Tag: library

Patrons in the Wild

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

A picture of a row of library books illuminated by several hanging bare bulbs. Image by StockSnap from Pixabay.Please note that the title of this post is IN the wild, not GONE wild. That’s a totally different topic.

If you’re just tuning in and are unfamiliar with my lore, I live in a small town and work at the library in said small town. It’s one of those towns that there’s a good chance you know someone’s name or face if you not both, especially if you grew up here, went to school here, and/or work with the public here.

So, the other day, I went to the grocery store and ended up in line in front of a regular patron at the library where I work. As soon as he got in line behind me, he spoke, we exchanged pleasantries, and bid each other a good day as soon as I was done putting my groceries in my cart. It was a perfectly cromulent interaction.

A few days later, I had to go back to the grocery store for the third time that week (it was an ORDEAL) and I ended up saying hello to a different regular patron as we passed each other.

After spending years hermiting, I’m still getting used to this sort of interaction. I’m used to traveling through my day without running into anyone I know well enough to say hello or being recognized out of context. The context in this case, of course, being the library. I do believe we’ve discussed before how I struggle with the object permanence of myself.

Anyway, I’ve had several of these interactions in the last year since I started leaving my house more and acquiring something of a social life. I ran into one regular patron while waiting to be seated with my friend for breakfast at a popular local joint and we ended up chatting about her husband (also a regular) and his latest shenanigans. On another occasion, I said hello to a patron I knew as my friend and I were finding our seats for a showing of Men in Black at the local theater.

The funny thing was that both of those times the bestie I was with, Haley, also said hello to people, which is the norm. Haley knows EVERYBODY in town (she’s related to a good chunk of them), so going anywhere in town with her (and sometimes out of town) is like going out with a celebrity. Expect to get stopped. Usually, I just stand there patiently and awkwardly while she chats for a minute. It’s all good. It’s been the usual for decades and I’m cool with it.

So, it was a real twist to be able to participate in this phenomenon because someone knew me. I was able to chat with my regular patron while she chatted with the lady she knew because they happened to be going to breakfast together, too. It was a wild experience that I hadn’t anticipated.

For someone with anxiety who prefers her social interactions to happen in their usual contexts -like talking to patrons in the library- because I otherwise feel unprepared to people, I’m pleasantly surprised with how well I’ve done encountering patrons in the wild.

There may be hope for me and my social life yet.

Accidental Local Historian

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

A picture of a row of library books illuminated by several hanging bare bulbs. Image by StockSnap from Pixabay.First of all, please understand that I am calling myself a local historian in the absolute loosest, mostly tongue-in-cheek way. It’s mainly for the purpose of illustrating that libraries and library workers do a lot more than folks realize.

My county doesn’t have a singular historical society.

We have the C.H. Moore Homestead and DeWitt Count Museum, which is a Victorian mansion that once belonged to prominent resident and attorney C.H. Moore, and features a gorgeous two-story library that still houses part of his vast private collection (the rest are housed at the library I work at). The museum features both permanent and temporary displays of county history.

We have the DeWitt County Genealogical Society, which occupies a room in the lower level of the library. With their help and resources, folks can find all sorts of records relating to family history in the area. They’re in the office, so to speak, every Thursday, and just an excellent source of knowledge and research.

And we have the library that I work at. The upper floor of the old building has been turned into our local history archives. We have a collection of all sorts of items that have been donated to the library that have historical significance to the city, county, and the people who’ve lived here. We also have a collection of local newspapers, which are available on microfilm. Many of the yearbooks, picture collections, and the newspapers up until I think 1965 have been digitized and put online.

Preserving local history is actually one of our core library values and part of our mission statement. It’s something that my director in particular is pretty passionate about because we don’t have one big local historical society. You can watch her and her fabulous dresses do Tales from the Archives videos on our YouTube page. Not everyone who works at the library ends up hips deep in local history, but we all end up learning the history of the library and we all know the value of local history.

I probably would have been content with knowing the history of the library and letting that be the extent of my involvement. Then my boss asked me to create the library’s podcast. When I finally came up with a concept, the plan was to cover all aspects of the library and its collection and services and archives, which included local history. The very first episode of the podcast I did was about the only public hanging to occur in my county, something I never knew about because, hey, it’s a small town. Nothing happens in a small town, right?

