Librarian Ire

Share the Drugs!

I don't know what some people are taking, but if they don't start sharing soon I'm going MARC on their ass. (B/c really, Librarians have way more stress than postmen. We have books, endlessly coming in and going out, missing, lost; we have to search for them, bill them, repair them - which is all more than equal to mail. But THEN we have endless patrons, each with an infinite range of problems and questions that they demand you answer. So, MARC. "Librarian" just doesn't have the same zing that postal had.)

ANYWAY (Damn, stay on topic Loki! But my complaints are endless! Focus!)

An old guy (not a student) comes up to the desk looking for a particular journal. Once again, I'm all "Did you look it up in the catalog?" Oh yes, he did. However, he can't tell if we had it. O.K. So I look it up. We get to the initial screen with a list of those titles (and more). The guy starts in with "Now, you see this list - why doesn't it tell me what library has it?" I try to explain the structure of a Library Management System to him, but he's not having it. I actually said, "Whatever. Just click on the one that fits." So we have made it to the item screen (15 minutes after beginning, the dude wanted to talk and complain until my brain tried to escape out my ear and hop a plane to Mexico) Then, I scroll to the bottom of the item screen to show/explain that is where one finds the holding information. "Now see, that's just stupid. Why would you put that information on the bottom? I don't want to go all the way to the bottom. That should be on the top. Its the most important thing. I want the title, then right underneath the call #."
"But sir, I explain, we don't have any control over that. The bibliographic information all has to go together. Sometimes people want to know the author of a book. Or the year it was published. Besides, you can't just put the call #, you have to put the owning library and the status fields in." "Why?! I don't need that. I only need the call #. Can you call someone and have that changed?"

Ok, at this point, the freak had tee'd me off to no end. I want to know just how nice I have to be to him. "Are you a member of the faculty or staff here?" "No." "Do you have an ID?" "No, I just like to use this library every now and then." HA-HAH! Freedom to bitch. "Listen buddy, get your scrawny ass out of my library, you're pissing me off!" Alas, no. I just told him that's how we do it here, that's the right way to do it, and its too bad he doesn't like it.

posted by Loki at 1:24 PM