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I've been working at a tiny library in a two-stoplight town since last February. Our regulars include: A young guy who wanders in just to say hi, peek his head around at all the corners of the room, and then leaves. He's not bad, just friendly and weird. I don't think he even has a card. Conspiracy Dude was here all last summer, and just started showing up again. He pounds out on the keyboard some manifesto about the Newark riots, how the symbols on the $1 bill are racist, and that someone keeps stealing his packages. He pays for a huge number of printouts and photocopies, so... thanks for the money I guess. If he'd just save his files he wouldn't have to keep mashing the keys every time he comes in. The last page he gets copies of is a handwritten screed all around both sides of a dollar bill, with some Stars of David for good measure. DJ comes in every Saturday to spend all day on "her" computer, and blasts everything from Enya to Def Leppard in her headphones. She gets phonecalls from telemarketers and tries to have a conversation with them, until I tell her to stop. Then she tells them to call her back later. I told her once that they're just trying to scam her and she got an attitude with me about it. So screw it, none of my business anyway. That's all I can think of right now.
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Jun 25, 2022 00:50
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 23:48 |
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Conspiracy Guy was in all day today from open to close. Laughing to himself as he prints 30 more copies of his manifesto every loving day. I'm glad he's not watching porn, or trying to take pictures of kid's feet or anything, but it feels like I'm running a Kinko's for psychos.
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Jul 15, 2022 02:15
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value-brand cereal posted:Question for the lilbrarians. Do you care if people not from your area* register for library cards to use online? I have learned this is a Thing which is very controversial. My library system absolutely cares about who's coming from where. Higher metrics means more tax dollar support from the government. Local users paying their taxes help keep the lights on. We've had problems before with patrons moving out of state and still using their accounts online, so cards have to be renewed in person each year. It's like theft of services or something, I dunno. There's 8-9 libraries networked together where I work, all of them in small towns not far from one another. We're all cool with each other, except for one town in the middle. Because they have their own library outside of our network, residents from that town are excluded from it. They pay taxes for their own library, not ours. Small town drama. Waffle! fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Jan 7, 2023 |
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Jan 7, 2023 05:55
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Do y'all organize number titles over spelled ones, like "100 Hours" before "The Five Hundred?" How about names like "McNelson" before "MacDonald?" Or series order over title order, like "Twilight" before "Breaking Dawn?" Because I've seen them done both ways in different libraries and I don't know which is supposed to be right. I shelve numbers before spelling, and "MaC"before "Mc" because it follows alphabetical order. I'll put a series in order if it has a number to it, popular, and not a million books, like LotR, and Jodi Taylor's time travel series. Authors of kid's books that title their series' in both numerical and alphabetical order: 
Waffle! fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Jan 24, 2023 |
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Jan 24, 2023 18:22
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A Library Story My little library is partnered into a larger network of libraries across the county. Since it's so small, it's run by a Board of Trustees that handle all the business, instead of in an official way with the county. I am the only employee, a contractor, and my paychecks are personal ones written out by the Treasurer from the library's account. My "manager" J is a volunteer that's been there for so long she decided to join the Board. She's alright and has my back. The first Friday of every month, the Board meets at the library during the later hours. As always, the topic of money comes up about their spending, building projects, fund raising, etc. One of the board members, also the Treasurer's husband, pipes up about saving money everywhere they can. "You know, there are exceptions for jobs with only a few employees to pay minimum wage..." The DAGGERS I shot at this toad from across the room were audible. It sounded like a thousand gently caress you's carried on the wind and personally delivered by the Spirit of Hate itself. Before I could respond with a cleverly worded retort, J said there was plenty of room in the budget to pay me. Those exceptions are for jobs like outside sales agents, waiters, and live-in nannies. The AUDACITY of talking about taking money out of my pocket, the only employee and on minimum wage, while I was across the room. Hey rear end in a top hat, I'm the one who opens and closes the drat place every day! Needless to say my job sucks rocks. I like the library, just hate the bullshit I put up with.
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Feb 2, 2023 22:57
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mercenarynuker posted:I'm going to the library later, what would the thread advice be to be a weirdo there Cook up some grilled cheese bookmarks
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Mar 24, 2023 17:06
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I use disinfectant wipes on books that need it. I can tell some of our patrons smoke, because I have to clean the ash and smoke smell off the covers. Smelly cat books get aired out for a few days and the returner a stern talking to. Please don't do that.
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Jun 23, 2023 04:27
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My Lovely Horse posted:This implies the existence of judgmental service animals and I'm keen to see examples Cats. They watch, and they judge. Few are worthy.
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Jun 24, 2023 18:13
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/\ I would do Al-Z, right before Alm. I had to tell this kid twice that there's no food in the library. Then he started to open up the historical book display, and got mad when I told him not to. I didn't want his Cheeto fingers on 100 year old books, but apparently that makes me racist and he stormed out. Ok bye.
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Aug 17, 2023 23:10
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A guy came in yesterday at a different branch I work at, saying he was told to take donations here. I looked in his bag and it was a PS 2 and a bunch of games! The library doesn't take donations, but I sure as hell do. It works as far as I can tell without the AV cable. I just need a new one and an HD converter. Not all weirdos are bad 
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Oct 11, 2023 16:59
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The_Other posted:Figures. Some people get video games, my library gets a bunch of dirty, decades-old medical books that had probably been sitting in someones attic/basement; Update: The PS2 works  My little library also had a donation problem, when someone dumped a college course's worth of company management textbooks on our porch. I hope they graduated and all, but I had to put a sign out saying no more. I got a message from ebsco talking up their DRM-free books, so maybe the Goon that was asking about that could check it out.
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Oct 18, 2023 21:27
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 23:48 |
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I had to quit my job at the library, rear end in a top hat teenagers were driving me even more mental than I already am. One went into the bathroom and started shouting, "AAAH! I'M making GBS threads!!" Another time they bugged my boss for almost an hour asking if she knew what "ops" and "rizz" meant. My replacement ended up banning them after they wanted to fight him in the parking lot. Conspiracy Guy is back again. His 6 month ban ended last fall. He always complained that his emails weren't going through and tried to blame it on our internet, when it worked fine. He couldn't catch on that he was either putting in an invalid email address, or the possibility that the intended recipients had blocked him. The one time our net connection did screw up, he asked me if the library had "deposition insurance" because he lost the "important deposition" he was writing. No, that doesn't exist. On the weekends I would put out a box of donated books for people to freely take. One time I turned back inside and heard a thunk, and when I looked back another box of books mysteriously appeared next to it. Once a month an old lady would come in and bring back the free books she took the month before. That's... Not how it works lady, we're trying to get rid of them! She'd come in like 10 minutes til closing and dig through everything before I had to gently coerce her out the door. The other library I work 1 day a week at is having their own bored, rear end in a top hat teens problem, and they're at "call the cops on sight" status of they show up.
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Mar 4, 2024 18:38
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