My director then came across something about a man being murdered in the county courthouse. Sure, it happened in 1855, but still! A murder in my little town? Well, as it turned out, it happened a lot back in the day and over the stupidest shit. Looking up one thing in the newspaper for one topic has led me down other rabbit holes when another article caught my eye. This was how I found a list of 22 murders committed in the county from 1855-1913. I spent months researching them, which turned into multiple podcast episodes, a program I had to do four times because it was so popular, and a video that’s on the library’s YouTube.

Not all of the local history I’ve researched has been about murder (though, admittedly, a lot of it has). I’ve researched the library building, the longest-tenured librarian, the third of the county’s four courthouses, our Friends of the Library volunteer group, tornadoes, floods, an arms bust, an infamous mayor, our first woman sheriff, a suffragette train, railroad accidents, a devastating fire, county ghost towns, a scandalous will dispute, and even C.H. Moore himself.

I now have a list of topics that I need to research for future podcast episodes.

This has also led to me hosting a couple of regular local history true crime programs, Crime Club for the teens, and Coffee and Crime for the adults. We’re going to get together, have some snacks, I’ll present a local history case, and we’ll chat about it. Crime Club starts this month and Coffee and Crime kicks off in November. It means more work and more research, but I’m excited to see how these programs go.

I never thought of myself as a history person, really. I never anticipated becoming one of the go-to people in the library for local history either.

But, if you need to know something about the history of the library or maybe a local murder, just ask.

If I don’t know, I’ll be happy to find out.

It’s Podcast Season

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

An old school chrome microphone with rainbow sound waves on a white background. Image by Tumisu on Pixbay..I currently do three podcasts.

I’m in charge of the library’s podcast at the library I work at. I co-host Here, Watch This with my friend Shann. And I have Book ’em, Danno: An Old Hawaii Five-O Podcast.

The library podcast is monthly and Here, Watch This has gone to every other month due to real life obligations for both me and Shann. The library episodes range anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes and my part of the Here, Watch This episodes are usually between 15-20 minutes. Book ’em, Danno is monthly from September to July with an extra episode in December and sometimes May depending on the schedule. The episodes tend to run about an hour long because I get long-winded when talking about Steve McGarrett.

The length of the episodes doesn’t accurately reflect the amount of time put into each episode.

I’ve gotten the recording, editing, proofing, and transcribing of the library podcasts down to a science. Depending on the length of the episode, it can take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Since I have to do all of that at home, that’s comp time. What I don’t keep as diligent track of is the prep work that goes into each episode because I usually do that at the library. Depending on the episode, the research and script work that goes into an episode can be substantial. I might only do a few hours work on an episode about a library service, but that can easily double if I’m spotlighting something in our archives or writing up summaries for a recommendation episode. And if I’m doing a local history episode…we’re talking hours in the double digits. The longer the episode, the more extensive the research.

Here, Watch This is another deceptively easy podcast because Shann does the heavy lifting with editing the episodes (and bless her for it). I’m just responsible for recording and doing a basic edit for my part, which often times takes me less than 2 hours. But the prep work -watching the assigned episode of the chosen show, writing up the synopsis and organizing my thoughts into a coherent script- can take 4 to 6 hours.

And then there’s Book ’em, Danno.

Book ’em, Danno is the reason why I spend so much time scripting the other two podcasts. When I first started this podcast back in the long, long ago, I approached it the same way that I did my appearances on Eventually, Supertrain. I watched the episode a couple of times and then talked about it. In the beginning, I didn’t even write out a synopsis for the episode. I just worked from my notes and hoped for the best. It took me about eight episodes of the series before I wised up. I spent -and still do spend- more time doing guest cast research than any other prep work.

Which results in an editing endurance trial every single time. It takes HOURS to edit a single episode of Book ’em, Danno. HOURS.

On average, it takes me two weeks to produce one episode of Book ’em, Danno. This is because, even if I had time to do everything in one or two or three days, I would lose my mind if I tried. I simply could not. So, I spread it out over the course of ten days. Two days for watching the episodes in order to write the synopsis. Two days of watching the episodes for my notes on what I want to talk about. One day of recording. Four to five days for editing, uploading, and writing up the blog post for the episode.

