Misconceptions & Libraries

When people find out that I work for the library they always heave a big sigh and remark that it would be so nice to work in a library.  How fun it would be to read books all day and work somewhere where it's quiet.  Sometimes I just nod politely, not wanting to destroy their happy little bubble, but other times I can't help but laugh out loud.  They look at me very quizzically and ask why I'm laughing.  Some days working at the library is like working at Walmart on Black Friday....loud and annoying.

Screaming children are only the beginning...but what an earsplitting, wince-inducing beginning.  Before I worked at the library I didn't know the difference between a scream, a yell or a shriek.  I most definitely know the difference now!  A yell isn't too bad, a scream can be annoying, but when the shrieking begins I want to check out completely.  Those are the moments when I wished we could still seriously ask people to leave for being noisy.  I understand that you have the most beautiful child ever birthed (gag), but when it's shrieking like that I think it's one step above a demon from the deepest pit of hell.  Take them outside, calm them down, then come back to the library...don't wander around for another 45 minutes looking at movies, books, etc and inflict that pain on the rest of us.  We didn't have that child...why should we be punished by it?

Now before you think I hate children, let me state something: I LOVE kids!  I really do.  They are so funny to watch.  Their brains work so differently and it's so interesting to see them process things.  But just because I love kids doesn't mean I love how annoying they're becoming.  And I don't entirely blame the kids...some are old enough to know better, but I blame more parents than kids.  Parenting today sucks.  It's sad because the kids are going to be the ones that suffer for it the most.  We live in an age of free style parenting, the idea that anything goes.  "Free expression!"  Baloney.  I call it lazy parenting.  It's too hard to stick to rules and enforce discipline because it requires follow through.  It requires work on the parents' part.  And people are lazy.  Stop being selfish (because that's exactly what it boils down to) and lazy and be a parent!  If you didn't want to, you shouldn't have had kids.

We also live in an age of "excuse parenting." What's that?  When your kid is always right...it's always someone else's fault.  When a parent excuses all behavior of their child whether it's wrong or not.  Again, you aren't doing your child any favors because they're going to find out one day that life doesn't work that way.  Their future spouse, boss, roommate, etc will not thank you for such piss poor parenting because they'll be the ones dealing with the rude awakening your "perfect" child is going to have.  I lived with several of these type of people and it completely sucked!

All this being said, there are a lot of good parents out there.  There are people that are sincerely trying to be the best they can.  I commend those parents.  May they have 15 kids because we need more well raised people in the world...it'll help minimize the selfish stupidity that's becoming more rampant.

Oh, and I don't get to read books while working...that would make some days so much better!  

p.s. I didn't intend this post to become a expose on parenting, but there you go.  Some days that just how it rolls...and today is a shrieking child day....joy!

Veteran's Day

I know Veteran's Day was on Monday, but I feel rather strongly about this holiday and want to share some of my reasons.  I have great love and admiration for those that sacrifice to serve our country.  Does that make them all wonderful people or people without flaws?  Of course not, but it also doesn't follow that we shouldn't be grateful for their service.  They do something for us that we can't, or won't, do.  They protect us.  They protect our freedoms.

Have you heard that phrase before and scoffed?  I know a lot that have.  Too many people don't realize that the very ability to scoff is a freedom.  Good luck doing that in some other countries without getting in trouble!

They keep our country safe from outside forces that would destroy it because of what it stands for.  We're losing a little of that ability to stand tall because of the poor choices made by our leaders and fellow countrymen, but the truths and principles that our country was founded on remain a beacon of light and hope to many worldwide (no matter how cheesy that may sound).  I don't want to rattle on too much, and jump on a soapbox...I just want to illustrate why I respect our country's servicemen and women so much.  I have relatives that serve, I have friends that serve, and there are many people I don't know that serve.  I would love to thank them all personally and sincerely for their service.  I wish there was more I could do to acknowledge them, more I could do to help them.  Sadly the most I can do doesn't feel like much.  Just know that I love and appreciate, think about and pray for, every man and woman that serves in our country's armed forces...be it Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, etc.  May God bless you all, and the families that sacrifice with you!

P.S. I saw this image on Facebook and I completely agree!

18th century coffin handles, and other strange things...

As a librarian I get all kinds of strange questions and requests...I think the strangest one I've  received yet was when a lady asked if we could help her identify some 18th century coffin handles from  pictures for a college class assignment...Wow...that's a rather specific request. 

