True accounts from libraryland. The library isn't as boring as you'd think.

Monday, August 23, 2010

"I'm looking for a notary republic." You're looking for a nation where everyone has an equal voice and they can administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and statutory declarations, and witness and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents? No? Oh, you mean a public notary. Try your bank.

Post from 8/21/10

Chuck Norris doesn't write books, he just stares at the typewriter until it produces what he wants.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Some books are like dog poop: if it's big enough and heavy enough, sometimes you have to double-bag it.

 

"Do you have Eat, Pray, and Love?" No, but we have Eat, Pray, Love. Seriously, how can you not get that title right? It's three words long.

 

Post from 8/13/10

I prefer people who smell really bad over people who smell really strongly of perfume. Because with people who smell bad I just throw up in my mouth a little bit then it's over with. But people who wear a lot of perfume give me a headache that lasts all day.

Post from 8/13/10

NASCAR has a weekly magazine? Most NASCAR fans don't know how to read, and those who do know how usually save that ability for important things, like the restraining orders from their favorite drivers. Anyway, publishing a weekly magazine for NASCAR fans makes as much sense as taking a group of anorexics to Golden Corral.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

You're donating this because you followed the system and made millions of dollars and no longer have a need for it? Thanks, we love adding material that is 100% full of false information and garbage - just look at how many Ann Coulter books we have.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Post from 8/10/10

Nothing screams "attention whore" more than a book (that's not a biography) with your picture on the spine.

Post from 8/9/10

Yes, that is a pregnancy test stashed in the base of an artificial tree. Yes, it was positive. But it's ok, that tree is married to the tree by the reference desk.

Posts from 7/21/10 to 8/6/10

7/21/10:  Use the staple bridge to cross the rubber band moat and reach the correction fluid castle. But watch out for the sharp spires of the golf pencil wall!

7/23/10:  When you're homeless, you really don't have much going for you, in terms of tangible assets and intangible assets. So when a guy disrespects your homeless girlfriend's honor by calling her a bitch, the natural thing to do is punch him in the face.

7/26/10:  Awesome donation of the day: It says "boners."

8/3/10:  This has been on my desk for about 6 months now, and I have no idea why. Any suggestions on what I should do with it?

8/4/10:  The internet is down so our whole system is affected and we can't get any work done. IT is working on the issue, but in the meantime, I bring you Venom vs. green army men. Who do you think will be victorious?

8/5/10:  This guy teaches history at Oxy, of course I'm ordering this book!


8/6/10:  Bullet in the bookdrop. If you don't like the selection of library materials, just tell us. No need to send us passive-aggressive death threats.

Posts from 6/30/10 to 7/15/10

6/30/10:  You're wearing a Team Jacob shirt? Really? Hate to spoil your fun, but you know Bella ends up fucking Edward, right? I don't know why these girls are so faithful to a losing cause. Probably learned from poor examples at home. Their dads must be Cubs fans.

7/1/10:  Yup, we have purple duct tape holding down our plastic chair mats.

7/6/10:  "Your Wi-Fi is down? And you don't know when it's going to be working? Are you doing anything to fix it?!?!" No, we've pretty much given up on it. We think this Internet fad is almost over anyway, and we're tired of dealing with it.


7/6/10:  I think this would be a fun new rule: Allowing people to sleep in the library. But they no longer get to find a quiet corner and a comfy chair to doze off in. Instead, they are to sit on a wooden stool right next to the teens' computers.

7/9/10:  When someone checks out a Playaway (a pre-loaded digital audio player, you can Google it), we give them a pair of headphones and a battery. I've been here for 2 years and I still don't understand this practice. We don't give people bifocals and lightbulbs when they check out books.

7/10/10:  Donation of the day: Finally, a book that J can appreciate.


7/10/10:  "Hi, am I at the right place? My father asked me to pick up a book for him." Nope, no books here. We only sell racoon hats and eyepatches. The Jiffy Lube has all the books.