That guest cast prep? The entire season is done over the course of a couple months, usually at the end of the previous season.

With all of my podcasts, I work ahead. Here, Watch This episodes are usually done the month before, or the first week of the month of the episode going live. I only have one episode left to record for the library’s podcast this year, and 6 of the 12 needed for next year done.

Book ’em, Danno’s “seasons” provide an interesting challenge. Since the new season starts in September for me, I start working on it in August with the goal of having all of the episodes scheduled to go live through December done by the end of October. This means working on 2 to 3 episodes a month. Then I can get away with only doing one up episode a month through the holidays and my birthday before picking up the pace again in February, with the goal of having every episode finished before the end of May. Throw in guest prep for the upcoming season during May and June, and I’m guaranteed to get at least July off before it starts all over again.

Could I make Book ’em, Danno easier on myself? Absolutely. I’ve gotten less persnickety with my editing over the years, but I’m still pretty demanding. I could always shift more of my hours into prep work to reduce the amount of editing I need to do. I could always talk less. I endeavor to talk less. I never talk less. Honestly, I’ve sort of fallen into my groove of how I produce the show and I don’t see a way of getting out of it.

So, if I complain about everything I have to do or how I’m stressed with my schedule or how I’m sick of listening to the sound of my own voice, just ignore me.

It’s podcast season.

The Clock on the Wall

~ Kiki Writes ~ 2 Comments

For those of you just tuning in, I work at my local library. It’s a small town library, so we have a staff of less than twenty people. I have to admit that it’s probably the best job I’ve ever had, thanks largely in part to the people that I work with. They’re a fun bunch.

Which means I get away with shit that I probably wouldn’t get away with at other jobs.

For example, the clock on the wall.

When you work the circulation desk like I do, one of your responsibilities is signing people up for the library computers that sit behind the desk. It’s very low key. We just write down their name, what computer they use, and what time they sign in. Part of this is for computer usage statistics, but it’s also in case someone leaves something behind at the computer. Knowing their name and the time, we have a better idea of who it belongs to. Who leaves things at the computers? Everybody. We’ve found all sorts of things over there.

The computers sit along the wall behind the circulation desk with the computer screens facing us (we don’t care what you’re doing, but we will take a glance now and then to make sure its library appropriate). There’s a sort of half-wall partition that separates the computers from the aisle just behind the circ desk. On one side of that is a where a clock usually hangs. That’s where I and several of my coworkers automatically look when we sign people in for the computers.

For whatever reason -be it poor mounting, poor clock design, bad luck, or the ghost of our very first librarian Mrs. Rose- the clock that we had liked to fall off the wall. Just take a leap. Sometimes we could attribute it to someone walking by, but sometimes it just happened. A couple of times the clock was damaged, but repairable. Once it was fixed, it went back on the wall. It’s final fall was a fatal one, though, and a few days after its demise, it was replaced.

That clock lasted a few weeks before it, too, fell off the wall.

The decision was made not to put the clock back up there. Instead, we have a small clock that sits on the back of the circulation desk. Everyone knows its there. I know its there. And yet-

I still look at the damn wall when I sign someone into the computer.

I cannot seem to break this habit. Even with a clock in front of me on the desk, even with a watch on my wrist, even with my phone in my pocket, I still look to the wall for the time. And the time, folks, is not there.

In an act of desperation to help me break the habit, I put up a new clock, the clock that you see in the picture. A clock to remind my dumbass that the time no longer sits on the wall. I end up looking at that 404 clock multiple times a shift because I. Will. Not. Learn. My director and my coworkers thought it was funny and were apparently fine with its existence.

The other day I came in for my shift to find my clock on the circ desk. I thought a coworker had revealed their buzzkill nature and took it down, but no.

It fell off the wall.

I guess Mrs. Rose is the buzzkill after all.

I Am an Intimidation Tactic

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

I am the library witch.

I don’t know know when it happened, but sometime in the last almost five years of employment I became the library clerk to be feared.

People whisper not to cross me or I’ll hex them. I’m talked about like a punishment, a threat. “This is Christin. She’s our cudgel.” I am the threat of blunt force trauma in snazzy pants and funky tights and cute dresses. We joke about the ghosts of librarians past, but I’m the one that actually haunts the library. I skulk through the stacks, looking for children to scare and patrons to frighten. Coworkers to bully.

