Saturday

What I'm doing between questions: going through the Public Library Core Collection (nearly through the bios, but I started with them so I have all the DDC left), checking donated audiobooks to see if I want to add them to collection, doing processing slips for the travel books/other continuations, drinking mad amounts of caffeine...

We're short a reference person today so I'm on-desk all day. The same person is out all month, but we're finding fill-ins for those weekends; no time to do so today.

10:00 Front Desk

• "Why wasn't I called when this item on the holdshelf arrived?" [ILL staff said she literally called right before we opened; patron was outside waiting and missed it]
• Three of my favorite people walked in one right after the other....yay
• Long chat with one of the above whom I haven't seen much this year
• "Is Local Author* working today?" [nope--he actually has the holiday weekend off!]

11:00 Reference

• Time to wipe down all the computers that Librarian K didn't bother to...
• [phone] Renew overdue item
• Turn off your keystroke sounds on your phones, folks! [tok tok tok tok..tok...tok tok tok....] [and she finally FINALLY leaves]
• "Has [name] reserved one of those (gestures vaguely upstairs) rooms?" [we...don't have... rooms upstairs that are reservable, but also we're not doing reservations for the study rooms--what she wants--25 yards from me, behind her]
• [Sir! Sir! There's more printing!] Patron returns to grab the 10-page form he forgot he printed
• [phone] Gone with the Wind/Glory/Taking Chance all on DVD [we own, but he's in an area of the county that doesn't pay library taxes and we can't issue him a card without him paying his prorated fee--he only wants them for the holiday so can't he just pay for the time he has the movies out...(no), and "everyone was crying about GWTW being racist" so it's impossible to buy now...][Three versions currently available on Amazon in the U.S.--wah wah wah]
• Guest pass for the internet
• [11:41 -- The one guy on the internet, three people in the study room, and someone studying in the back--and me....oops another guy just walked in to use the computers]
• Local paper [current is kept at Desk because of theft] and "what happened to the trash can that used to be outside?" [people were throwing out their household trash here and it was full of food waste-->bees, so we pulled it....6+ years ago] [I didn't mention he been oblivious for over half a decade of coming almost daily]

12:00 Reference

• Wipe down empty computer stations from the last hour and update tally sheet (which thank God is accurate since I'm actually able to track via this!)
• [phone] "I just got a notice for some things I know we returned; can you check your shelves?" [sure, and I find 2 of the 3 so I remove them all from her card and she is thrilled]
• Local paper is back
• [phone] No Sudden Move on DVD -- "it's an oldie" [well, actually, it was released last month so....I do a Request Purchase slip and tell her we'll call if/when it's released on DVD]
• Local paper/trash can guy wonders why the picture he printed just shows text and no pic [it's from Pinterest or something and you can't print just one image--I find what he's looking for elsewhere and manage to get a copy printed]
• Guest pass for internet
• [I'm hungry--Culvers? Taco Bell? Local gas station sandwich? Def need more caffeine--just finished Round One]

2:00 Front Desk

• [Taco Bell got nearly everything wrong on my order, but I do have plenty of caffeine at least....😞...didn't realize till I was back at work]
  
• ...and I forgot how to read a clock so I'm 10 minutes late to my shift
• "Are you guys open on Monday?" [nope] "What time do you open on Tuesday? [10 a.m.]
• [watching the camera outside the hidden basement entrance--we've been having regular visits from a kid on a bike for the last couple of weeks....]
• We have a staff member who likes to gossip/whisper to other staff when it's not busy. It makes me want to hurl (early teenaged trauma)

3:00 Reference

• Guess what? Librarian K didn't wipe down any workstations. I know. You're as shocked as I am.
• Every single person using a computer has been here at least twice this week, two of them every single day at least once... Good thing they are all low-maintenance from my standpoint
• I was going to stock the printers, but I can't find white paper...wait, I checked one last place and found some
• [We already have three carts of books to check in on Tuesday, not counting what arrives the rest of today, and tomorrow, and Monday. Holy balls, Tuesday morning is going to suuuuuck!]
• [Still watching that back camera]
• Renew dude's time before he asks, without telling him; he matter-of-factly just keeps on watching his music videos, oblivious or just internally thanking the Internet Gods
• Help saving, emailing, and sending signed certification docs for a BSA camp in another state. I don't ask questions lol
• [We have a piano available for people to play: dude just arrived and is playing the soundtrack of my teen years: Billy Joel, Bryan Adams, Styx....]
• [phone] Commuter train schedule for Monday, here to city center, and back
• 
  

4:00 Front Desk

• Backpack Lady from Wednesday (a WHOLE other story...) has found the last of the things she had checked out (like, 6 kits full of toys, games, puzzles, and books that were all mixed and missing parts) so the $600 bill she had on Monday is now down to $0. But now she can't find her card. She's a mess.
• Stephen King books [and I get 'redirected' for 20 minutes talking to my former pastor's wife about life since his death and the fact that her daughter is my kid's age]
• "Can I borrow tape?" [when I find it...]
• Thank you from BSA dude as he leaves
  
• Tape lady is finishing decorating and then we can go

*The one on our staff; we have a couple dozen others in town....