Library Musings

I'm fortunate to work in a library where only one librarian is on duty at a time during summer sessions.  I was working the summer shift a few weeks ago which, if I may be brutally frank, is a delight.  It's usually very slow but the library is so (uncharacteristically) quiet and cool that it gives me a chance to work on detail oriented tasks which I just love.   It's also a good opportunity for me to try and become a favorite librarian.  When it's not hectic, I can do things like forgive fines, override printing errors, and happily loan out my pen without feeling like everyone is taking advantage of me.  In the summer, I can do those things without risk of becoming "the other lady," as in "The other lady let me do that" which many employ to try to get away with things.  There is no "Other Lady," because the other lady wouldn't let you use her phone or her personal AAA card.  Nor would she let you remove several reserve books from the library or cut up today's copy of the Wall Street Journal for a craft project. 

When it's slow, I can look past people quietly chatting on their cell phones or plugging in the broken pencil sharpener and then loudly announcing that it doesn't seem to be working.  But there is one library violation that causes me to have a visceral reaction.  Call me Pavlov's librarian!  It has to do with the printer.  Why do people think it's okay to touch the printer?  Why, just the other day a seemingly reasonable person ripped open the printer's paper tray and helped herself to a nice stack of the fresh white stuff despite the large tray of scrap paper right next to her.  "Ohh," my mind starts saying, "someone is putting on airs!"  Who would do such a thing?  It's not as if printers can be likened to fresh streams where the product is always free no matter where it is located. I do have trouble with my stern looks never looking stern enough, but the printer situation seems to be one occasion where I'm ready to start taking names.

And one final note--as someone who cares deeply about proper capitalization, I've noticed a startling trend in the library world.  That is, writing one's name in only lower case.  For example:

john doe, Librarian
WTH Library

Boston, MA

Why is this happening?!