I am more feared than an ’80s slasher villain no matter their body count and how many times they come back from the dead.

I am a curse.

And I have no idea what to make of it. Because I’ve been this way for a long time. I can’t say forever because I wasn’t like this when I was a kid. I was shy and sensitive and incredibly weird. I admit that I’ve always been an angry little thing and prone to fighting and that did give me a little bit of a reputation. Turned out to stick with me even though the only person I fought in high school was my sister, who also had a bit of a reputation as someone not to cross. One of our friends whom we’d known since childhood once said that everyone wanted to be our friend because nobody wanted to be on our bad side.

Okay, maybe I have always been this way. It just had to mature along with me, refine itself into this raven that sits on my shoulder, alerting everyone to my potential.

I seem to haunt every place I go. If there’s a group dynamic, I unintentionally establish myself as the imminent danger.

I think it’s in part because I do not suffer fools. I come from a family of non-fool sufferers, which was rough when I was young and a fool because I was not suffered. Now I’m the one who is not doing any suffering. I do not have time for ignorant nonsense. Has customer service exacerbated this aspect of my personality? Absolutely. There’s a prevalence of fools in this line of work and I will not suffer a single one. That makes an impression. Even when I’m not trying to give that impression, it’s so infused in my aura that I still make that impression. More than once I’ve been told that when people first meet me they’re intimidated. While I appreciate that power, it’s not the default the vibe I’m going for.

Most people want to be liked. Life is easier when you’re liked. I don’t think about being liked. I tend to assume that I’m not liked. I’m tolerated. It’s better to be on my good side than my bad. “Don’t make Christin angry. You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry.” And you wouldn’t. I’m less than fun when I’m angry at you (I am hilarious, though, if I’m ranting about something that has nothing to do with you). So, when I find out that people actually like me, it confuses me. Surely, you jest. Did you miss the memo? The vibes? The aura? The warnings?

Or did you figure that befriending the monster would keep you safe? And once you did, you realized that she really isn’t that bad.

As long as you stay on my good side.

I Think Libraries Are Naturally Haunted Places

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

As a rule, most of the library staff don’t work in the library alone. We have to have at least three staff members in the building for the library to be open. The struggle for the perpetually short-staffed night shift is real. We’ve had to close early more than once because too many people called out. The two of us left still have to work our shift, just without patrons.

However, this doesn’t mean staff haven’t been in the library alone. And it’s always an eerie experience.

At the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the library closed to the public and only essential staff were allowed to be in the building on a strict schedule. Only three people were allowed in the building at a time, had to work in different areas/on different floors, and were only allowed to work for short three hour shifts. After about six weeks, it was decided that processing was an essential job and since I was doing most of the processing, that meant I went back to work in the library. I was greeted with over 100 items to process in three hour shifts no more than three days a week. Fun! It took me a over a week of those shifts to catch up.

I usually worked at the same time as my director. Rarely was any one else in the building during my shift because I took my time in the afternoons and they usually worked in the mornings. More than once, my director would leave for the day and I’d still have some work to do, so I’d spend maybe as much as an hour alone in the building to finish whatever I was working on.

I was 100% alone in the building, but it never felt like I was. I’d hear noises that sounded like someone down on the lower level or someone walking around upstairs on the children’s floor. And of course, the classic feeling like I was being watched.

It turns out that I’m not the only who’s had this experience. Other people who’ve been in the building have had similar experiences.

We’ve also had those types of experiences when the building was open. It’s not uncommon to be sitting at the circulation desk and hear someone downstairs when no one is downstairs. To the extent that we’ve gone downstairs to check. Part of this is because of the way the building is constructed. Sound travels and bounces in that building in weird ways. It would be perfect cover for a ghost, honestly.

We joke that it’s the ghost of Miss Kent, who was head librarian from 1914 to 1966. She actually started working in the library in 1910 when she was hired as an assistant for Mrs. Rose, who was the first head librarian. Anything weird that happens -the women’s restroom door closing after it’s been propped open, display books falling off shelves when no one is near them, etc.- we blame it on Miss Kent. After all, if anyone would be haunting the library, it would be her.

