Librarian Ire

I have met the enemy

And have been trampled underfoot.
While I was experiencing life as a library doormat, I figured out our major problem. Well, not ours really. Everyone else's.
Librarians, for the most part, like books. We work where we do not just for the money, but because we like being around books and we like to read and learn.

The people who come in have specific goals. They want to use the computers, or check out videos and DVD's. Sometimes they need a meeting place. Or they didn't get the newspaper.
They do use the books, but only the ones they think are worth their time. The rest of the millions of items in the collection are so much flotsam. (An accumulation of miscellaneous or unimportant stuff) New word of the day.
Which is not how we see it. We see everything in the library as important and relevant. And it is. We don't understand how anyone else could see it otherwise. It's so obvious. But we all know how often the obvious gets overlooked in this world.
And because everything is important to someone somewhere we want to preserve and protect it for them. Not have it water damaged, dogeared, dropped at the beach, used as a coaster or beamed up by aliens and been tested.

So in short we have many enemies. And it's not paranoia if they are really after you. And we all know that they are out there. Coming in right before closing, talking on the cell phones, eating sandwiches, hiding books, and bringing them back late and shouting about late fees.
Stand fast my comrades! We will overcome.
And if we don't let's look into that electrified fence and cow prod. Anyone know where we could get a discount if we buy in bulk?

posted by Nike at 12:37 PM