Interesting

To me, anyway. And, this is my blog so....


Yesterday, I worked at a library that was not my own. Someone was sick, or on vacation, or maternity leave....I can't remember the details. The upshot was that I volunteered 4 hours of my precious "Saturday before LARC paper due" to help out. It was an interesting experience. I had worked at this branch before a few years ago, and it was fairly close to my house, so it wasn't like it was some sort of hardship. This is what I did:

• I helped two people find information on starting their own business.
• I showed one of those two the Cookie Sutra. (its related to the business she wants to start!)
• I helped a bunch of kids with homework assignments
• I ordered a TON of fiction books. (and I do mean a ton.) I'm still not caught up on my patron requests, but I am sooo much closer now.
• I helped a bunch of people with the internet.
• I helped a nice woman find something on painting, drawing and mood.
• I told a lot of people "No, I'm sorry. We don't have that book here. But we can transfer it from Central."
• I answered some tv and movie questions.
• I talked to some people who looked at me and said "what are you doing here? don't you work downtown?"
• And, I got through the whole afternoon and only answered the phone "Central library, second floor reference" one time. The person on the other end was sooo confused. The person sitting next to me giggled.
• I fielded a complaint about our new dvd policy. The circulation staff was glad I was standing there to field this complaint, as they had gotten the hundred other ones.
• I fielded a complaint that our public printer "prints too slow."

It was an experience, let me tell you. I don't know WHY people complain about things like the printer printing too slow. He was really irritated too, and the other person working with me said that she had told him that before he started to print. So, what can you do, right? He was convinced that "his tax dollars" should have bought him a faster printer. All in all, it was good fun over there yesterday. I missed Central, though. Just goes to show that there are only so many things you can answer with the Internet. For the rest, there is no replacement for a good reference book (or librarian, for that matter.)