I think the library probably is haunted. I think most, if not all, libraries are haunted.

Think about it.

A lot of libraries have historical items. Some items are just borrowed to put on display, some belong to them. Most libraries have old books. My library is a repository of local history. We have an archive of items donated over the years, from letters to clothing to pictures to a creepy doll collection that we only recently put into storage after years of giving children nightmares. We even have an artillery shell from the Korean War. We also have many of the books from CH Moore, who at the time of his death in 1901 had one of the largest private libraries in Illinois. Just some really old shit.

It would stand to reason that some energy from these previous owners might still linger. We have entire collections that are just from one person, like the collection of clothes -including mourning gown and veil- that is currently on display. Maybe some of these people decided to stick with their belongings.

Even though this country is obsessed with getting rid of anything that’s more than a few years old and building entirely new buildings, many libraries are pretty old. They put a new addition on my library in 1991 which opened in 1992, but the original building that was built in 1906 and opened in 1908 is still there. It’s over 100 years old. Miss Kent worked in that building for over 50 years, and she wasn’t the only one to dedicate decades of her life to the library. This building’s been sitting around, collecting stories for a long time.

And then there was something that my coworker Kelsey suggested and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. We’re a library. We loan items out. Who knows what kind of energies those items come back with? Something to consider.

So, the next time you go to the library (you are going to your library, aren’t you?), take a good look around and keep your ears open.

You might not be the only one in the stacks.

There Are Some Lessons I Won’t Learn

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

I am one of those people that frequently gets an idea, decides to do said idea, and then completely overestimates my ability to accomplish the idea while simultaneously underestimating how difficult it will be for me to accomplish said idea.

I am an absolute menace to myself in this respect and it is a lesson that I am apparently unable to learn.

My latest escapade in this ridiculousness happened in regards to a work project.

Long story short, in researching a local history episode of the library’s podcast (the one on Mayor Pugh; give it a listen…he was fantastic), I came across an article listing 22 murders that had occurred in my county between 1855 and 1913. A few of them I had already covered on the podcast, but my brilliant self decided to research the other murders listed for both podcast purposes and because presenting a program talking about this bit of sordid local history would satisfy a couple of my work goals.

The research portion took months. For some of the murders listed, there wasn’t a lot of information (names, dates, etc.), which made finding them in the old papers difficult. You would think a scythe murder would be easy to find, but no.

I put together the program, made up handouts with some information for people to take with them, and scheduled it with our program coordinator, capping the event at 20 or 25 people for the sake of my anxiety, but thinking I’d only get a handful of people to actually sign up.

Yeah. So many people around here are interested in murder that I ended up doing two encore programs (I have since done another program for the local genealogical society) in addition to the original program.

It was after the second one that I decided it might be a good idea to do a video version and suggested it to my director, who readily agreed. I thought it would be no trouble to put it together.

That should have been my first warning, me thinking something wouldn’t be any trouble.

I actually wrote the script for the program video first. I had a little over an hour’s worth of material that I needed to streamline. Once that was done, I moved on to figuring out the look of my vid.

I quickly ruled out a simple video of me sitting in front of a camera and doing the program because I couldn’t think of anything more boring than to watch me talk. I thought that even when doing the programs. But I wasn’t exactly sure what I should do. I posited this question on the Twitters and a couple of friends with more experience in the video realm than I -shout out to Stan and Amanda- gave me some suggestions and guidance. I decided that it might be best to do a mix of audio slides and video intros to segments. It sounded easy enough.

There we go again with that warning word -easy.

I divided up my script between video and audio and then further divided the audio into how many slides I thought I’d need to cover each case. It took me very little time to record and edit all of the audio for the slides. Thanks years of podcasting!

Using Powerpoint, I put together the slides first. I did all of the text, found the newspaper articles I wanted to use for each case and added them to the appropriate slide, and then put the audio on all of the slides. None of it was exceptionally hard, but it was incredibly time consuming. I did 42 slides. It took nearly 10 hours. But that’s fine. It was all comp time because at the library I was training new people and any off desk time I could get went to changing out displays.

Then came time for me to shoot the video portion of the video.