7/12/10:  Awesome donation of the day: Cassette tapes from a person who had diverse musical interests.

7/14/10:  Abandoned pitcher of OJ. Or Sunny D. Might be Tampico. I'm not thirsty enough to find out.


7/15/10:  Book I won't be ordering: Algebra is already intimidating, why have a picture of a ferocious-looking mountain lion on the cover?

Posts from 5/27/10 to 6/29/10

5/27/10:  Phone call (on a Thursday): "Hi, you guys are open today for Memorial Day weekend?" Slight pause as I determine the best way to answer this. "Well Memorial Day isn't til Monday, and we're closed that day. But yes, we are open today."

5/28:  Someone donated about 30 books and 
one-piece women's bathing suit. The library has no need for the swimsuit,
 so it's free to a good home!

6/2/10:  "Will someone help me
 at the self-checkout machine? My electromagnetic energy disrupts the 
machine." I'll help you, but only because I appreciate the 
extraordinary excuse you concocted for being lazy.

6/7/10:  "Do I get a library card here?" No, go to the post office.

6/10/10:  My monitor now resembles a certain monster 
who has a persistent hankering for cookies.

6/11/10:  I was strolling through Kidstown and I paused to listen to a woman read The Giving Tree to a group of boys. She would pause in between pages to ask the boys questions. She asked, "What can you do with a tree?" One boy answered, "Go potty!"

6/15/10:  I know that I spend a lot of time here and it kinda feels like a second home to me, but my house key won't open the door. Ugh, it's gonna be a long day.

6/15/10:  "I'm really a pain, ain't I?" Actually, I don't mind helping you. It's your atrocious grammar that is painful.

6/16/10:  Today at library school - From a book for my Introduction to IT class - "URLs use many slashes ( / ); that's the correct term. Backslashes ( \ ) are also used in computing; that's also the correct term. The term 'forward slash' is not correct, except perhaps with light sabers." I don't even like Star Wars and I think that's funny.

6/29/10:  "I don't have a library card with this library, but I have one from my library in Michigan, does that help?" No. Do you go to Safeway and try to use your Smith's card?

Posts from 5/6/10 to 5/26/10

5/6/10:  An older gentleman asked 3 other patrons if they wanted to "take it outside" (as in, let's have ourselves a fistfight) because they were speaking to each other while using the computers. We informed this gentleman that our patrons are, in fact, allowed to speak at a reasonable volume. The gentleman then proceeded to tell me that "the state of Arizona is fucking stupid and backwards." I  asked him to leave. He flipped me off and said "fuck you." I asked him again to leave. He then grabbed his crotch and said "fuck you."

5/7/10:  "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Dr. Phil's son?" Nope, you're the first. And I think I'd prefer to have the bird-flipping, crotch-grabbing old man verbally assault me again rather than have someone compare me to the offspring of Dr. Phil.

5/12/10:  I don't know. I have the rest of the week off.

5/17/10:  "Some disgusting person left used chewing gum over by your books for sale!" Yeah, that's poster putty. I use it when hanging up stuff for displays, and it's mostly harmless. But good job on your indignation about a little piece of gum.

5/18/10:  A dirty, wrinkled, water-stained poster is
 a great way to advertise your cleaning business.

5/20/10:   I'm all for our new policy that allows people to use their phones in the library. However, I'm really hoping that this guy's battery dies soon.

5/21/10:  If you have to use screwdrivers that don't 
have handles, you might work in a poor library.

5/25/10:  It's a shame that the majority of our teens are well-behaved, because I kinda get a kick out of throwing out the jerks.

5/25/10:  Awesome book order of the day - Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s. It talks about Dock Ellis throwing a no-hitter in 1970 while on LSD, the "Disco Demolition" night in 1979, and all of the outrageous stuff that happened in between. (Garishly-colored polyester uniforms, orange baseballs, experimenting with a 3-ball walk, etc.)

5/26/10:  Accepted activities to log time for our Summer Reading Program: reading books, magazines, newspapers, reading things online, listening to audiobooks, having someone read to you, watching movies, watching TV. Seriously, watching movies and television counts for our Summer READING Program.

