A public librarian serves the needs of the public he or she serves. There are days like today that make me use every thing I have to NOT hang up on a patron.
This man called and said that a new dvd we have is still being processed (in tech getting a barcode, security case, cataloged, etc.) and he wanted to come in *right now* to pick it up. It was dvd on Athens by PBS. If something is still being cataloged, we don't care if Jesus comes to the door - you cannot check it out of the library.
I told him that he needs to wait until the dvd is finished being processed before he can check it out, but I can put a hold on it for him. I asked for his name, but when I typed it in the database, 3 records for the same name came. I wanted to verify which record was him and he blew up - yelling at me! He yelled at me for "questioning" him. I gritted my teeth and calmly reminded him that I was just trying to HELP him to ensure that the correct record is used for him. DUH.
I cannot believe how unhappy and neurotic people are - and there are days that I hate the fact that this job puts me in a position where I cannot hang up on them or tell them to fuck off. I would *so* love to do that to this guy.
And yesterday there was a teen boy who walked around the room picking his nose and eating his boogers - at least 7 times repeatedly. Despite the fact that he saw me glaring at him, he still did it. In a weirdo sort of way. I am sure this kid gets his head flushed at school. Today I told my favorite security guard what he missed yesterday and he got mad and asked if the security guard on duty confronted him. I said no - picking your nose and eating your boogers is not exactly a security threat.
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