I admit to putting this off because I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to pull it off, let alone that I could pull it off. First I had to figure out how I was going to record myself. I decided that the laptop webcam was good enough and proceeded from there, experimenting with angles, lighting, and audio. I thought I had it all figured out.

Once again, I overestimated my skills and underestimated my ability to fuck shit up.

Long story short, the video portion of the video did not work out. I don’t want to go into details of my fuck up because I haven’t quite finished metaphorically banging my head against the desk over my dipshittery, but the point is that I did what I always did. I got pissed. I said fuck it. I gave up. And then I decided to do the whole thing as audio slides.

It was relatively quick work to record and edit the new audio and put together 12 more slides.

Then all I needed to do was the subtitles.

You see, I could have left it up to automation, but the damn thing couldn’t make it through the first two sentences without fucking up the title of the program and my name.

So, I had to do it all by hand.

Now, the good news was that I already had the script. It was just a matter of breaking it up into logical hunks to timestamp and upload and then tweak the timestamps.

Sounds easy. And for the most part it was easy, except for the time I fucked something up (because I will always find a way to fuck something up) and had to go back and redo a chunk of slides. But again. It was time consuming. A lot of time. Like over 14 hours to get it right. And that’s not counting the 2 1/2 hours of precious off-desk time I used to do part of it.

But once that was done, the video was done. All that I had to do was proof it, fix anything I fucked up, proof it again, fix it again, proof it again, and finally call it good. Well, not good. Good enough. It’s not much to look at and may actually be even more boring than just watching me talk, but it’s done and that’s all I care about.

All told, I put something like 40 hours into a 46 minute video. Just an embarrassing about of time invested for such a lackluster result.

Yet, it is a perfect example of my talent to over/under estimate myself.

I thought it would be no trouble to put together a video version of my program even though my experience in video making outside of doing uninspired Instagram stories is non-existent. I didn’t think it would necessarily be easy or not be any work or not take time. I just didn’t think it would be any trouble. Because I (mistakenly, as usual) thought that I’d figure everything out pretty quickly, get the hang of it no sweat, and be borderline good at it with no hang ups or issues or setbacks.

Because I am a fool.

Because I refuse to learn that I am not naturally adept at everything I want to do. Because I refuse to incorporate the lesson that things I’m doing for the first time are naturally going to takes longer and require more mistakes and baby steps and sometimes outright disasters. Because I refuse to grasp the concept that I need to expect new ventures to take three or four times longer than I think they will and not come out nearly as good as I think they should because these sorts of things take time, practice, and repetition to get there.

You would think as a writer I would know this, but I can assure you. I’ve learned nothing.

This is my version of Sisyphus.

I will continue to push this boulder up the hill and be the main source of my own frustration until the end of time.

How To Library

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

If you didn’t know, September is Library Card Sign-up Month.

This is the instructional/refresher I wish I could do for patrons because I feel like some people weren’t paying attention at all when using a library was discussed back in school and with some of the younger kids coming in, I’m wondering if that’s not one of the curriculum bits dropped due to lack of funding.

Yes. It is a bit snarky. I will not apologize for that.

Here we go. The absolute basics of How To Library:

