Cell phones

At my library we’re very strict about cell phone use. You cannot talk on the phone in the library and we have signs EVERYWHERE stating this fact. Still, not a day goes by that I don’t have to direct a cell phone talker to the lobby to continue their call. Many people will make excuses about forgetting to put the phone on vibrate or silent. I understand; I’ve forgotten that myself sometimes. But just because you forget to do that doesn’t mean you have to answer the phone when it does ring! Silence the phone so it doesn’t keep ringing and call the person back when you’ve left the library!

Because I have to deal with this so often at work, I find myself wanting to do this in public too out of sheer habit. When I see someone in the grocery store line or wandering the aisles at the bookstore and they’re chatting on their phone, I have the urge to politely tell them to take it outside. But I don’t do this, and instead watch people make fools of themselves as they talk loudly about their personal lives for all the store to hear.

Advice

Some guy came to the library and asked about how to go about changing his name. I futzed around online until I found the page on the Oregon DMV site that describes what to do. I pointed out that he probably needed to do this with some federal agency too, but that the DMV could advise him what happened next once he visited them. He asked if I thought Clackamas County might have someone who could do this process for him. Um, no. The county has no legal authority when it comes to your name and your desire to change it.

Then he made some passing comment about how “you people” (library staff) are always so reluctant to give advice. I pointed out that I could not give advice on something like this since I have never changed my name. It makes me curious what else he has asked about here and wasn’t able to get advice on. No doubt tax forms are part of it. People don’t understand that we just provide the forms. We are not CPAs and we are not qualified to answer your tax questions.

Personal space

Some guy came to the library this afternoon looking for some Alanis Morissette CDs. He talked real slow, like he was stoned. However he reeked of cigarette smoke, not of pot. The album titles he was asking for weren’t coming up in the system, so I just brought up everything by Alanis Morissette. I was getting ready to read off the albums when he asked if he could come around the desk and read the albums off the screen. Normally I don’t mind it if patrons want to do this. On this occasion, however, I cringed. I didn’t want this guy any closer to me than he already was. But he was already coming around the desk, so I held my breath and tilted the monitor towards him. Even still, the overwhelming smell of stale cigarette smoke nearly knocked me out of my chair. I was glad when he saw an album he wanted and I could point in the direction of the CDs. Fresh air again!

As I said, I don’t normally mind when patrons come around the desk to look at the screen. However, I do mind when they START OUT on my side of the desk. Call me peevish, but I always make a point of not turning my chair to face these patrons. I remain facing the desk and crank my head sidewise and upward, hoping that they’ll understand they’re on the wrong side of the desk. Most people don’t get it, but I continue doing it anyway.

Fire alarm

After working at my library for more than 16 months, I finally got to hear what our fire alarm sounds like: bloody awful! It went off shortly after we opened yesterday morning and everyone in the building immediately put their hands over their ears. The noise was so loud and awful that I couldn’t think straight. What was I supposed to do? Do I get people out of the building? Do I work here?

A mother rushed in almost immediately to tell us that her child had pulled the fire alarm in the lobby. It was a false alarm. It was all over in less than five minutes and we were back to our normal work, albeit with ringing ears. I hope I don’t get to experience anything like THAT again anytime soon!