Posts from 4/8/10 to 5/5/10

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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Posts from 3/11/10 to 4/2/10

3/11/10:  Saw a service dog with a sign that read "Please do not pet me, I am working." I need one of those.

3/11/10:  This.


3/15/10:  We offer several free computer classes - Let's Begin with the Mouse, Create & Use E-mail, and Introduction to the Internet, to name a few. I have an idea for a new one: YOU DON'T HAVE TO DOUBLE-CLICK EVERYTHING!!!

3/17/10:  With each book Jackie Collins shows a
little more cleavage.


3/22/10:  I need to file a worker's comp claim. I
 can't shelve books with a scratched thumb!


3/22/10:  Awesome donation of the day: A bootleg DVD
of Tomb Raider.


3/22/10:  The library environment really is changing. Some people look shocked when they see a bookcart go by. But I'm guessing that most of their shock comes from the fact that I am pushing/riding/standing on the bookcart like a shopping cart.

3/23/10:  "My sister found this pill in her son's stuff and wants to know what it is." (The pill was white, round and had L194 on one side and blank on the other side.) Well ma'am, I'm sorry to tell you that your nephew is indeed hooked on generic Pepcid. He's probably trying to treat the ulcer he got from worrying about his mom's snooping.

3/30/10:  Awesome book order of the day: Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose, by Lee Alan Dugatkin. Brief summary - At the end of the 18th century a theory arose that America was a degenerate land - damp, coolish, and capable of producing only weak, undersized, insipid life forms lacking in vigor or fertility.

4/2/10:  A great clip from Sesame Street. Cookie Monster goes to the library. He doesn't quite understand the purpose of the library. He reminds me of a lot of patrons I deal with.

Posts from 2/26/10 to 3/9/10

2/26/10:  Dear book sale customers, please only take books from the designated book sale area. DO NOT load up your bags with books from our stacks. Those are NOT for sale. Thanks, library staff.

2/26/10:  When attempting to weasel your way out of late fees by claiming that you never checked an item out, it really doesn't help your case when someone hands in the car keys you just lost. Your credibility just went out the window. Now pay your 40 cents.

3/2/10:  A moral dilemma: A person looks right past a sign that says "FREE FAXING" to ask me how much faxing costs. I have no qualms about not telling him it's free. My dilemma is deciding on a (somewhat) reasonable rate to charge him.

3/2/10:  I'm sorry, it's hard for me to gauge if I can help you, because I'm having trouble hearing your question over the noise of your child asking me repeatedly, "Do you got candy? Do you got candy? DO YOU GOT CANDY?!?!"

3/5/10:  You didn't put in a full day of work unless
you got some Sharpie on you.



3/9/10:  I was calling patrons to let them know their holds were available. Patron: "Oh, I'm actually in the library right now!" Awesome, thanks for answering your phone in the library. Any other library rules you are breaking that you want to tell me about?

3/9/10:  Patron: "I want to use a computer but I don't have my library card." Me (noticing that the patron had only 1 key and her library card on her keyring): "What's that on your keyring?" Patron: "Oh...

Posts from 2/13/10 to 2/25/10

2/13/10:  Awesome donation of the day: A VHS of New Kids on the Block.


2/13/10:  An older customer is challenging a late fee that he has. He eventually says, "I can't challenge the computer, that's an Obama no-no." What? That doesn't even make sense.

2/16/10:  Old white lady: "Why are there so many people here using computers, don't they have one at home?" No. I know it's hard to believe, but some people can't afford a computer and/or Internet service. She'd probably shit herself if she knew that the property taxes on her vacation home keep this soup kitchen open.

2/16/10:  Awesome donation of the day: The holy trinity of Steven Seagal's movies, on VHS.




2/18/10:  Fun find of the day: Red Dairy Queen spoon 
in the stacks.