  1. Have your library card with you if you want to check items out. You would think I wouldn’t have to say that, but it turns out the number of people who come into the library without their cards is staggering. If you lose it, let us know and we’ll replace it. If you left it at home accidentally because you switched out your purse or grabbed the wrong wallet, okay, I get that. That happens. Ways to combat forgetfulness? If your library has an app, use that. It should have your card on it. Or take a picture of your card’s barcode. We can scan that most of the time. Or we can use your ID. Don’t have your ID? What in the absolute fuck are you doing driving around then? How the hell will anyone ID your corpse when it’s found in a ditch somewhere? I do not understand you people at all.
  2. Return your items on time and undamaged. You are borrowing an item. BORROWING IT. Would you borrow something from your friend, keep it months after you agreed to give it back, and trash it in the process? If you would, I don’t want your ass in my library or as my friend. Some libraries still have fines. Mine doesn’t. That means you’re not penalized for not bringing your item back on time, but you should still endeavor to do so. If your item is going to be late, you can renew it. You might even be able to do that over the phone (we do that at our library) or online. And if something does happen to the item you’ve checked out, bring it to the circ desk and own up to it. Because we’re more likely to charge you if you ditch it in the dropbox and run away rather than showing it to us and explaining what happened to it. Think I’m lying? We’ve got a book in our collection with tired tread from a whole ass car on the title page (that person was having one hell of an interesting day). Some damage we can live with and we’ll be more likely to let you live with it too if you take responsibility.
  3. Learn your library’s shelving system. I can’t speak for every library, but when it comes to fiction, 9 times out of 10, the books are going to be shelved by author’s last name in alphabetical order. I don’t understand why this is a mystery to so many people. Non-fiction can be trickier. Some libraries still use Dewey Decimal, some don’t. Mine uses a subject based system, but guess what? The subjects are still in alphabetical order. Movies, TV shows, and music can be the same way. We organize ours by genre, but within the genres…alphabetical order. We use the alphabet a lot. It helps with finding things. Speaking of which…
  4. Learn how to use your library’s search. Some libraries may still have card catalogs. Mine doesn’t. Ours is now computer based. Either/or, spend some time learning how to use whatever your library uses. This includes any searching online in the comfort of your own home via whatever apps/sites your library might have. Our computer search can be done by title, author, keyword, etc. and then with a click you can find out the call number. We are happy to help you find whatever item your are looking for, but we are just as happy if you find that item yourself. Believe me. Our feelings will not be hurt if you find that book on your own.

The basic tips make my life as a library worker easier. These basic tips also make your life as a patron easier. Knowing where stuff is and how to find it makes the library more user-friendly and less intimidating. And that’s what we want! Of course, if you have any questions about anything in the library, ask a library worker. We will be happy to answer your questions because we want you to have a good library experience and that’s what the basics do -build a foundation for a good library experience.

I realize this is a bit of a snarky list (particularly the first two), but it’s these four things that haunt me the most. Honestly, the number of people who are indignant about the idea of having to have their library card with them to check items out is mind-boggling (the number of people rolling without their IDs more so). But I feel like a serious disservice is being done here by not properly educating people on the basics of librarying. I want to fix that.

So bring your damn library card and return your shit on time.

Sorry, That’s Not My Problem–Customer Service Edition

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

The other day at work, my coworker recounted an interaction she’d just had with a patron while I was away from the desk (I was on shelving duty that day and she was covering my supervisor’s lunch). She printed out a receipt for the patron -it’s low-stick paper with the due date printed on it that we can slap on the item if a patron wants it- and it got caught in the printer. It’s been doing this all summer with both receipt printers for reasons (I think it’s another disapproval sign from the ghost of Ms. Kent). It’s annoying as hell, but it takes less than 30 seconds for us to open it up and retrieve the receipt.

This happened to my coworker while she was waiting on a patron, who said, “Never mind if it’s going to take long. I’m in a hurry.” My coworker had the receipt free by the time the woman had finished her sentence, but it still bothered my coworker that the woman felt the urge to get so snippy with her about it.

When my coworker told me about the incident, I shrugged and said, “You being in a hurry is not my problem.”

My coworker was shook that I would approach the situation like that. I told her, “Your emergency is not my emergency. Your time-constraints are not my time constraints. You come in here, you’re on my time now. It takes however long it takes.”

This made an impression on my coworker because the very next day she dealt with another patron whom she was trying to help find a specific movie in what’s known as WorldCat, which covers the whole country. It can be involved. And when my coworker wasn’t finding the desired results fast enough, the woman said, “I’m in a hurry.”

My coworker later told me that she turned away from the woman, mouthed to herself “That’s not my problem”, turned back, and said, “This can take a few minutes. Would you like to come back later when you have more time?” The woman declined, my coworker finished searching for the movie (nobody has it, which baffled us both), and the woman went on her way.

She wasn’t rude, the request was completed, and the point was made.

That’s not my problem.

The thing about customer service is that customers or patrons frequently want to make their problems your problems. And I do not accept anyone else’s problems. I have enough of my own that I’m in no mood to deal with. I’m definitely not in the mood to deal with yours.

Telling me that you’re in a hurry does not make me go faster. The task takes as long as it takes and it’s eyebrow raising at how many people will tell me they’re in a hurry like that will somehow make searching for a book magically go quicker. It doesn’t. I’m looking for a title that might be wrong by an author you don’t remember. Settle in. This is going to take a beat. If you’re in a rush, come back later. No one’s life depends on you finding this book right stat now.

