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"Cross That Bridge All On Your Own..."
Jul. 13th, 2007 10:16 pmSo to-day was one of the days where I started worrying that my librarian, terse at the best of times, was going to snap and rip out someone's throat. Lord.
First we found the jacket of last year's suspected kidnapping victim stuffed under the sliding panel on the bottom of the large print shelves; then there was the usual idiocy over computers, gahhh; then a woman came in and asked the page, whose job is not assisting patrons and therefore who always directs them to me if she can (which I don't mind, but they seem to stick to her), for Diary of the Broken Heart, was informed it was on my cart, explained that it was not the one she wanted, that she had just returned it, she wanted Diary of a Broken Heart, and it eventually turned out that she wanted the next one in the series. Luckily, we did have it! So that was fixed, at least. But then. Oh, then.
Telephone: Ring ring!
Soujin: Allo zis is ze library 'ow can I 'elp you?
Her: Do you have any published plays?
Soujin: Madame, fear not, for all of our plays are published.
Her: Good. My daughter needs one. And our library card needs renewed, so I am sending her a check for the fee.
Soujin: Zat is quaite fine, zank you.
Her: Also I have fines. Check on them.
Soujin: Raight away, madame!
Fine Log: *informs Soujin that madame has twelve dollars and fifty cents in fines, which suspends her account (we suspend any account over ten dollars)*
Soujin: *relates this fact*
Her: Yeah. See, my fines are from when you were charging five cents a day for fines, instead of twenty-five.
Soujin: Oui?
Her: So you upgraded them when you switched. And I'm not paying the upgraded fees. I want you to downgrade them for me.
Soujin: Ah aim not sure zat is possible, madame--
Her: I'm not paying them. I'm going paying five cents a day.
Soujin: Um.
Her: Tell [the other librarian]!
Soujin: She is not 'ere to-day, Ah aim afraid.
Her: Fine. *hangs up*
Soujin: ... *eeble*
But wait! It's a two-part saga!
Soujin: *to Marion, the other Friday volunteer* I sense someone who is going to yell when she comes in.
Marion: Yeah?
Soujin: She sounded upset. So, when were our fines a nickel a day?
Marion: ...Uh.
Soujin's Librarian, entering: A nickel a day?
Soujin: Yis.
Soujin's Librarian: 1987. Why?
Soujin: ...Ah. That. Is interesting. *relates telephone conversation*
Soujin's Librarian: Hang on a darn minute. *checks fine log*
Fine Log: *informs us all that madame's fines are from February, 2007*
Marion: ...I hope I'm not here when she comes in.
Soujin's Librarian: *fumes*
So then her daughter came in and got her published plays--she was looking for The Crucible, which astonishingly we don't have, and I offered to lend her mine next Friday if she didn't mind waiting, but she said she needed to memorise a monologue for entry to a drama college she was hoping to get into, and she needed a play asap and she had no idea what to use if she couldn't find The Crucible. So I picked her out Death of a Salesman, Diary of Anne Frank, and Our Town, and she went home with those (after getting talked at badtemperedly but ultimately absolved of her mother's sins by my librarian). It was. a very interesting business all round.
And then Harry Potter Boy, who I have known for almost two years by now but whose name I still haven't managed to remember for any length of time greater than three minutes, hung around the desk making comments about the film until I made him go away. We always argue; it's sort of our ritual. He comes in every Friday and we argue about something. Just like how Moustache Boy comes in every Friday and flirts for a computer, and I make >:( faces at him. He is a pain, but a very good-natured pain, and he sometimes plays Questions.
Have I ever written in this much detail about Library work before? I don't think I have. Heh.
Also: Moll Flanders. I finished it. It is vastly, vastly boring. Now I get to watch the film instead (Robin Wright Penn! <33333 being grouchy! also John Lynch! Also Morgan Freeman! Eeeee), and start a new book to-morrow to exercise with. I got out a load of children's fiction so I could continue my project.
First we found the jacket of last year's suspected kidnapping victim stuffed under the sliding panel on the bottom of the large print shelves; then there was the usual idiocy over computers, gahhh; then a woman came in and asked the page, whose job is not assisting patrons and therefore who always directs them to me if she can (which I don't mind, but they seem to stick to her), for Diary of the Broken Heart, was informed it was on my cart, explained that it was not the one she wanted, that she had just returned it, she wanted Diary of a Broken Heart, and it eventually turned out that she wanted the next one in the series. Luckily, we did have it! So that was fixed, at least. But then. Oh, then.
Telephone: Ring ring!
Soujin: Allo zis is ze library 'ow can I 'elp you?
Her: Do you have any published plays?
Soujin: Madame, fear not, for all of our plays are published.
Her: Good. My daughter needs one. And our library card needs renewed, so I am sending her a check for the fee.
Soujin: Zat is quaite fine, zank you.
Her: Also I have fines. Check on them.
Soujin: Raight away, madame!
Fine Log: *informs Soujin that madame has twelve dollars and fifty cents in fines, which suspends her account (we suspend any account over ten dollars)*
Soujin: *relates this fact*
Her: Yeah. See, my fines are from when you were charging five cents a day for fines, instead of twenty-five.
Soujin: Oui?
Her: So you upgraded them when you switched. And I'm not paying the upgraded fees. I want you to downgrade them for me.
Soujin: Ah aim not sure zat is possible, madame--
Her: I'm not paying them. I'm going paying five cents a day.
Soujin: Um.
Her: Tell [the other librarian]!
Soujin: She is not 'ere to-day, Ah aim afraid.
Her: Fine. *hangs up*
Soujin: ... *eeble*
But wait! It's a two-part saga!
Soujin: *to Marion, the other Friday volunteer* I sense someone who is going to yell when she comes in.
Marion: Yeah?
Soujin: She sounded upset. So, when were our fines a nickel a day?
Marion: ...Uh.
Soujin's Librarian, entering: A nickel a day?
Soujin: Yis.
Soujin's Librarian: 1987. Why?
Soujin: ...Ah. That. Is interesting. *relates telephone conversation*
Soujin's Librarian: Hang on a darn minute. *checks fine log*
Fine Log: *informs us all that madame's fines are from February, 2007*
Marion: ...I hope I'm not here when she comes in.
Soujin's Librarian: *fumes*
So then her daughter came in and got her published plays--she was looking for The Crucible, which astonishingly we don't have, and I offered to lend her mine next Friday if she didn't mind waiting, but she said she needed to memorise a monologue for entry to a drama college she was hoping to get into, and she needed a play asap and she had no idea what to use if she couldn't find The Crucible. So I picked her out Death of a Salesman, Diary of Anne Frank, and Our Town, and she went home with those (after getting talked at badtemperedly but ultimately absolved of her mother's sins by my librarian). It was. a very interesting business all round.
And then Harry Potter Boy, who I have known for almost two years by now but whose name I still haven't managed to remember for any length of time greater than three minutes, hung around the desk making comments about the film until I made him go away. We always argue; it's sort of our ritual. He comes in every Friday and we argue about something. Just like how Moustache Boy comes in every Friday and flirts for a computer, and I make >:( faces at him. He is a pain, but a very good-natured pain, and he sometimes plays Questions.
Have I ever written in this much detail about Library work before? I don't think I have. Heh.
Also: Moll Flanders. I finished it. It is vastly, vastly boring. Now I get to watch the film instead (Robin Wright Penn! <33333 being grouchy! also John Lynch! Also Morgan Freeman! Eeeee), and start a new book to-morrow to exercise with. I got out a load of children's fiction so I could continue my project.