2/22/10:  "I'm having trouble getting on your wireless network. I'm so frustrated I'm ready to throw my computer in the trash can." Well if you're using a PC I can definitely help you with that. Not the connecting to the wireless network part, the part about throwing your crap computer in the trash.

2/23/10:  Empty CD cases hidden in display books. 
Great, thanks. Really though, who steals a Kid Rock CD???





2/23/10:  "I thought that you didn't have to renew paperbacks and there are no late fees on paperbacks?" Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know today was make-up-your-own-rules-day.

2/24/10:  This is what happens at the reference desk when there are no reference questions asked.


2/25/10:  Do Cher and Sarah Jessica Parker know you
 used their likenesses for this book cover?

Posts from 2/2/10 to 2/12/10

2/2/10:  Got an interesting lecture from a woman about her credit card interest rates and how she dealt with the credit card companies by "bitching" at them to lower her rate from 23% to 19%, and did I know that credit card bills come from Nevada or Deleware because they don't have usury laws? Oh, I forgot the conspiracy theory part - Albertson's has changed the way it shows up on your credit card statement. It now shows up as "Super Savers" so your credit card company will think you are poor and lower your credit limit.

2/2/10:  "Did you see that disgusting movie recently, with Keanu Reeves? The Terminator. Where he's hooked to a computer with all of those cords? I'm afraid of that happening, that's why I don't use computers." Yeah, the crazies are here in full force today.

2/3/10:  Always amazed at how much shit people have in their wallet/purse/handbag/clutch. Receipts, pens, candy, keys, phones, checkbooks, other assorted junk...everything except their library card. Also, I like it when they lick their fingers when they flip through their cards then hand it to me.

2/4/10:  "The doctor said I can't drive anymore, but I drove here this afternoon. I didn't want to miss the Friends of the Library meeting." Well, thanks for endangering anyone who shares the road with you.

2/8/10:  "Here, I found a penny on the ground. Have you seen that movie where they kill people and then put pennies on their eyes? It's called Boondock Street Killers. It's on TV right now."

2/9/10:  Why is it so hard to find a paper clip that isn't paper-clipped to another paper clip?

2/9/10:  "Do you have 'Dear John', by any chance? It's by Nicholas Stark...Parks...SPARKS!"

2/11/10:  Ordering books is fun, especially when I find titles like "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter". Sounds like it's a humorous read, but Abe better stay away from Edward!

2/12/10:  Dusting the top shelves.

2/12/10:  A teen told me that I was the "coolest library guy, ever!" I'm the only guy that works at this library, and I'm guessing that he's never been to another library. So I'm probably the "coolest library guy, ever" by default. But I'm not gonna look this gift horse in the mouth.

Posts from 1/14/10 to 1/27/10

1/14/10:  "Excuse me, your machine ain't taking mah money." Yeah, it probably has someting to do with your $5 bill looking like it has been wadded up in your pocket for 3 weeks, you slob.

1/14/10:  When I ask you, "How may I help you?" at a normal speaking volume, why do you respond in a whisper? It's not like my nametage grants only me this privilege, you can do it too.

1/14/10:  Here's some particularly delicious irony: The Medical Reserve Corp is breaking the law by having twice as many people as allowed by fire code in one of our meeting rooms.

1/19/10:  Awesome old guy: "Due February 9th? That's not gonna interfere with Valentine's Day, is it? I might have a hot date! *wink*"

1/20/10:  I work for the COUNTY, not for the state. So stop getting pissed at me for the fact that the state is broke and is not providing any state tax forms. Either file online or pay the 15 effing cents per page to print what you need.

1/20/10:  I was sorting through the donations and an earplug fell out of a paperback. I think I'm going to start a collection of weird things found in the donations. Well, maybe not a collection of the actual items, cause the earplug was gross. So maybe I'll just take pictures of the items. That might be more sanitary.

1/21/10:  I had to wear board shorts due to our leaking roof. The Public Works Department decided that, due to our city's sporadic rainfall, they would just replace damaged ceiling tiles after each storm rather than actually fix the roof. Last year we had to replace our public-use fax machine because it was located beneath a leaky tile. Today we lost an $800 laserjet printer.