Likewise, I’m sorry you waited until the last minute to send this fax, but it’s not my fault that they turned their fax machine off and it’s not my problem that whatever you’re sending is going to be late. Also, I don’t care if our dollar per page fee is too high. Pay it or learn to work email. Regardless, it’s none of my concern.

I’m not saying that people aren’t entitled to adequate customer service; of course they are. But I think that many people do not (or don’t want to) understand that the people behind the counter can only do so much. We’re only responsible for so much. If you want better customer service, then be a better customer.

And if that pisses you off, well…

That’s not my problem.

Nothing Happens in a Small Town–Murder Edition

~ Kiki Writes ~ Leave a comment

When my library director first pitched the idea of doing a library podcast, one thing she definitely wanted to include was local history and she handed me the folder on a dynamite story to kick the off the podcast: the only known public hanging in my county, which happened in 1882.

The Patsy Devine Case remains one of the more popular episodes because everybody loves some true crime and a good, ol’ fashioned hanging. The next local history episode I did was The Courthouse Murder. This 1855 case had everything: a bitter rivalry, an amputation, chloroform, one of the first uses of the insanity defense, and an all-star prosecution team that included future president Abraham Lincoln. He, along with his presidential opponent Stephen A. Douglas, also defended the first man accused of murder in my town way back in 1840.

As it turns out, for a period of time, my little town was quite the murder capital.

I’m currently working on not one, but two murders of police chiefs that occurred within three years of each other. It was something I stumbled upon while researching our most corrupt mayor (which was a fun one) as he was a witness to the second chief’s murder. It was while reading that article that I found out that the second murdered chief was present at the first murdered chief’s killing and was appointed chief as a result. It was like a murderception and I eagerly descended down that rabbit hole.

Which led to an article featuring a list of murders that occurred over a 60 year period between 1855 and 1915.

Oh yeah. My tiny town was Wild Westing it back in the day.

The list includes:

-A shooting in 1864 that I haven’t found details of yet, but I know the guy posted bond at the pre-trial which was held in a different town for reasons.

-A double homicide in 1896 in which the 24 year old husband shot his wife (who’d filed for divorce) and mother-in-law in the yard with a shotgun before running down the railroad track and attempting to commit suicide by throwing himself in front of a train. Unfortunately for him, the cow catcher did its job and yeeted him off the tracks very much alive and under arrest.

-A man who was shot and killed in a Christmas Day poker room squabble in a saloon in a neighboring town in 1899. The victim’s name is the same as that of a man who stabbed the postmaster to death in my town’s post office during the Civil War, but I’ve yet to find any connections between them.

-Another bar fight in 1901 saw a 40 year old man kill another man by hitting him over the head with a beer bottle. The man pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced by the same judge who later presided over the murder trial of the second police chief’s killer.

-Because men have always been delicate creatures unable to cope with rejection, a man shot and killed a woman he mistook for the woman who’d turned down his marriage proposal in 1906.

-In August of that same year, a dispute between a 60 year old man and a 53 year old man over chickens, access to a well, and insulting one man’s wife ended when the husband of the insulted wife shot the offending man. The killer was found not guilty by reason of self-defense as the victim was allegedly beating him with a bucket at the time of the shooting.

-To continue with the theme of men old enough to know better getting uptight about farm animals, a 60 year old man shot and killed a 68 year old man in July of 1909 because the horse the victim had been pasturing in a vacant lot next to killer’s house had been eating the man’s sunflowers. The argument that ensued was escalated when the sunflower owner’s wife got involved and the victim called her “a goddamn liar”. The man was later arrested by the first police chief who would be murdered almost exactly a year later.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t wall-to-wall homicides back in the day, but it’s still pretty significant for a small town that was even smaller then than it is now. Growing up here where the default is that nothing happens, it’s wild to think that back in the day folks were shooting each other over horses eating sunflowers and chickens getting into flowerbeds and insulted wives. That’s something that happens somewhere else, even in the long, long ago.

But it all happened right here.

In fact, those murdered police chiefs both died within blocks of where I live right now.

Hey, just because nothing happens in a small town now doesn’t it mean it wasn’t happening then.