I watched all the participants</span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"> help each other selflessly and in a non-bossy fashion, basically exactly how a makerspace program is supposed to make people behave. One kid would speak up to get my help with something and in the 20 seconds it would take me to get there, another kid would already be there looking over the problem and providing guidance.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">They chatted with each other and with me quite a bit, and it was a success. I wowed them by telling them it was the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book being published and telling them about the early days of fandom. We compared some of our favorite maker-relevant YouTube channels. I like that you can say things to kids that it's socially unacceptable to say to adults even when they are true--somehow we got to talking about dogs, and I told them that I wanted to get a greyhound because they're lazy and I'm lazy, so I thought it would be a good fit. Not something you say to strange adults, but the kids didn't bat an eye.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">Then I was on the desk next day, checking out books to a family of a mom and two young kids, the older of whom was playing Pokemon Go on his mom's phone. They had a big pile of picture books, so to chat while they waited I asked him if he was playing Pokemon. Two minutes later, I was assuring this boy that </span><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">I would keep an eye on the Arbok his family had put in the gym outside the library--Go Team Mystic!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;trebuchet ms&quot;;">I may have to sit in on a storytime this week to cure myself. The high-pitched, constant voices and total lack of regard for personal space at Preschool Storytime should do it.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-38964458088394729372017-06-30T09:25:00.001-05:002017-06-30T09:25:42.221-05:00You can't make this up<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Today a grandmother called because her granddaughter had returned a pile of library books to the book drop and accidentally included one of her own books. We searched through our returns and found the granddaughter's book. The little girl had carefully written her name inside the front cover. Her name? "Paige Turner."</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-9452509076511067652017-06-26T09:39:00.001-05:002017-06-26T09:39:26.739-05:00Grandma Librarian<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Overheard at the checkout desk:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Head of circulation, to woman who is renewing the library cards of her two children: I bet you didn't realize this would be so much work!</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Woman: No, I pretty much expected it. My mother used to be a librarian.</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Child #1: What!?</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">Woman: You never knew that? Why do you think all the books at Grandma and Grandpa's&nbsp; house have the Dewey Decimal system!?</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-31353576689386592702017-06-23T15:30:00.001-05:002017-06-23T15:30:23.494-05:00Crow<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">The "Old Man Fan Club" tag continues to morph from 'old men who are fans of me' into 'old men of whom I am a fan.' Today an&nbsp;older man called the reference desk to ask, "I need the straight distance between Wittenberg, Germany and London, England. You know, as the crow flies. I'll take a round number. Thank you!"</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I looked up the answer, in the process making an important discovery about Google Maps's "Measure Distance" tool (<a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2014/07/google-maps-has-finally-added-a-geodesic-distance-measuring-tool/374157/">learn it yourself</a>) and told him it was approximately 545 miles, to which he thanked me and added, "My crow can fly that easily!"</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-52491363171706282422017-06-20T18:41:00.000-05:002017-06-20T18:41:08.376-05:00Meow<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">A pack of kids making eerily accurate cat noises for no apparent reason passed me on their way out of the library this evening.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">Kids are so weird, guys. </span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-35304284480949667622017-06-11T14:00:00.000-05:002017-06-11T14:00:09.054-05:00HaikusSomeone on another website I read started a guessing game where you describe your job in haiku and other people try to guess your job title. I thought a mini version for library-themed poems might be fun. I submit:<br /><br /><br /><em>I cannot tell you</em><br /><em>What your email password is</em><br /><em>This place is for books</em><br /><br /><br />and<br /><br /><br /><em>Yes I pick the books<br /> This collection is for everyone<br /> Please don't yell at me</em>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-1322085350738173922017-06-09T16:42:00.000-05:002017-06-09T16:42:24.568-05:00Mooselookmeguntic<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, sans-serif;">This week's patron of the week is the woman who called&nbsp;this afternoon to ask:&nbsp;"What is the longest name of any town in the United States?" I struggled for a while to find an authoritative source, but I was able to learn that there exists such a thing as the United States Board of Geographic Names (it's some arm of the federal government) and that this question is #22 on its page of Frequently Asked Questions!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">For those of you too lazy to <a href="https://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/faqs.htm">click on the link,</a> I present:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">The following list is for names of communities only, and does not represent the longest name in the database.</div><div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">These are the longest community names with a hyphen or "-" in the name and total number of characters.</div><ol start="22" type="1"><ul type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Winchester-on-the-Severn, MD (24) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Linstead-on-the-Severn, MD (22) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL (21) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Vermillion-on-the-Lake, OH (21) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Wymberly-on-the-March, GA (21) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Kentwood-in-the-Pines, CA (21) <o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ol><div style="margin-left: 0.5in;">These are the longest community names without a hyphen or "-" in the name and total number of characters.</div><ol start="22" type="1"><ul type="circle"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Mooselookmeguntic, ME (17) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Kleinfeltersville, PA (17) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Chickasawhatchee, GA (16) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Chancellorsville, VA (16) <o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 1.0in;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Eichelbergertown, PA (16) <o:p></o:p></span></li></ul></ol></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br /></span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-295072463041838232.post-58539838611475205012017-06-06T18:35:00.003-05:002017-06-06T18:35:52.731-05:00Programmed<span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">We are hosting a programming class at our library in a couple of weeks and have various things around the library advertising it. Today I overheard an older man say about his wife, "So I can bring here in and you can re-program her?! There's hope after all!?"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;,sans-serif;">It's funny. The Old Man Fan Club tag used to be for old men who were my fans; now it's generally for old men of which I am a fan.</span>Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06490395700786919792noreply@blogger.com1
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