1/25/10:  I've never been more terrified of two words in my whole life. A woman was holding her 2 year-old son while checking out. The little boy points at me and says, "That's Daddy!"

1/26/10:  Yes, you can call the reference desk and I will print out the Cannellini Bean and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup recipe that you saw on the Sonoran Living television program, but were unable to write down in time because of your arthritis. And you're correct, you can't trust me with your "unpublished" phone number. I should just be grateful that you told me your last name, right?

1/27/10:  "Due on the 17th? Of this month?" Yes, moron. Today is the 27th and they are due on the 17th of this month. They were due 10 days ago. So you now owe $4.00 in late fees on items you just checked out. No, we don't take debit.

Posts from 12/29/09 to 12/31/09

12/29/09:  After I answered a gentleman's question regarding tax forms, he said to me either "thanks, doc" or "thanks, doll". I'm really not sure which one, but neither makes sense.

12/30/09:  Two sweet-looking little girls, probably not older than 10, asked for "stories about people killing people. Like, true stories about people killing other people."

12/31/09:  An elderly woman is walking past the security desk, where there is a picture of a lion cub displayed on one of the computer monitors. She exclaims (twice), "Ooh I like that bear!"

Posts from 12/4/09 to 12/28/09

12/4/09:  Jeans and Charlotte's Web t-shirts. That's how we do!

12/4/09:  When patrons are less than polite during checkout I'm tempted to tell them how their book ends.

12/7/09:  A guide dog barfed on the carpet.

12/8/09:  Today at the library conference - I'm having a great time watching the lady in front of me do the falling asleep\waking up head-nod.

12/11/09:  Took a woman's keys and ID as collateral for checking out a laptop. On the keyring: a pink plastic nutsack. Stay classy, Havasu.

12/11/09:  I was working on a holiday poster, so I did a Google image search for "holly." SafeSearch was off and I ended up with pictures of Holly Madison. Eh, that'll work.

12/12/09:  It's Saturday. I'm working. You can fill in the rest.

12/16/09:  What the hell is it with old people and puzzles? We have a free puzzle exchange here, and it is like crack to them!

12/21/09:  Renewed a book called "The PETA practical guide to animal rights" to a patron wearing an Arby's Roastburger t-shirt. Mmmm, the irony could only be more delicious if it had some bacon on top, just like the new Bacon Cheddar Roastburger.

12/28/09:  Dear Snowbirds, please use proper American phone number rhythm - da da da, da da da, da da, da da. I don't know how phone numbers go in Canada, but you confused me with your da da, da da, da da, da da da da.

Posts from 11/13/09 to 12/1/09

11/13/09:  A flathead screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a hammer: The tools needed to fix a stapler that was loaded improperly.

11/18/09:  Just found out that my new favorite author, Charlie Huston, has a new novel coming out in January. I had a little bookgasm then added it to the purchasing list.

11/19/09:  Almost all staff were CLEARLY wearing Mickey Mouse ears. A guy comes up and asks, in all seriousness, "What's with the kangaroo hats?"

11/20/09:  Had to help someone figure out the diameter of a circle and all we knew was the area in square feet. I need my friends with math skills to make sure I did this right. I'm looking at you MC. So A = (Pi)r^2. 270 = (3.14)r^2 85.99 = r^2 r = 9.27 d = 18.55.

11/23/09:  If you're going to post something to MY
 bulletin board, try to spell correctly.

11/24/09:  You know you have fun coworkers when you sing the song from the "My Buddy" and "Kid Sister" commercial...at 8 AM.

12/1/09:  I can't do the alphabet today.

Posts from 10/6/09 to 11/12/09

10/6/09:  An actual conversation, with an adult customer. -You have late fees. -What are late fees? -You returned your movies late. -It costs money if I return something late? -Yes. -Since when did you start doing that? -Since forever.

