Tuesday, May 12, 2009

You Gotta Love Working with the Public

Last week my teen librarian came to me as I was shelving books to let me know a patron let a page (someone who shelves books other than me) know that she saw another patron pour beer into his Pepsi cup at one of the tables in the children's area. Oh, man. I don't want to deal with this. So I approach the guy surrounded in a haze of beer fumes. I say "Excuse me sir, I smell beer are you drinking beer?"
"No, no."
"Ummm...I see something that looks like beer that has been spilled on the table."
He wipes up the offending spots and says "No, no I am just watching DVD's."
"Uhmm, someone saw you pour beer in a cup and I believe that you are drinking beer."
"Awww, I just came in here to watch a DVD and recharge my player, you don't know how hard I have it in my life...etc etc."
"Yes, sir I understand but you can't drink alcohol in the library."
"You don't understand, you can't understand how hard my life is."
"Yes, you are right sir, but you have two choices, you can either get rid of the beer or...."
"Alright, I'm leaving, I'm leaving."
He begins to pack up his belonging with a running commentary that I don't engage in. About 10 minutes later I escort him out of the library, tell him he is welcome back sans beer and with a big smile wish him a good day.
Then I return to my desk to spend the next 30 minutes writing reports.
Last Friday as I am helping a patron, I see a patron that I have had run ins with before using a webcam in the library. I go over to him and explain that he cannot film in the library. He states that he is not recording but rather showing the library to his girlfriend in China. He asks to speak with the manager, that would be me I say. "Well, the short librarian in Valencia says that it is OK why do you have a problem. I'm not showing her people, just books."
"Ok, I will have to call my supervisor to see if it is OK."
I call, and go back to the gentleman and explain, "I have spoken with my supervisor and she agrees that you will have to stop filming with the webcam, we have video taping policies and you will have to request permission from our Public Information Officer."
"OK, I will stop, can I ask why."
"People who come to library expect and deserve a degree of privacy."
On Sunday, I go to Valencia and the librarian there greets me with "I did not tell him it was OK. I told him he couldn't film in the library." Just as I thought, this is often a ploy that people use to get their way. Do they think that we don't talk to each other?
Yesterday, a patron comes up and tells me she has an internet appointment at this time but someone is using the computer. I ask for the card and she gives it to me, I check and there is no appointment. She says she made it herself so she knows she made it. I explain that if you don't get the verification at the top of the screen it might not take. Then I look at the card and the card belongs to a man. I ask whose card it is. She tells me that it is her employers, she is a care giver. I explain that only the holder of the card can use the internet and that she can get a library card. "I live out of town." or a computer user card, "I don't want to do that." She turns away with a mutter, "I will make my own appointment later." I call out to her "You don't understand, I will have to block this card now, you can get a computer user card, we just need your name, that is all." She gets huffy, "My boss is 300 pounds can can't come in. He is going to be really angry that you blocked his card." I say "We can get you a computer user card" to her back.
Later in the day, I get a phone call from her boss, he wants to know why his card is blocked. I explain that only the person belonging to the card should use the computer and that when he comes in to the library to use the internet I will unblock his card. I explain about the internet user card and that his caregiver can get one without any problem to use the internet. This is for his own protection and we have to use the same rules for everyone. I then go on to explain that if he sends a letter with he explaining his situation and that he wants her to check out items for him then and he understands that he is responsible for anything she checks out on his card then I will unblock his card for her to check out and add a note that she can use his card to check out but not the internet.
Seriously, if the police come in with a court order to search the hard drives on a computer for information that someone searched for using my card number, I would be very concerned. Yes, the chances are very small but seems to be significantly higher when someone refuses to go through a 30 second process of getting her own card. Which by the way the smart person would just give us a fake name, we don't require ID for computer user cards if you refuse to give it to us. So what is the problem?
And finally yesterday afternoon, the back of the library was smelled with a strong pungently sweet smell. I searched but no smoke, I check the bathrooms, I checked outside and finally came to the conclusion that although no one was smoking up in the library, they might very well have been carrying some very strong weed of the fine quality variety and when they went they left an aroma of pot behind them.
Why do I know that this is likely, well when I lived in San Francisco, I had a roommate that smoked some and a student that smoked a lot but was wanting to quit. So we are studying in my room and we both smell the pot. I am thinking "Man, Ander said he was quitting but here he is coming to lessons high." and he is thinking "I though Marta didn't smoke. Why is she teaching me high?" Finally, I gave way and said "I thought you quit smoking?" He looks confused and then gets what I am saying and tells me what he was thinking. Some sniffing to the source located a baggy that my roommate bought in the desk drawer. So I know that good pot can permeate a room or in the case of yesterday a library.

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