Now, what most people don't understand about your local public library is that we're a popular library.  That means that we do not just have books for books sake.  If a book doesn't get checked out so many times in a year more than likely it'll be deleted to make room for something that will check out.  We don't do that because we don't like the book, just because it's not popular in a certain demographic area and shelf space is limited.

All that being said...books about 18th century coffin handles aren't exactly in high demand (shocking, I know!).  So this patron was understandably concerned as to where she was going to find such specific information if the PUBLIC LIBRARY couldn't help her!  I have a somewhat shocking secret to share...librarian's don't know everything!  AAAAHHH!!! I just completely popped everyone's happy little bubble, I know, but it's true. 

Having done 6 years of higher education myself, I shared a little tidbit of information with this wonderful lady, who was extremely lovely and kind; if a teacher assigns their students something so incredibly specific they more than likely have a specific resource in mind for the student to find and use.  In these cases the best place to look first is at the college library.  Poor lady...wish I could have answered her question!

Epic spelling fail!

Last night I walked into the break room of the library branch I was working at to grab my leftovers from the fridge and I happened to notice this little thing stuck on the fridge door.  Epic spelling fail...people we work at a library!!  Learn to spell!  I console myself by remembering that at least it wasn't out for the public to see! 

One of the funniest things about working as a librarian is the strange requests you get from patrons.  I've had all kinds.  I've decided that I shouldn't be the only one to benefit from the chuckles that come from these, so I'd like to share some stories...Recently I had a lady ask me if I would sort through her email and find all the coupons for her and print them out....yeah, no. Not gonna happen. I have better things to do.

Every once in a while we'll have guess jars full of candy or toys at the children's desk, and I had a little girl that refused to leave her spot on the floor in front of the desk until we drew her name out of the box so she could take the candy home.....(giggling under my breath)....again, yeah, no. When her mom came to get her to leave she was literally clinging to the jar (which was thankfully taped to the desk) while her mother picked her up and tried to walk away. That same day a little boy asked me if I'd tell him how many candies were in the jar.  I laughed out loud, congratulated him on his bold strategy, and told him even if I knew I wouldn't tell him...he was rather put out with me.  Go figure.  Today I had a boy ask me to open the jar and dump it out so he could count the candies....again the refrain...yeah, no.  We'll see what crazy thing happens next!

Librarian chat

It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog and I've decided to be a better person.

I work as a substitute librarian, which means I work at multiple branches.  One of the best things about my job is the fun conversations librarians have while working the reference desk.  I overheard three librarians having a rousing discussion about just what makes a fantasy a fantasy.  I love my job!

Day Six - May 10th, 2008

Today Mom was nice and let me sleep until about 8:30am. Since today was our shopping day we didn't rush out the door. We started off going to Portobello Rd. Lots and lots of booths and people. Of course we'd have to pick Saturday to go which means everyone else is there too. We wandered up and down only about a quarter of the entire market and then decided to move on.

We hopped back on the Tube and rode to South Kensington to find the church building before tomorrow, so we know where we're going. :D Sure doesn't look like any chapel we have in the States, but you do what you can. We talked to some people about calling Nic, got a drink and used the bathroom. Very refreshing. Then we walked to Harrod's and wandered through. They won't let you wear your backpack...you have to carry it. It doesn't look classy to wear a backpack. They had all different rooms and we only wandered through a few. The chocolate room, the ethnic foods room, the over priced handbags room and the cheese/butcher room. Crazy place, but I got some marvelous desserts in the chocolate room.

After Harrod's we walked up the street to Hyde Park. I love Hyde Park and we haven't even scratched the surface yet! So green! Little waterfalls and patches of flowers. There was a lot of people there too, but that's only to be expected on a Saturday afternoon. We relaxed on the grass and ate snacks for almost an hour before moving on. Just as we got up to leave it started to spit a little but never really began raining.

We walked out of Hyde Park, past Apsley House and the Wellington Arch, down the Princess Diana Memorial Walk to Buckingham Palace. Changing of the Guard is in the morning so we missed that, but at least there were less people there. We took some pictures and the decided to just head back to the flat to eat and call home. We just ate stuff we had in the fridge for dinner and talked only to Katelyn very briefly. And I must note that today Mom ate a whole yogurt and actually enjoyed it! Amazing! Now it's time for bed because church at 9am comes very early. And today's random thought is that the English love their monuments. They build large monuments for everything!