10/10/09:  Thank you for digging through your wallet to show me your "retired police officer ID", even though your driver's license was right on top, when I asked for a picture ID. I'm sooo impressed. Next time I get pulled over I'm going to flash my library card and see if that gets me out of a ticket.

10/27/09:  Day-old muffins in the break room. If you can make it through the cruncy top they're actually pretty good.

10/29/09:  Someday I hope to be important enough that I have to send an "Out of the office" email to everyone when I leave for one day.

10/30/09:  We're wearing halloween costumes! I'm Dr. Lyle Brarian.

10/31/09:  If I'm busy, don't reach over the counter and place something on the desk. Place it on the counter. That's why it's there.

11/9/09:  Caramel apple candy corn in the breakroom. Taste surprisingly just like caramel apples, but have the texture of candy corn.

11/12/09:  No, astrology is NOT the same as astronomy. Astrology is to science as Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese is to Italian food.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Posts from 8/17/09 to 10/2/09

8/17/09:  "I need me a book about telekinesis. After what I seen, there's gotta be an explanation." Well, judging by your grammar and tooth decay, I'd say the culprit was meth.

8/18/09:  You can tell it's not snowbird season because all of the James Patterson novels are on the shelves.

8/29/09:  Phone call, I answer. Me - "Library, can I help you?" Caller - "Are you open today?" Me - (In my head: Nope, I'm sitting here in the library on my day off with all of the lights off cause I love books THAT much.) "Yes, from 9-5."

9/1/09:  This cartoon from Unshelved.com pretty much sums it up.

9/2/09:  The "white out" that I grabbed from the supply closet turned out to be "yellow out."

9/15/09:  A guy turned in a lost wallet containing $300 cash and restored my faith in humanity.

9/17/09:  I don't care if it's a service animal, keep your dog off the counter.

9/18/09:  Candy Corn Dots in the breakroom. I'm not a fan of Candy Corn, but I'm curious as to how Candy Corn Dots will taste. Anyone tried them?

9/30/09:  Non-attractive person: "Do you have this book?" Me: "Yeah, here's the call number." Attractive person: "Do you have this book?" Me: "Yes, let me show you where it is."

10/2/09:  I know that you're really excited that I'm putting out more DVDs, but could you wait like 2 minutes and give me a little space? I don't want you dripping drool on my shoes.

Posts from 4/17/09 to 8/10/09

4/17/09:  I don't trust an author when their name is in a larger font than the title on the cover of their book.

6/24/09:  "I can't read when I'm on the plane, I get carsick." I didn't know flying cars were a reality yet.

7/20/09:  I was shelving a cart of fiction and was amazed at how much of the alphabet I had forgotten during my vacation.

7/22/09:  People routinely are oblivious to the existence of my nametag and ask if I work here. So today I changed my nametag to say "Sparky."

7/23/09:  I opened my desk drawer and a mouse was running around. I freaked out. And everyone in the library heard me scream like a girl.

7/24/09:  "I'm not against female writers, I'm becoming more tolerant of them. I guess in that sense I'm becoming more bisexual." Yeah, that word doesn't mean what you think it means.

7/27/09:  Overheard at the library - snoring. From more than one customer.

7/30/09:  Found a flier on the bulletin board. It said "Huge women's Clothing, Yard Sale. Sizes 4 to 14. Saturday..8-01-09. Starts at 8:00 am untill Noon." I wouldn't consider a woman who fits in clothing size 4 to 14 to be huge.

8/3/09:  Found out you CAN catch a mouse with cantaloupe and pretzels. And a trap that snaps the mouse's neck.

8/10/09:  Wanna know the quickest way to piss me off? Ask me for directions then walk away before I'm finished. Then come back 30 seconds later because YOU DIDN'T LISTEN! Now you're gonna get talked to like you're five years old.

8/10/09:  Overheard at the library - In a snotty voice: "My cleaning lady threw a book away, I need to pay for it." Well, that's what you get for reading Nora Roberts. Your cleaning lady obviously has better literary taste than you.